The Conversation Daily — August 13, 2026
10 stories · August 13, 2026
In this issue
- 1
Ancient forests took 100,000 years to recover from the last global warming period similar to today – Wyoming fossils reveal what happened
theconversation.com · Regan E. Dunn, Associate Curator at La Brea Tar Pits and Museum; Adjunct Professor of Earth Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Fifty-six million years ago, Earth’s forests reached a tipping point. They had grown dense, lush canopies at the start of one of Earth’s most intense episodes of greenhouse warming. But those canopies…
- 2
Controlling wild pigs can work if it’s a group effort
theconversation.com · Chris Boyer, Professor and Department Head, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee · Aaron Smith, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee · Eunchun Park, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas
Feral swine are found in at least 35 states in the U.S. CRobertson/iStock/Getty Images Plus The federal government is injecting millions of dollars into efforts to combat feral hogs – and it’s…
- 3
Teens are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support – here’s how to keep kids safe
theconversation.com · Phoebe S. Moore, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School · Megan Kelly, Professor of Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School · Yael Dvir, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School
Chatbots were designed to emulate empathy, but not to provide meaningful mental health support. Chebotkevich/iStock via Getty Images Plus It’s 2 a.m., and a teenage girl, worrying about a friend…
- 4
Wildfire-damaged historic buildings may not be as ruined as they appear, but saving them means acting fast
theconversation.com · Rebecca Napolitano, Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State · Giorgia Giardina, Associate Professor of Geo-Monitoring and Data Analytics, Delft University of Technology · Tiago Miguel Ferreira, Assistant Professor in Structural Mechanics and Structures, Universidade de Lisboa
Fires burned across Spain in summer 2026. Acting quickly to shore up old stone walls when buildings burn can help preserve a region's history. Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images In a summer of wildfires…
- 5
‘Hello, just circling back!’ Not responding to emails is common across higher education but bad for morale
theconversation.com · Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
No one likes sending an email and never receiving a response, but it's not uncommon. Lightcome/iStock/Getty Images Plus As a challenging academic year drew to a close in May 2026, I sent an email to…
- 6
Exploring the Moon will require rovers that can think for themselves – an upcoming NASA mission will test whether they can
theconversation.com · Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, Ph.D. Candidate in Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida
NASA is planning to send three small rovers to the Moon with a single instruction: Work out among yourselves how to explore a patch of ground. The Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic…
- 7
An AI agent spent your money – can anyone prove you authorized it?
theconversation.com · Aashis Luitel, Associate Teaching Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of the Cumberlands
What happens if your bot buys something you didn't tell it to? mevans/E+ via Getty Images You tell an artificial intelligence agent, an AI capable of autonomous reasoning and multistep actions, “Find…
- 8
Should you wash your prewashed lettuce? An infectious disease expert explains how to eat your greens safely during the cyclospora outbreak
theconversation.com · Lisa Cuchara, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University
Prewashed greens are extremely convenient, but whole heads of lettuce may be less risky during a cyclospora outbreak. CostaPPPR via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Salads – along with other fresh produce…
- 9
Better guacamole? How avocado import rules helped cut Mexico’s water pollution – it holds lessons for future US trade deals
theconversation.com · Jayash Paudel, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma
Growing avocados can contribute to water pollution, but there are ways to reduce the harm. Estúdio Bloom/Unsplash, CC BY At picnics and World Cup watch parties across the United States this summer,…
- 10
As AI reshapes newsrooms, leading media outlets are charting different paths for its use
theconversation.com · Erik P. Bucy, Regents Professor of Strategic Communication, Texas Tech University · Milad Jalalian Ebrahimi, Researcher, Texas Tech University
The BBC has taken a cautious approach to AI, using the technology for specific, low-risk tasks. Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images A labor dispute erupted at The Guardian’s London headquarters in…