Severe mental illness burdens families, taxes the criminal justice and leads to shortened lives. Yet we continue to turn our backs on this huge problem, says Jane Costello, professor in the psychiatry department at the Duke University School of Medicine.

Education is much more than job training, says English professor Priscilla Wald. It’s essential to forming citizens of a democracy.

We spend millions of dollars on healthcare, especially at the end of life. In this latest episode of Glad You Asked, Dan Ariely asks what we are giving up in return. Dan Ariely is James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University.

Our next president needs to ensure corporations play by the rules, without stifling innovation, says Aaron Chatterji. Chatterji is an associate professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

Voter disaffection with U.S. party elites is as old as the two-party system itself, says Reeve Huston. Huston is an associate professor of history at Duke.

As the National Park Service prepares to turn 100 in August, our national parks represent a treasure that needs attention, says Stuart Pimm. Pimm is a professor of conservation ecology at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. He helped establish the new Park Institute of America, an independent nonprofit located at Duke that is dedicated to protecting America's national parks.

Most diseases that are killing Americans are preventable, says Gary Bennett. We’d save lives and dollars if we spent more on prevention and less on medical fixes.

At both ends of the political spectrum, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are attracting millions of voters who feel excluded from the political process. Such large numbers of disaffected voters are a bad sign not just for the major parties, but for the state of our democracy, says Charlie Dunlap, retired U.S. Air Force Major General and a professor of the practice at Duke Law School.

Police shootings nationwide have helped put local politics back in the spotlight, says Mark Anthony Neal. Neal is professor of African and African American Studies and English at Duke.

National service programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps offer big rewards at a bargain price, says Eric Mlyn. Mlyn is assistant vice provost for civic engagement at Duke University and director of the DukeEngage program.

Climate change, failing infrastructure and growing inequality add up to a perfect storm for the nation’s poor, says Megan Mullin. Mullin is an associate professor of environmental politics at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

By saying things in public that are more often uttered in private, Donald Trump is expressing “America’s political unconscious,” says Joseph Winters. Winters is an assistant professor of religion and African and African American studies at Duke.

Biological agents can be “cheap weapons for those who want to do us harm,” says Dr. Christopher Woods of the Duke Global Health Institute. But protecting ourselves against natural and manmade biological threats will take greater investment, he says. 

Our piecemeal coastal policies are failing us, says Martin Smith. Smith is professor of environmental economics at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

We’re losing the “war on drugs” and the price is costly both at home and in Latin America, says Robin Kirk. Kirk is co-director of the Duke Human Rights Center.

Politicians love to say the word “infrastructure,” says Henry Petroski. But turning words into action is a different matter.

Inequality is even starker among American families with children, says Christina Gibson-Davis. Gibson Davis is an associate professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy and a faculty fellow with the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.

“It’s very expensive to be poor in contemporary America,” says Luke Bretherton, professor of theological ethics at Duke Divinity School. One reason? Usury, an ancient word for the current practice of charging exorbitant interest rates.

Nuclear power may appear clean, but the potential risks are chilling, says William Schlesinger, dean emeritus of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

The 24-hour economy means erratic, last-minute work schedules, says Anna Gassman-Pines. She says the unpredictability is wreaking havoc on workers and their families.

Gavin Yamey says Ebola exposed just how weak the international public health system is. We’re not ready for the next pandemic, he says.

Presidential candidates should address police brutality and the need to reform policing practices in the U.S., says Jasmine Cobb. Cobb is an assistant professor of African and African American Studies and Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University.

The lack of a coherent long-term care policy for seniors is one of our country's most pressing health care issues, says Don Taylor, a professor in Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy.

Rising sea levels are just one way climate change is reshaping the world's oceans, says Susan Lozier. Lozier, an oceanographer, teaches at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and leads an international panel studying the effects of climate change in the North Atlantic.

Climate change debates often center on the future. But our dirty environment carries a heavy price tag right now, says Drew Shindell, a physicist and professor of climate sciences at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.

Overcoming the deep partisan divide in U.S. politics will take more than platitudes, says Peter Ubel. Ubel is a professor of business, public policy and medicine at Duke University.

Dorie Clark says she wishes political candidates would discuss factory farming and animal welfare. Clark is an adjunct professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.