Author: TheConversation

By Charles O. Stanier, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa; Gregory Carmichael, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa; and Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa Distinguished Chair, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Iowa Canada’s seemingly endless wildfires in 2023 introduced millions of people across North America to the health hazards of wildfire smoke. While Western states have contended with smoky fire seasons for years, the air quality alerts across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this summer reached levels never seen there before. The smoke left the air so unhealthy in Philadelphia on...

By Karyn Amira, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston When Mitt Romney announced his intended retirement from the U.S. Senate on September 13, an excerpt was published from his upcoming biography, in which the 2012 Republican presidential nominee told author McKay Coppins, “A very large portion of my party really doesn’t believe in the Constitution.” This claim would have been startling 15 years ago. For decades, the Republican Party has been the party of conservatism and a champion for the Constitution. Romney is clear that Donald Trump, who leads what he calls a “populist” and “demagogic” portion...

By Steven Berkowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus The hospital where I practice recently admitted a 14-year-old girl with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to our outpatient program. She was referred to us six months earlier, in October 2022, but at the time we were at capacity. Although we tried to refer her to several other hospitals, they too were full. During that six-month wait, she attempted suicide. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common story for young people with mental health issues. A 2021 survey of 88 children’s hospitals reported that they admit, on average, four...

By Lorna Grisby, Politics & Society Editor, The Conversation Rupert Murdoch, 92, one of the world’s most influential modern media figures, announced on September 21, 2023, that he was stepping down as chair of Fox Corp. and executive chairman of News Corp. By mid-November, he will no longer be at the helm of the multibillion-dollar media empire that has stirred so much controversy over decades. Through Fox News, Murdoch is leaving a lasting impression on American journalism and politics. It just may not be what most people think. So-called journalists can lie with near total impunity Following the 2020...

By William Brady, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University People’s daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation, my colleagues and I have found. People are increasingly interacting with others in social media environments where algorithms control the flow of social information they see. Algorithms determine in part which messages, which people and which ideas social media users see. On social media platforms, algorithms are mainly designed to amplify information that sustains engagement, meaning they keep people clicking on content and coming...