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How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns

  • Written by Lindsay DiCuirci, Associate Professor of English, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
imageA majority of Americans believe that hell exists.Hayden Schiff from Cincinnati, USA via Wikimedia Commons., CC BY

Between Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, drivers pass a billboard on Interstate 71 that has achieved some internet fame.

Since 2004, a black sign has risen from this flat stretch of highway declaring “HELL IS REAL.” The H in...

Read more: How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns

US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows

  • Written by Paul Lushenko, Assistant Professor and Director of Special Operations, US Army War College
imageA U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone flies in the skies above Nevada.U.S. Air Force photo/Haley Stevens

Are drone strikes legitimate, meaning on sound moral and legal footing? How people perceive the legitimacy of U.S. drone strikes – firing missiles from remotely piloted aircraft at terrorist and insurgent leaders – is central to whether and how...

Read more: US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows

Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of bullying, fighting and other misbehavior

  • Written by F. Chris Curran, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Florida
imageSchools have reported increases in student misbehavior in recent years. DGLimages/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Florida updated its school safety dashboard in April 2024, and it is now one of the most comprehensive in the nation. F. Chris Curran is an education policy professor at the University of Florida who partnered with Safe Schools for Alex, a...

Read more: Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of bullying,...

What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation

  • Written by Matthew Wynn Sivils, Professor of American Literature, Iowa State University
image'The Travellers’ Tour Through the United States' is the earliest known board game to depict a map of North America.Library of Congress

In 2023 alone, the board game industry topped US$16.8 billion and is projected to reach $40.1 billion by 2032.

Classics like “Scrabble” are being refreshed and transformed, while newer inventions...

Read more: What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation

Could Biden stop Netanyahu’s plans? A national security expert looks at Israel’s attack on Rafah

  • Written by Gregory F. Treverton, Professor of Practice in International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imagePalestinians crowd a street as smoke billows from Israeli strikes in Rafah on May 7, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Israel entered Rafah, a city that marks Gaza’s southern border crossing with Egypt, on May 7, 2024, launching a military offensive that the U.S. and others have cautioned Israel not to pursue.

President Joe Biden warned Israeli...

Read more: Could Biden stop Netanyahu’s plans? A national security expert looks at Israel’s attack on Rafah

War games risk stirring up troubled waters as Philippines − emboldened by US − squares up to Beijing at sea

  • Written by Fred H. Lawson, Professor of Government Emeritus, Northeastern University
imagePhilippine troops watch as a missile hits a target during a live-fire joint U.S.-Philippines exercise.Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

U.S. Marines joined Filipino counterparts on May 5, 2024, for a mock battle at a telling location: a small, remote territory just 100 miles off the southern tip of the contested island of Taiwan.

The combat drill is part of...

Read more: War games risk stirring up troubled waters as Philippines − emboldened by US − squares up to...

As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here’s how communities can become ‘sponge cities’

  • Written by Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University
imageWater runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

“When it rains, it pours” once was a metaphor for bad things happening in clusters. Now it’s becoming a statement of fact about rainfall in a changing climate.

Across the...

Read more: As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here’s how communities can become ‘sponge cities’

How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false

  • Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Research Professor of Social Psychology, Louisiana State University
imageConspiracy theories can muddle people's thinking.Natalie_/iStock / Getty Images Plus

Conspiracy theories are everywhere, and they can involve just about anything.

People believe false conspiracy theories for a wide range of reasons – including the fact that there are real conspiracies, like efforts by the Sackler family to profit by concealing...

Read more: How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false

Future pandemics will have the same human causes as ancient outbreaks − lessons from anthropology can help prevent them

  • Written by Ron Barrett, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College
imageThe changes that came with the transition from foraging to farming paved the way for disease.Nastasic/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

The last pandemic was bad, but COVID-19 is only one of many infectious diseases that emerged since the turn of this century.

Since 2000, the world has experienced 15 novel Ebola epidemics, the global spread of...

Read more: Future pandemics will have the same human causes as ancient outbreaks − lessons from anthropology...

Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, and screening could save many lives − if more people could access it

  • Written by Nina Thomas, Assistant Professor of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageLung cancer screening can save lives, but it isn't accessible to everyone at risk of developing the disease.sudok1/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Many medical organizations have beenrecommending lungcancer screening for decades for those at high risk of developing the disease.

