Clarkson has partnered with The Conversation. Faculty experts can write about topics that they are the experts on and if your pitch (40-50 words) is chosen, you work with an editor and are published. Each day we receive expert requests. Here are today’s requests:
New Expert Requests:
1. Record bailout package: Congress is near the finish line of its $2 trillion stimulus package. But what’s in it? We’re looking for scholars from any discipline who can focus on individual pieces of this package to show how the bailout will affect their subject area or to analyze specific components. We’re especially interested in angles that aren’t being well covered in the news. Broader stories about the whole package are welcome too, but only if they offer something unique for readers.
Contact: Bryan Keogh, Business and Economics editor, bryan.keogh@theconversation.com and Naomi Schalit, Politics and Society editor, naomi.schalit@theconversation.com
Timeline: Today, March 25, through April 1
2. What does it mean to “recover” from the coronavirus, and why aren’t there any recovered cases in the US?: We’re looking for an epidemiologist or MD to talk about the biological aspects of recovering from the coronavirus – what does that mean, how long does it take, do we know rates yet? – as well as the technical/policy definition. While there have been cases of people recovering from the Coronavirus in the US, the “official” count is still 0. Why is that?
Contact: Daniel Merino, daniel.merino@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact by Friday, March 27
3. The news media, Trump and public health: The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a collision of public health priorities with politics — a president who is campaigning for re-election and aggressively trying to project an image of …. something. What is the news media’s responsibility in this kind of situation? The Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics boils down to this message: Seek truth and report it, minimize harm. Given the potential harm of spreading bad information, does journalism’s role change now? Or not?
Contact: Naomi Schalit, naomi.schalit@theconversation.com
Timeline: ASAP for phone discussion; story deadline negotiable
4. Governors take the helm: During the coronavirus crisis, governors have exercised leadership, taken charge and instituted major policies for dealing with the danger to their citizens. NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo is one face of that response, but there are others — Ohio’s DeWine, California’s Newsom. We’d like a scholar to examine the power that governors have — particularly in contrast to the power the president has — and perhaps review other times when governors have responded to major crises and catastrophes.
Contact: Naomi Schalit, naomi.schalit@theconversation.com
Timeline: ASAP for phone discussion; story deadline negotiable
5. Leadership in a time of crisis: Reports from India show high praise for Prime Minister Modi for taking prompt action on the spread of coronavirus. We are looking for experts to use this an entry point to write about what leadership means at the time of this crisis.
Contact: Kalpana Jain, kalpana.jain@theconversation.com
Timeline: ASAP for phone discussion
6. Body temp at 98.6: With fever on everyone’s minds we’d like to publish a wrapup explainer on normal human body temperature. Where does that heat come from? Why is a fever a way to fight infection? How did medical science coalesce around 98.6F as “normal” when there’s really much more of a range across the population? We’d also like to wrap in the recent finding that normal body temperature has decreased over the past century. Looking for a physiology/medical expert who’s up on all things body temp to explain.
Contact: Maggie Villiger, maggie.villiger@theconversation.com
Timeline: Contact with author by Monday, March 30
7. What makes the wind?: This is for our Curious Kids series, in which children ask questions that we all may wonder about. We’re looking for a scholar who can, in a simple and engaging way, clarify where wind comes from. While there are all kinds of wind – hot, cold, puffs, howling gales, the Trades – where does it come from and how does it begin? Why does it stop? How do we sense wind even if it is invisible? A short and “breezy” draft of 450 words is the goal.
Contact: Jackleen de La Harpe, jackleen.delaharpe@theconversation.com
Timeline: Flexible
8. What is a brain freeze?: This is for our Curious Kids series, in which children ask questions that we all may wonder about. We’re looking for a scholar who can, in a simple and engaging way, clarify why people can get a headache when eating or drinking something icy cold. An “ice cream headache” may help someone to stop eating so quickly, but why? What is the science behind a brain freeze? Does it happen only in the summer? Is it dangerous? Why do some people get them and others don’t? A short and engaging draft of 450 words is the goal.
Contact: Jackleen de La Harpe, jackleen.delaharpe@theconversation.com
Timeline: Flexible
9. What makes something smell good or bad?: This is for our Curious Kids series, in which children ask questions that we all may wonder about. We’re looking for a scholar who can, in a simple and engaging way, clarify why something smells good or bad. Why does freshly mown hay smell “good” but diesel exhaust smells “bad”? How do we know the difference, scientifically speaking? A short and engaging draft of 450 words is the goal to explain how our brain tells us to like one smell but not another and how our bodies respond.
Contact: Jackleen de La Harpe, jackleen.delaharpe@theconversation.com
Timeline: Flexible
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