The Conversation - The threat of deepfake scenes

What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil

Neil Lewis Jr., Cornell University; Inácio Bó, University of Macau; Rodrigo Zeidan, NYU Shanghai

Research has found that race-neutral policies were not enough to achieve diversity in Brazil’s higher education system. Three scholars probe what that means for the United States.

What do astronomers say about Moon landing deniers? Batting down the conspiracy theory with an assist from the 1969 Miracle Mets

Michael Richmond, Rochester Institute of Technology

Some people incorrectly say the Moon landings didn’t happen. But the evidence – and logic – isn’t on their side.

Why people tend to believe UFOs are extraterrestrial

Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina

While UFO videos might seem compelling, they’re rarely backed up with evidence. A sociologist explains why claims of alien life gain traction through both social and mass media every few years.

International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., pays new respect to the enslaved Africans who landed on its docks

Bernard Powers, College of Charleston

Opened in June 2023, the museum comes at a time when the teaching of Black history is under attack by conservative politicians.

Democrats revive the Equal Rights Amendment from a long legal limbo – facing an unlikely uphill battle to get it enshrined into law

Deana Rohlinger, Florida State University

Women’s rights groups and politicians have pushed, ultimately unsuccessfully, for the Equal Rights Amendment to become part of the Constitution for the past several decades.

Impunity over Wagner mutiny signals further degradation of rule of law in Russia

Maxim Krupskiy, Tufts University

Russian authorities have given no legitimate justification for dropping criminal cases against rebel troops – undermining both President Vladimir Putin and the legal system.

Religion shapes vaccine views – but how exactly? Our analysis looks at ideas about God and beliefs about the Bible

Christopher P. Scheitle, West Virginia University; Bernard DiGregorio, West Virginia University; Katie Corcoran, West Virginia University

Specific beliefs may have more to do with people’s vaccine views than their religious affiliation – but it depends on which vaccine you’re talking about.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the doll – a feminist philosopher’s journey back to Barbie

Carol Hay, UMass Lowell

Barbie has long functioned as a proxy onto which cultural aspirations and anxieties about womanhood are projected.

Hollywood on the picket line – 5 unsung films that put America’s union history on the silver screen

Peter Dreier, Occidental College

As actors join screenwriters in a strike that has shut down movie productions, a labor historian looks back at union action on the silver screen.

As a summer heat wave pummels the US, an expert warns about the dangers of humidity – particularly for toddlers, young athletes and older adults

W. Larry Kenney, Penn State

As temperatures rise in the US, so does the incidence of heat-related deaths, including heatstroke.

A new, thin-lensed telescope design could far surpass James Webb – goodbye mirrors, hello diffractive lenses

Puerto Rico has been part of the US for 125 years, but its future remains contested

Not all repellents are equal – here’s how to avoid mosquito bites this summer