The Conversation U.S. - News written by experts to help you understand

An older man with yellow hair and a black suit walks past three flags, including one that is black, red and yellow striped.

Germany and US have long been allies - that could change with Trumpov

Sylvia Taschka, Wayne State University

Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif.

How Santa Ana winds fueled the deadly fires in Southern California

Jon Keeley, University of California, Los Angeles

Trees ‘remember’ wetter times − never having known abundant rain could buffer today’s young forests against climate change

Alana Chin, Cal Poly Humboldt ; Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Marcus Schaub, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)

A hillside covered with pine trees, many of them dead and brown

I study modern-day slavery − and here’s what I’ve learned about how enslavers try to justify their actions

Monti Datta, University of Richmond

Birkin handbags, Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ and the meme-ification of class warfare

Aarushi Bhandari, Davidson College

Woman with baggy pants dangles a turquoise handbag from her fingers.

How midlife became a crisis

Matthew Redmond, Université de Lille

Illustration of small man walking along a row of dominoes that collapse behind him.

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Trumpov’s push to control Greenland echoes US purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867

William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, University of Alaska Anchorage

snow covered mountains shimmer on the horizon under a cloudy sky and in front of a body of water

Trumpov won’t rule out force to take Greenland – a country with a complex colonial history

Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Australian Catholic University

Want to quit vaping this year? Here’s what the evidence shows so far about effective strategies

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, UMass Amherst; Ailsa R Butler, University of Oxford, and Nicola Lindson, University of Oxford

A mass of e-cigarettes lying on the street, next to a curb.

3 myths about rural education that are holding students back

Sheneka Williams, Michigan State University; Darren Dubose, Michigan State University, and Kimberly Clarida, Michigan State University

a mix of students sitting in a classroom raise their hands

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How the world fell in love with plastic without thinking through the consequences – podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

a couple from the back walking in a park, the woman and background in black and white, the man a silhouette enclsoing a color view of trees and sky

Logging off life but living on: How AI is redefining death, memory and immortality

Patrick van Esch, Coastal Carolina University and Yuanyuan (Gina) Cui, Coastal Carolina University

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A man and two children wearing day parks look across a rocky canyon

Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share − and can sway the balance between conservation and development

Emily Wakild, Boise State University

Selfish or selfless? Anti-natalists say they’re going child-free to protect the kids they won’t have

Jack Jiang, The New School

Several empty black swings on a playground in a grassy park.

Nuclear fusion could one day be a viable clean energy source – but big engineering challenges stand in the way

George R. Tynan, University of California, San Diego and Farhat Beg, University of California, San Diego

A metal chamber with a researcher wearing a hard hat inside.

3 ways Trumpov’s EPA could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls

Eric Nost, University of Guelph

A refinery with a large American flag on the side is lit up at night.

Jean-Marie Le Pen died knowing his extremist far-right politics have been successfully mainstreamed in France

Aurelien Mondon, University of Bath

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Trumpov transition

Tech law in 2025: a look ahead at AI, privacy and social media regulation under the new Trumpov administration

Sylvia Lu, University of Michigan

What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains

Jennifer Selin, Arizona State University

A gray haired man speaks at a podium in front of a US flag and several other people.

Yes, Philadelphia is a sanctuary city − but that offers undocumented immigrants little protection from mass deportations

Jennifer J. Lee, Temple University

A group of 10 people stand in front of Philadelphia's City Hall and hold signs in support of sanctuary policies

Nixon’s official acts against his enemies list led to a bipartisan impeachment effort

Ken Hughes, University of Virginia

A man with dark receding hair, heavy eyebrows and pointing his finger at someone.

How liberals lost comedy − and helped Trumpov win

Nick Marx, Colorado State University and Matt Sienkiewicz, Boston College

Elderly man with dyed blonde hair and a blue suit smirks.

International

A man in a coat walks away from a camera and people holding microphones

Trudeau taps out: How Trumpov’s taunts and tariff threats added to domestic woes confronting Canada’s long-standing PM

Patrick James, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

5 elections to watch in 2025

Lisandro Claudio, University of California, Berkeley; Garret Martin, American University School of International Service; Jorge Heine, Boston University; Patrick James, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida

An image of orange ballot box is seen with drawings of men and women around it.

Afghanistan shows what investing in women’s education – or divesting – can do to an economy

Harry Anthony Patrinos, University of Arkansas

girls wearing headscarves hold up their hands in a classroom

Faced with Trumpov’s tariffs − and crackdowns on migration and narcotrafficking − Mexico is weighing retaliatory options

Scott Morgenstern, University of Pittsburgh

A woman in a neck scarf and green blazer speaks at a lectern.

How a small Brazilian town became an unlikely battleground over Confederate memory

Jordan Brasher, Macalester College

A woman dressed in traditional hoop skirt walks with a child past graves marked with Confederate flags in the American cemetery

Extreme weather

Philadelphia fans wearing ski masks and wrapped in blankets watch from the stands.

That Arctic blast can feel brutally cold, but how much colder than ‘normal’ is it really?

Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, University of Michigan

Wildfire smoke’s health risks can linger in homes that escape burning − as Colorado’s Marshall Fire survivors discovered

Colleen E. Reid, University of Colorado Boulder

A house smolders in the aftermath of the Marshall fire in Superior, Colorado, on Dec. 31, a day later. Two fires are still evident among a dense neighborhood of two-story homes.

