Rachel Paine Caufield and Kieran Williams, co-chairs of the Department of Political Science, and Mary McCarthy, professor of political science all published articles on the website The Conversation in January 2023. Prof. Caufield explained why it was so hard to get Kevin McCarthy elected as the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and why that mattered. Prof. Williams marked the 30th anniversary of the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia and explained why other attempts to divide counties, such as the United Kingdom, would not be such easy “velvet divorces.”  Prof. McCarthy discussed the importance of an upcoming meeting between President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The Conversation partners with universities such as Drake to bring academic expertise to bear on current events.