The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics and edited by journalists for the general public. On a mission “to promote truthful information and strengthen journalism by unlocking the rich diversity of academic research for audiences across America,” The Conversation publishes short articles by academics on timely topics related to their research. CU Boulder provides funding as a member of The Conversation U.S. Learn more about the partnership and how and why to write for The Conversation.

 

a large menorah in front of a Christmas tree at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany

Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically—but the same is true of Christmas

Dec. 5, 2023

Assimilation no doubt played a role in making Hanukkah the commercialized holiday it is today. But other factors shaped the modern festival, too, says CU expert Samira Mehta. Read more on The Conversation.

Moon

Scientists suspect there’s ice hiding on the moon

Nov. 15, 2023

Some dark craters on the moon are never exposed to light—ice could be hiding in these permanently shadowed regions, and a host of missions from the U.S. and beyond are searching for it. Read from CU expert Paul Hayne on The Conversation.

Close-up of the head of a yellowspot rabbitfish with orange spots and purple skin

How animals get their skin patterns is a matter of physics

Nov. 8, 2023

Understanding how animals’ intricate spots and stripes form can help scientists mimic those processes in the lab, potentially improving medical diagnostics and synthetic materials in the future. Read from CU expert Ankur Gupta on The Conversation.

1923 Renaissance basketball team, New York City

A century ago, a Black-owned team ruled basketball

Nov. 2, 2023

In 1923, one of the top professional basketball franchises began play in Harlem, challenging the dominance of white sports. Today there are no Black majority owners in any of the four major North American sports leagues. Read from CU expert Jared Bahir Browsh on The Conversation.

illustration of particle physics

New technique uses near-miss particle physics to peer into quantum world

Oct. 17, 2023

CU Boulder’s Dennis Perepelitsa and colleagues have developed a new method for measuring how fast the tau particle wobbles, unlocking an entirely new way to study quantum physics. Read more on The Conversation.

Rocky Mountain forests

The future of wildfires in the West

Oct. 17, 2023

What do the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020—and 2,500 years of forest history—tell us about the future of wildfires in the West? Read from CU expert Kyra Clark-Wolf on The Conversation.

Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system launches interceptor missiles

How Hamas got around Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system

Oct. 13, 2023

How did so many Hamas missiles penetrate Israel’s state-of-the-art air defense system? CU Boulder aerospace engineer Iain Boyd explains on The Conversation.

The top of an outdoor structure called a sukkah, made of palm fonds, tree branches and reeds

On Jewish ‘festival of booths,’ each sukkah is as unique as the person who builds it

Sept. 27, 2023

There are myriad ways to be Jewish, and home-based holidays such as Sukkot help Jewish families honor all the parts of their identities. Read from CU expert Samira Mehta on The Conversation.

U.S. court documents

Trump’s classified-documents indictment does more than allege crimes

Aug. 23, 2023

Prosecutors could have composed a technocratic document intelligible only to other criminal law insiders when indicting Donald Trump in the documents case; they did much more. Read from CU law expert Derek Kiernan-Johnson on The Conversation.

Pedestrians walking

Ever-larger cars, trucks causing safety crisis—here’s how communities can fight back

Aug. 2, 2023

Deadly traffic incidents have declined in most developed countries in recent years, but in the U.S., both motor vehicle and pedestrian fatalities are becoming more common. Read more from Professor Kevin Krizek on The Conversation.

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