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The Conversation

Archaeology
Dismantling the Myth that Ancient Slavery "Wasn't that Bad"

Dismantling the Myth that Ancient Slavery “Wasn’t that Bad”

The Conversation

By Chance Bonar, Tufts University | – As someone who researches slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially in the Bible, I often hear remarks like, “Slavery was totally different back then, right?” “Well, it couldn’t have been that bad.” “Couldn’t slaves buy their freedom?” Most people in the United States or Europe in the […]

African-Americans
‘Knowledge of self’: How a key Phrase from Islam became a Pillar of Hip-Hop

‘Knowledge of self’: How a key Phrase from Islam became a Pillar of Hip-Hop

The Conversation

By Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, University of Michigan | – (The Conversation) – I was 9 years old when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” dropped. I have vivid memories of the bass-laden track booming out of car stereos and hearing it on Black radio, like Kiss FM’s top eight at 8 p.m. countdown. On […]

Constitution
How the Prosecutors will Build the case that Trump Knowingly Lied and Intentionally Broke the Law

How the Prosecutors will Build the case that Trump Knowingly Lied and Intentionally Broke the Law

The Conversation

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Harvard University | – What was Donald Trump thinking when he set about trying to maintain the presidency after losing it to Joe Biden? That’s the key question a jury will need to consider in Trump’s federal trial on charges announced Aug. 1, 2023, stemming from Trump’s attempts to overthrow the […]

Climate Crisis
Science shows the severe Climate Consequences of new Oil, Gas and Coal Production

Science shows the severe Climate Consequences of new Oil, Gas and Coal Production

The Conversation

By Ed Hawkins, University of Reading | – The world has just suffered through its warmest month ever recorded. Heatwaves have swept across southern Europe, the US and China, breaking many temperature records in the process. Climate scientists have been sounding the alarm for decades that this type of event will become more frequent as […]

Climate Change
The Other Threat of Massive Climate Change:  Nuclear War

The Other Threat of Massive Climate Change: Nuclear War

The Conversation

By Mark Maslin, UCL | – Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer has revived morbid curiosity in the destructive power of nuclear weapons. There are now an estimated 12,512 nuclear warheads. A war in which even a fraction of these bombs were detonated would create blast waves and fires capable of killing millions of […]

Bangladesh
Climate Crisis: Bangladesh is Undertaking the World's Largest Resettlement Program

Climate Crisis: Bangladesh is Undertaking the World’s Largest Resettlement Program

The Conversation

By Atmaja Gohain Baruah, King’s College London | – Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate extremes. The nation’s topography lays its citizens bare to cyclones, flash floods, erosion and drought – not to mention the significant socio-economic impact these bring. Agricultural economist GM Monirul Alam showed, in a 2017 study, that with more than 230 […]

Africa
Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a Water Deal – what that means for other Nile River States

Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a Water Deal – what that means for other Nile River States

The Conversation

By John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University | – Egypt and Ethiopia have waged a diplomatic war of words over Ethiopia’s massive new dam – the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – on the Blue Nile, which started filling up in July 2020. The political row has threatened to get out of hand on occasion but […]

Christianity
Sinead O'Connor's Music and Life were infused with Spiritual Seeking, From the Hebrew Prophets, to Rasta, to Islam

Sinead O’Connor’s Music and Life were infused with Spiritual Seeking, From the Hebrew Prophets, to Rasta, to Islam

The Conversation

By Brenna Moore, Fordham University | – When news broke July 26, 2023, that the gifted Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died, stories of her most famous performance circulated amid the grief and shock. Thirty-one years ago, after a haunting rendition of Bob Marley’s song “War,” O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul […]

Israel/ Palestine
Is Washington invested in Israeli Apartheid toward Palestinians?

Is Washington invested in Israeli Apartheid toward Palestinians?

The Conversation

By M. Muhannad Ayyash, Mount Royal University | – During his recent trip to the United States, Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave a speech before the United States Congress. Mainstream media coverage of his speech has focused on two points: the unbreakable “sacred” bond between Israel and the U.S., and the idea that calling Israel […]

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