The Conversation

• Arming a Kurdish insurgency would be a risky endeavor – for both the US and Iran’s minority Kurds
  Washington has long worked with Kurdish groups in the Middle East. But without sufficient support, encouraging Iranian Kurds into an uprising now could be dangerous.
• War in Middle East brings uncertainty and higher energy costs to already weakening US economy
  Risks for the US economy grow as the war in the Middle East continues to escalate.
• China’s muted response over war in Iran reflects Beijing’s delicate calculus as a concerned onlooker
  Beijing has denounced US-Israeli action in Iran, but has not rushed to come to the aid of its regional ally.
• Venezuela’s fragile environment faces rising risks as US pushes for oil and critical minerals and illegal gold mining spreads
  The Orinoco Basin is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. It’s also rich in oil, gold and critical minerals crucial to modern technology.
• Today’s obsession with authenticity isn’t new – being true to yourself has troubled philosophers for centuries
  Contemporary culture seems obsessed with authenticity – but the question of how to be ‘sincere’ in modern society has troubled philosophers for centuries.
• How Instagram addictiveness lawsuit could reshape social media – platform design meets product liability
  A lawsuit against Meta and Google avoids the issue of liability for content and focuses on allegations that social media platforms themselves are harmful by design.
• Measuring poverty on a spectrum instead of an arbitrary line conveys a more accurate picture of inequality
  An economist proposes a new method of estimating the scope of poverty in different countries.
• Family-friendly workplaces are great − but ‘families of 1’ get ignored
  In an era of family-friendly workplaces, how can employers treat single people without kids fairly?
• Public health needs steady budgets – and federal funding uncertainty causes real harms, even if the money is later restored
  Public health depends on long-term planning, and when that planning is interrupted, some programs never recover.
• Telehealth is widely used by older adults insured by Medicare, new research shows
  Policymakers are still deciding whether to make some types of Medicare coverage for telehealth permanent. Studies show it helps older adults get more consistent health care.
• When Washington and the states are in conflict, the ultimate winner is not always certain
  Conflict between Washington and the states is perennial and by design. Lack of clarity about who’s in charge on what issue keeps power from becoming concentrated.
• Trump offered a restrictive deal to universities that almost all rejected – but the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education may not be entirely dead
  The Trump administration is reportedly working on a revised version of the higher education proposal.
• How does Iran go about selecting a new supreme leader? And who is in the running?
  Media reports have cast the son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a top candidate for supreme leader. A scholar of Iranian politics explains how the succession process has never been free or fair.
• Persian Gulf desalination plants could become military targets in regional war
  Key sources of drinking water have been targets in past conflicts. And Iranian strikes have already hit close to some.
• Billions of dollars, decades of progress spent eliminating devastating diseases may be lost with undoing of USAID
  Public health campaigns had made significant strides toward eradicating diseases like elephantitis and river blindness. But this progress has since unraveled with the second Trump administration.
• Operational secrecy kept the US from making evacuation plans – and that means Americans in the Mideast could wait days
  A longtime diplomat explains how the State Department normally encourages and helps Americans to leave countries amid political instability and war – which didn’t happen over the last week.
• How Denver’s Northeast Park Hill community reduced youth violence by 75%
  A neighborhood coalition identified risk factors for youth violence and prevention strategies.
• Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons?
  From Earth spinning on its axis and orbiting the Sun to it precessing like a top, lots of factors affect which stars you can see in the sky.
• Researchers are combining drones and AI to make removing land mines faster and safer
  Using drones makes detecting land mines safer. Using AI to fuse data from multiple types of sensors on the drones makes it more efficient.
• 2025 was hotter than it should have been – 5 influences and a dirty surprise offer clues to what’s ahead
  Solar cycles, sea ice and rising electricity use all play a role. So does an unhealthy surprise that has been quietly hiding a large amount of global warming – until now.
• Nearly a third of Pennsylvania gamblers are at risk of problem gambling − but few seek treatment
  Online gambling has become easier, faster and more prevalent on social media feeds and streaming platforms – which appeals to younger adults in particular.
• We designed an AI tutor that helps college students reason rather than give them answers
  A 2025 study shows that an AI-based tutor improves learning when it prompts reasoning and is paired with peer discussion.
• GLP-1 drugs may fight addiction across every major substance, according to a study of 600,000 people
  GLP-1 drugs are the first medication to show promise for treating addiction to a wide range of substances.
• Hezbollah − degraded, weakened but not yet disarmed − destabilizes Lebanon once again
  Hezbollah’s entry into the current war followed the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The group has long been aligned with the Islamic Republic.
• Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority
  At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress engaged in a breathtaking act of legislative assertion, affirming that lawmakers held the power to declare war – not the president.
