“Sex sells” has been a mantra in marketing for decades. But in the world of digital influencers being too attractive can actually backfire, particularly in the fitness space.
The Conversation
The beauty backfire effect: Being too attractive can hurt fitness influencers, new research shows
Pretty isn’t always profitable.
Puerto Rican Muslims are sometimes told they're "not real Puerto Ricans" because of their faith. A religion scholar explores how, like Bad Bunny, they remix what it means to be Boricua in the face of colonialism and marginalization.
The Conversation
Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican Muslims: How both remix what it means to be Boricua
Like Bad Bunny’s music, Puerto Rican Muslims’ lives challenge ideas about race, religion and belonging in the Americas.
A new U.S. global health strategy prioritizes preventing mother-to-child #HIV transmission but excludes prevention and care for key vulnerable populations—sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men and others—who account for 55% of new infections worldwide.
The Conversation
HIV knows no borders, and the Trump administration’s new strategy leave Americans vulnerable – an HIV-prevention expert explains
The America First Global Health Strategy aims to secure US interests but may instead undermine it by design.
Banks that catch fraudsters see customers stay loyal even after being victimized. But when they refund a customer without identifying the culprit, and they're 40% more likely to leave. A marketing professor explains why:
The Conversation
Customers can become more loyal if their banks solve fraud cases, researchers find
These findings support a paradox: When a business handles a problem well, its customers can become more loyal than if no problem had occurred.
If New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s promise of free universal child care becomes reality, NYC families could see up to $1.9 billion in extra disposable income, explains a scholar who studies child care.
The Conversation
Zohran Mamdani’s transformative child care plan builds on a history of NYC social innovations
Mamdani’s child care plans could set an example for other policymakers to follow, as Democratic and Republican voters say child care costs are a ...
The Trump administration gave ICE access to Medicaid recipient data in June. Most people shrugged. That's because decades of #privacy violations have conditioned Americans to believe surveillance is inevitable and resistance is futile, according to data and technology scholars.
The Conversation
Why people don’t demand data privacy – even as governments and corporations collect more personal information
How people talk about data privacy can overcome – or reinforce – their skepticism that things can change.
Soviet scientists and American researchers met in Armenia in 1971 to plan a joint hunt for extraterrestrial life — an improbable Cold War alliance that historians liken to a “Noah’s Ark” of science diplomacy.
The Conversation
SETI’s ‘Noah’s Ark’ – a space historian explores how the advent of radio astronomy led to the USSR’s search for extraterrestrial life
Radio astronomy opened up the universe for scientists. They could map new elements across galaxies and also search for signals from extraterrestria...
Producing a pound of beef requires roughly 1,800 gallons of water compared with 500 gallons for chicken. Even modest shifts in your diet could significantly reduce the water needed to grow your food.
The Conversation
2 ways you can conserve the water used to make your food
Consumer choices about what to eat and how much of it can affect how much water farmers need to use.
PragerU, a conservative media company with millions of followers, moved beyond producing videos into teacher licensing by creating an exam designed to screen out "woke" teachers in Oklahoma. The company's influence over who can teach is expanding.
The Conversation
Oklahoma tried out a test to ‘woke-proof’ the classroom. It was short-lived, but could still leave a mark
Oklahoma announced in October 2025 it would no longer assess out-of-state teachers with a controversial test developed by a conservative media comp...
Cities are exploring ways to attract and retain teachers with affordable housing built specifically for public school teachers and staff.
The Conversation
America’s teachers are being priced out of their communities − these cities are building subsidized housing to lure them back
With teacher shortages mounting and housing costs soaring, school districts from California to Ohio are experimenting with a new solution: building...