Author: TheConversation

By Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two criminal charges in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 8. The charges allege that Comey lied to Congress in September 2020 when he stood by earlier testimony that he did not authorize a leak of an FBI investigation involving Hillary Clinton. Numerous legal commentators on both the left and right have argued that Comey’s indictment is little more than the Trump administration seeking vengeance on one of the president’s perceived enemies. They allege...

By Chip Colwell, Associate Research Professor of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver The burying ground looks like an abandoned lot. Holding the remains of upward of 22,000 enslaved and free people of color, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground in Richmond, Virginia, established in 1816, sits amid highways and surface roads. Above the expanse of unmarked graves loom a deserted auto shop, a power substation, a massive billboard. The bare ground of the cemetery is strewn with weeds. In contrast, across the way sits Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Established in 1822, it remains a peaceful cemetery with grass, large trees...

By Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton Small local organizations called Active Clubs have spread widely across the U.S. and internationally, using fitness as a cover for a much more alarming mission. These groups are a new and harder-to-detect form of white supremacist organizing that merges extremist ideology with fitness and combat sports culture. Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize, and prepare members for racist violence. The clubs commonly use encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram, Wire, and Matrix to coordinate internally. For broader propaganda...

By Aeimit Lakdawala, Associate Professor of Economics, Wake Forest University Republican-leaning economists tend to predict stronger economic growth when a Republican is president than Democrats do, and because of this partisan optimism, their forecasts end up being less accurate. I’m an economist, and my colleagues and I found this by analyzing nearly 40 years of responses to The Wall Street Journal’s Economic Forecasting Survey. Unlike most such surveys, the Journal publishes each forecaster’s name, allowing us to link their predictions to their political affiliations. The respondents were professional economists at major banks, consulting firms, and universities whose forecasts help...

By Jesse Rhodes, Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, PhD Candidate, Political Science, UMass Amherst; Douglas Rice, Associate Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies, UMass Amherst; Gregory Wall, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, UMass Amherst; and Tatishe Nteta, Provost Professor of Political Science and Director of the UMass Amherst Poll, UMass Amherst A decade ago, Donald Trump descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York City and ignited a political movement that has reshaped American politics. In a memorable turn of phrase, Trump promised supporters of his 2016 presidential campaign that “we are...

By Brian W. Stone, Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Boise State University When OpenAI released “study mode” in July 2025, the company touted ChatGPT’s educational benefits. “When ChatGPT is prompted to teach or tutor, it can significantly improve academic performance,” the company’s vice president of education told reporters at the product’s launch. But any dedicated teacher would be right to wonder: Is this just marketing, or does scholarly research really support such claims? While generative AI tools are moving into classrooms at lightning speed, robust research on the question at hand hasn’t moved nearly as fast. Some early studies...