Category: Academic Reportage
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Is there any hope for the internet?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson College Hate and mental illness fester online because love and healing seem to be incompatible with profits. Ihor Lukianenko/iStock via Getty Images In 2001, social theorist bell hooks warned about the dangers of a loveless zeitgeist. In “All…
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How Eurostack could offer Canada a route to digital independence from the United States
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ted Palys, Professor of Criminology, Associate Member of Dept. of Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University The contemporary internet has been with us since roughly 1995. Its current underlying economic model — surveillance capitalism — began in the early 2000s, when Google and then Facebook realized how…
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2026 FIFA World Cup expansion will have a big climate footprint, with matches from Mexico to Canada – here’s what fans can do
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Brian P. McCullough, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan Lionel Messi celebrates with fans after Argentina won the FIFA World Cup championship in 2022 in Qatar. Michael Regan-FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images When the FIFA World Cup hits North America in June 2026, 48…
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Most Pennsylvania voters ignore judicial elections − a political scientist explains why they matter, especially in a battleground state
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Daniel J. Mallinson, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Penn State Three of the seven judges on PA’s state supreme court are up for retention votes in November 2025. AP Photo/Matt Rourke This November, there will be no candidate for president, governor, senator or even…
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Who was the first pirate?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Brandon Prins, Professor of Political Science, University of Tennessee Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Who was the first pirate? – Yandel R., age 11, Lakewood…
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Zohran Mamdani’s last name reflects centuries of intercontinental trade, migration and cultural exchange
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Iqbal Akhtar, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University Zohran Mamdani takes photos with union members during a campaign rally at the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council headquarters in New York on July 2, 2025. AP Photo/Richard Drew When Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy…
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Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 130 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Hatim Sharif, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio A Kerrville, Texas, resident watches the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025. Eric Vryn/Getty Images Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills…
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When disasters fall out of the public eye, survivors continue to suffer – a rehabilitation professional explains how sustained mental health support is critical to recovery
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota In Kerrville, Texas, Leighton Sterling watches the rushing floodwaters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025. Eric Vryn via Getty Images News The devastating losses from the…
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Disasters don’t disappear when the storm ends – cascading hazards, from landslides to floods, are upending risk models
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Brian J. Yanites, Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science. Robert Shrock Professor of Surficial and Sedimentary Geology, Indiana University The Carter Lodge hangs precariously over the flood-scoured bank of the Broad River in Chimney Rock Village, N.C., on May 13, 2025, eight months after…
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Not just a few bad apples: The Canadian Armed Forces has a nagging far-right problem
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Professor, School of Social Work and Criminology, Université Laval The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is making headlines. But not, as they probably hoped, for the renewed recruiting efforts they’re about to launch. Instead, they are once again confounded by a far-right scandal. The latest…