• Housing First helps people find permanent homes in Detroit − but HUD plans to divert funds to short-term solutions
  Detroit’s homelessness response system could lose millions of dollars in federal funding for permanent supportive housing as the city’s homelessness rates increase.
• Trauma patients recover faster when medical teams know each other well, new study finds
  A new study from a Pittsburgh hospital finds that trauma patients recover faster when emergency medical teams have shared experience working together.
• When unpaid cooking, cleaning and child care get a dollar value, income inequality in the US shrinks – but the gap has grown since 1965
  Women’s unpaid work at home has declined much more than men’s contributions have increased.
• I study why zebrafish larva prefer to circle left or right, to understand how and why human brains encode right- and left-handedness
  Being left- or right-handed – and the paw, eye, fin and wing equivalents – is a product of genes, development and the environment.
• With Artemis II facing delays, NASA announces big structural changes to the lunar program
  Artemis II has been plagued by similar issues to those faced by its predecessor, leading NASA to shake up its plan to return humans to the Moon.
• AI and 3D printing help researchers create heat- and pressure-resistant materials for aerospace and defense applications
  AI models are designing new metal alloys that have been 3D-printed and tested in the lab. The results are then fed back into the AI to accelerate alloy discovery.
• Far from random, China’s global port network is clustering near the world’s riskiest trade routes
  A review of 133 countries’ ports found a correlation between investment from China and proximity to chokepoints.
• Front lines of humor: Dark humor voices Ukrainians’ hopes for victory
  Humor has served many functions since Russia’s full-scale invasion, from providing Ukrainians with a sense of escape and hope to spreading news.
• Brazilian jiu-jitsu is having its #MeToo moment
  With legend Andre Galvao accused of sexual misconduct, gyms and athletes have been forced to confront a culture of silence, hierarchy and gender blindness in the sport.
• CIA agents successfully executed a plan for regime change in Iran in 1953 – but Trump hasn’t revealed any signs of a plan
  A covert US campaign in the mid-20th century helped steer Iran toward the intense anti-American sentiment that has distinguished its government policy for decades.
• Public defender shortage is leading to hundreds of criminal cases being dismissed
  There are never enough lawyers to provide indigent defense, but the situation has gotten worse since the pandemic.
• Welcome to the ‘gray zone’ − home to nefarious international acts that fall short of outright conflict
  Nations are becoming adept at provocations that fall in the area between routine peacetime actions and open warfare.
• The inspiring and tragic story of Mabel Stark, America’s most famous female tiger trainer
  Long before Joe Exotic became Tiger King, Mabel Stark reigned as Tiger Queen.
• A Plan B for space? On the risks of concentrating national space power in private hands
  What does it mean for national security if access to Earth’s orbit depends largely on one company?
• Are heroes born or made? Role models and training can prepare ordinary people to take heroic action
  Heroes take a personal risk for the common good. Some people may just be born with the personality traits of a hero – but anyone can get ready to act heroically.
• Formerly incarcerated Black men say they’re ‘doing OK’ while trying to cope with depression and PTSD
  A nurse scientist interviewed 29 formerly incarcerated Black men in Philadelphia to understand how they address their mental health needs.
• Stressed out by politics? You’re not imagining it, and research shows that social media is largely to blame
  Political content on social media finds you even if you’re not looking for it, and it tends to do so through a sensationalized and emotionally charged lens.
• Iran’s targeting of airport, ports and hotels in reaction to US strikes has forced Gulf nations onto front lines of a war they want no part in
  Qatar, the UAE and other Gulf nations have spent years cultivating an image of being an oasis of stability in the Mideast. The current war risks undoing all that work.
• ‘Destruction is not the same as political success’: US bombing of Iran shows little evidence of endgame strategy
  As US bombing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have shown, destruction is not the same as political success.
• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing plays into Shiite Islam’s reverence for martyrs, but not for all Iranians
  Khamenei was a deeply polarizing figure in Iran – perceived by some as a martyr and others as an oppressor.
• The nation is missing millions of voters due to lack of rights for former felons
  At least 20 million Americans have served time. Most of them can’t or don’t vote, and that may distort some election outcomes, a political scientist argues.
• Free 10-minute online programs aimed at overcoming depression led to real improvements – new research
  No time for therapy? A new study shows you can learn key skills to challenge depression in 10 minutes.
• What decades of research reveal about involuntary substance use treatment – and why evidence points elsewhere
  Many cities are considering involuntary substance use treatment as a solution to drug use among the homeless. But research doesn’t support this strategy.
• Why are so many statues naked? An art historian explains this tradition’s ancient roots
  Nudity can express everything from innocence to sexual desire, from triumph to defeat.
• Failure of US-Iran talks was all too predictable — but turning to military strikes creates dangerous unknowns
  Silence from the US side after a third round of indirect talks and frustration expressed by President Donald Trump set the stage for military strikes.