The Conversation Daily — June 14, 2026
10 stories · June 14, 2026
In this issue
- 1
We analyzed paper money printed by Ben Franklin to uncover his anti‑counterfeiting techniques and materials innovations
theconversation.com · Khachatur Manukyan, Associate Research Professor of Physics & Astronomy, University of Notre Dame
Ben Franklin played a key role in America's founding, which included helping to design its paper currency. Kristina Davis Benjamin Franklin understood something fundamental about money that still…
- 2
Philadelphia plans to close 17 neighborhood public schools – here’s what went wrong when it shuttered 30 schools in 2013
theconversation.com · Julia McWilliams, Co-Director of the Urban Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania
The former Anna Howard Shaw Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia became Hardy Williams Elementary, a K-6 charter school, in 2015. Julio C. Vega, CC BY-NC-SA The Philadelphia School Board voted in…
- 3
Eroding a virtue: AI trains people to expect instant answers – and that’s bad news for patience
theconversation.com · Christian B. Miller, Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University
Have you found yourself drumming your fingers in impatience more lately? Connect Images via Getty Images When I was growing up, teachers would assign research papers that required going to the…
- 4
PFAS in ski wax: Despite bans, these forever chemicals linger in wax rooms, study shows – so does their health risk
theconversation.com · Kathryn Crawford, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Middlebury College
Despite bans, PFAS from old wax dust can still be found in wax rooms. Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images For more than 30 years, manufacturers of ski and snowboard waxes used PFAS…
- 5
How ‘monoculture’ became a catchall for two opposing anxieties – that we no longer share enough, and that we all share too much
theconversation.com · Maria A. Rodas, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Have algorithms and AI flattened popular culture the way industrial farming flattened the prairie? alffoto/iStock via Getty Images Plus When “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” aired its final…
- 6
Most Americans broadly support public education for undocumented students – regardless of their political affiliation and religion
theconversation.com · William McCorkle, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education, College of Charleston · E. Kyle Romero, Assistant Professor of History, University of North Florida · Lina-Maria Murillo, Associate Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin
An undocumented Honduran immigrant walks her child to a school bus stop in November 2025 at an unspecified location in the U.S. John Moore/Getty Images All public schools in the U.S. must provide an…
- 7
A lot of ‘recycled’ plastic is being burned overseas – and causing widespread pollution linked to health problems
theconversation.com · Ellen M. Considine, Assistant Professor of Geography and Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder
Workers prepare to burn imported plastic waste at a dump in East Java, Indonesia, in 2018. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images Picture a pile of trash the size of Manhattan and taller than one and a half…
- 8
Breakthrough drug nearly doubles survival with advanced pancreatic cancer – an oncologist explains how daraxonrasib overcame an ‘undruggable’ disease
theconversation.com · Christopher Lieu, Professor of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado Anschutz
Pancreatic cancer has been notoriously difficult to treat. Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images For a long time, the likelihood of surviving pancreatic cancer has been extremely…
- 9
Powerful AI is making facial recognition better at identifying you
theconversation.com · Vijayan Asari, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton
Palestinian workers cross into Israel at gates that use facial recognition. AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner If you are fortunate enough to have a ticket to an event at Madison Square Garden in New York –…
- 10
TMZ descends on Washington in a test of whether tabloid tactics can serve the public interest
theconversation.com · Angelica Kalika, Assistant Teaching Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado Boulder
Will the Hollywood gossip outlet be able to hold those in power to account? Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images Headlines on sex, drugs, sports and divorce always attract eyeballs. In fact, the entire…