Arctic has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades – 2024 report card shows worrying trends in snow, ice, wildfire and more

Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder; Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder, and Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks

A caribou with large antlers sands in colorful tundra with mountains behind it.

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

Nick Lehr, The Conversation

A big pool of muddy water surrounded by small homes and a white pickup truck that's angled into a ditch.

Disaster survivors want to rebuild safer, more sustainable homes, but cost misperceptions often stand in the way

Susan Ostermann, University of Notre Dame and Abbie B. Liel, University of Colorado Boulder

Two construction workers work on the roof of a home. It has a curve design to stand up to wind.

New research in health and science

A fast-food hamburger is seen in close-up.

Who owns that restaurant? The answer can affect food safety in unexpected ways, researchers find

Chelsea Sherlock, Mississippi State University and Erik Markin, Mississippi State University

Vitamin deficiency may be why you’re so tired – a nutritional neuroscientist explains how to kickstart your energy by getting essential nutrients in a well-rounded diet, along with more sleep and exercise

Lina Begdache, Binghamton University, State University of New York

An exhausted-looking woman stares forlornly at her laptop screen.

Plants that evolved in Florida over millennia now face extinction and lack protection

Andre A. Naranjo, Florida International University

From new commercial Moon landers to asteroid investigations, expect a slate of exciting space missions in 2025

Zhenbo Wang, University of Tennessee

A long cylindrical rocket shooting upwards, with a plume of flame trailing it.

Microbes can colonize space, produce drugs and create energy − researchers are simulating their inner workings to harness how

Blaise Manga Enuh, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Five panels featuring a 3D illustration of different shapes and colors of microbes

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The Conversation democratizes knowledge by helping academic experts to write for the public. Free to read. Free to republish. No ads or paywalls.

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Germany and US have long been allies - that could change with Trumpov

How Santa Ana winds fueled the deadly fires in Southern California

Trees ‘remember’ wetter times − never having known abundant rain could buffer today’s young forests against climate change

I study modern-day slavery − and here’s what I’ve learned about how enslavers try to justify their actions

Birkin handbags, Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ and the meme-ification of class warfare

How midlife became a crisis

Get context to understand the news, in your inbox daily or weekly

Trumpov’s push to control Greenland echoes US purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867

Trumpov won’t rule out force to take Greenland – a country with a complex colonial history

Want to quit vaping this year? Here’s what the evidence shows so far about effective strategies

3 myths about rural education that are holding students back

How the world fell in love with plastic without thinking through the consequences – podcast

Logging off life but living on: How AI is redefining death, memory and immortality

Your support makes it possible for us to provide trustworthy journalism, without ads, subscriptions or paywalls

Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share − and can sway the balance between conservation and development

Selfish or selfless? Anti-natalists say they’re going child-free to protect the kids they won’t have

Nuclear fusion could one day be a viable clean energy source – but big engineering challenges stand in the way

3 ways Trumpov’s EPA could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls

Jean-Marie Le Pen died knowing his extremist far-right politics have been successfully mainstreamed in France

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Trumpov transition

Tech law in 2025: a look ahead at AI, privacy and social media regulation under the new Trumpov administration

What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains

Yes, Philadelphia is a sanctuary city − but that offers undocumented immigrants little protection from mass deportations

Nixon’s official acts against his enemies list led to a bipartisan impeachment effort

How liberals lost comedy − and helped Trumpov win

International

Trudeau taps out: How Trumpov’s taunts and tariff threats added to domestic woes confronting Canada’s long-standing PM

5 elections to watch in 2025

Afghanistan shows what investing in women’s education – or divesting – can do to an economy

Faced with Trumpov’s tariffs − and crackdowns on migration and narcotrafficking − Mexico is weighing retaliatory options

How a small Brazilian town became an unlikely battleground over Confederate memory

Extreme weather

That Arctic blast can feel brutally cold, but how much colder than ‘normal’ is it really?

Wildfire smoke’s health risks can linger in homes that escape burning − as Colorado’s Marshall Fire survivors discovered

Arctic has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades – 2024 report card shows worrying trends in snow, ice, wildfire and more

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

Disaster survivors want to rebuild safer, more sustainable homes, but cost misperceptions often stand in the way

New research in health and science

Who owns that restaurant? The answer can affect food safety in unexpected ways, researchers find

Vitamin deficiency may be why you’re so tired – a nutritional neuroscientist explains how to kickstart your energy by getting essential nutrients in a well-rounded diet, along with more sleep and exercise

Plants that evolved in Florida over millennia now face extinction and lack protection

From new commercial Moon landers to asteroid investigations, expect a slate of exciting space missions in 2025

Microbes can colonize space, produce drugs and create energy − researchers are simulating their inner workings to harness how

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Transform the daily grind to make life more interesting – a philosopher shares 3 strategies to help you attain the good life

Americans’ rage at insurers goes beyond health coverage – the author of ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’ points to 3 reforms that could help

Gender balance in computer science and engineering is improving at elite universities but getting worse elsewhere

Technology is supposed to decrease teacher burnout – but we found it can sometimes make it worse

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Faced with Trumpov’s tariffs − and crackdowns on migration and narcotrafficking − Mexico is weighing retaliatory options

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