Author: TheConversation

By Sebastian Maslow, Associate Professor, International Relations, Contemporary Japanese Politics & Society, University of Tokyo Though China and Japan are experienced in dealing with diplomatic crises, relations between the two neighbours appear to have reached a new low. And this time, their conflict may not be easily resolved. What’s behind the latest crisis and what’s driving the escalation? The current round of tensions was triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in the Diet (Japanese parliament) on November 7, suggesting a move by Beijing to use military force against Taiwan would trigger a Japanese military intervention. Presented as...

By Robert Applebaum, Senior Research Scholar in Gerontology, Miami University December 15, 2025, the deadline for enrolling in a marketplace plan through the Affordable Care Act for 2026, came and went without an agreement on the federal subsidies that kept ACA plans more affordable for many Americans. Despite a last-ditch attempt in the House to extend ACA subsidies, with Congress adjourning for the year on Dec. 19, it’s looking almost certain that Americans relying on ACA subsidies will face a steep increase in health care costs in 2026. As a gerontologist who studies the U.S. health care system, I’m...

By John Weigand, Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Interior Design, Miami University Colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat. The reasons are numerous: declining numbers of college-age students in much of the country, rising tuition at public institutions as state funding shrinks, and a growing skepticism about the value of a college degree. Pressure is mounting to cut costs by reducing the time it takes to earn a degree from four years to three. Students, parents, and legislators increasingly prioritize return on investment and degrees that are more likely to lead to gainful employment. This has boosted enrollment...

By H. Sami Karaca, Professor of Business Analytics, Questrom School of Business, Boston University Is the Trump administration trying to reshape American capitalism? Recent moves by Washington, such as taking a 10% share of semiconductor maker Intel, point to a shift in that direction. For decades, Washington has supported free-market capitalism. Today, the government appears to be supporting a new direction – state-directed capitalism. As a professor at the Questrom School of Business who studies different economic systems, I find this reversal striking. My research is supported by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute, which is trying to understand how...

By Patrick Aguilar, Managing Director of Health, Washington University in St. Louis There are almost 1.1 million licensed physicians in the United States. That may sound like a lot, but the country has struggled for decades to train enough physicians to meet its needs and to provide care in rural and underserved communities. Foreign-born physicians have long filled that gap, reducing the overall national shortage and signing up to practice in often overlooked regions and specialties. Today, 1 in 5 doctors licensed to practice in the U.S. were born and trained in another country. But the ability of physicians...

By Nathan Meyers, Ph.D. 2025 candidate in sociology, UMass Amherst America has never been richer. But the gains are so lopsided that the top 10% controls 69% of all wealth in the country, while the bottom half controls just 3%. Meanwhile, surging corporate profits have mostly benefited investors, not the broader public. This divide is expected to widen after President Donald Trump’s sweeping new spending bill drastically cuts Medicaid and food aid, programs that stabilize the economy and subsidize low-wage employers. Moreover, the tax cuts at the heart of the bill will deliver tens of billions of dollars in...