Author: TheConversation

By Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment. It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in just two years. These weren’t hastily erected barracks or rows of identical homes. They were thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, complete with parks, schools, shops and sewer systems. In just two years, this federal initiative provided housing for almost 100,000 people. Few Americans are aware that such an ambitious and...

By Abby Youran Qin, Ph.D. candidate at School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison Why did your hometown newspaper vanish while the next town over kept theirs? This isn’t bad luck. It’s a systemic pattern. Since 2005, the United States has lost over one-third of its local newspapers, creating “news deserts” where corruption is more likely to spread and communities may become politically polarized. My research, published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, analyzes the factors behind the decline of local newspapers between 2004 and 2018. It identifies five key drivers − ranging from racial disparity to...

By Jeanette Tran, Associate Professor of English, Drake University Is blood thicker than water? Should family always come first? These clichés about the importance of family abound, despite the recognition that familial relations are oftentimes hard, if not downright dysfunctional. But over the past few years, a discussion has emerged about a somewhat taboo move: cutting ties altogether with family members deemed “toxic.” Called going “no contact,” this form of estrangement usually involves adult children cutting ties with their parents. It might happen after years of abuse or when a parent disapproves of a child who has come out...

By Jessica Maddox, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Creative Media, University of Alabama Ruby Franke was once one of the most popular YouTube family vloggers, posting videos featuring her husband and six children on her channel, 8 Passengers, that racked up over 1 billion views. In some, she chronicled their family vacations and family activities, such as painting together. In others, she detailed how she banned her 16-year-old son from sleeping in his bedroom for seven months and threatened to behead a stuffed animal. In August 2023, Franke was charged with child abuse and pleaded guilty four months later....

By Zachary W. Schulz, Senior Lecturer of History, Auburn University A few years ago, a student in my history of public health course asked why her mother could not afford insulin without insurance, despite having a full-time job. I told her what I have come to believe: The U.S. health care system was deliberately built this way. People often hear that health care in America is dysfunctional – too expensive, too complex, and too inequitable. But dysfunction implies failure. What if the real problem is that the system is functioning exactly as it was designed to? Understanding this legacy...

By Jane Tavares, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer of Gerontology, UMass Boston; and Marc Cohen, Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston When you lose your health insurance or switch to a plan that skimps on preventive care, something critical breaks. The connection to your primary care provider, usually a doctor, gets severed. You stop getting routine checkups. Warning signs get missed. Medical problems that could have been caught early become emergencies. And because emergencies are both dangerous and expensive, your health gets worse while your medical bills climb. As gerontology researchers who study health and financial well-being in later life,...