But in 2022, less than 6% of people in the U.S. eligible for screening...

Read more: Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, and screening could save many lives − if more people...

More Articles ...

  1. Voting in unconstitutional districts: US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first
  2. Homeschooled kids face unique college challenges − here are 3 ways they can be overcome
  3. Artists created images of Christ that focused not on historical accuracy but on reflecting different communities − a scholar of religious history explains
  4. 3 reasons the UAW is having success in organizing Southern workers – with two Mercedes plants in Alabama the next face-off
  5. Palestinian writers have long explored the horrors of amputation
  6. Venus is losing water faster than previously thought – here’s what that could mean for the early planet’s habitability
  7. Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds − even with programs designed to benefit poor communities
  8. Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now
  9. Paying caregivers more could boost Nebraska’s economy − new research
  10. Unlicensed teachers now dominate new teacher hires in rural Texas schools
  11. The number of religious ‘nones’ has soared, but not the number of atheists – and as social scientists, we wanted to know why
  12. ‘Hidden mother’ photos don’t erase moms − rather, they reveal the labor and love that support the child
  13. I analyzed 3,356 signs to see how language use is changing in three Latino neighborhoods in Philly
  14. What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see
  15. Houston’s flood problems offer lessons for cities trying to adapt to a changing climate
  16. Media coverage of campus protests tends to focus on the spectacle, rather than the substance
  17. What’s in a VIN? How to decode the vehicle identification number, your car’s unique fingerprint
  18. A look inside the cyberwar between Israel and Hamas reveals the civilian toll
  19. Animal behavior research is getting better at keeping observer bias from sneaking in – but there’s still room to improve
  20. Supporting ‘democracy’ is hard for many who feel government and the economy are failing them
  21. On its 125th anniversary, W.E.B. Du Bois’ ‘The Philadelphia Negro’ offers lasting lessons on gentrification in Philly’s historically Black neighborhoods
  22. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at 200: Revolutionary work of art has spawned two centuries of joy, goodwill and propaganda
  23. Boeing’s Starliner launch – delayed again – will be an important milestone for commercial spaceflight
  24. Healthy teeth are wondrous and priceless – a dentist explains why and how best to protect them
  25. High interest rates aren’t going away anytime soon – a business economist explains why
  26. Why universities turn to the police to end student protests − and why that can spiral out of control
  27. Power outages linked to heat and storms are rising, and low-income communities are most at risk – NYC maps show the impact
  28. Mexico emerges as a destination for Americans seeking reproductive health services – not for the first time
  29. What the Supreme Court is doing right in considering Trump’s immunity case
  30. Brain cancer in children is notoriously hard to treat – a new mRNA cancer vaccine triggers an attack from within
  31. To reduce Black-on-Black crime, two criminal justice experts explain why offering monthly stipends to people at risk makes sense
  32. The biblical character who goes ‘down the rabbit hole’ into an alternate reality − just like Alice in Wonderland
  33. Hate crimes laws passed in Washington have been remarkably ineffective in protecting LGBTQ people for decades
  34. For the ancient Maya, cracked mirrors were a path to the world beyond
  35. Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop
  36. Climbers have turned Mount Everest into a high-altitude garbage dump, but sustainable solutions are within reach
  37. Electric air taxis are on the way – quiet eVTOLs may be flying passengers as early as 2025
  38. The power of touch is vital for both reading and writing
  39. New EPA regulations target air, water, land and climate pollution from power plants, especially those that burn coal
  40. Gen Zers and millennials are still big fans of books – even if they don’t call themselves ‘readers’
  41. Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning
  42. ‘It’s a deep emotional ride’ – 12 young people in Philly’s toughest neighborhoods explain how violence disrupts their physical and mental health
  43. ‘What is a fact?’ A humanities class prepares STEM students to be better scientists
  44. Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations
  45. Electric vehicles are usually safer for their occupants – but not necessarily for everyone else
  46. US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed
  47. How famines are formed: In Gaza and elsewhere, an underlying pattern that can lead to hunger and death
  48. International prosecution of Israeli or Hamas leaders wouldn’t bring quick justice − and even bringing them to court will be difficult
  49. Teens see social media algorithms as accurate reflections of themselves, study finds
  50. Greater Detroit is becoming more diverse and less segregated – but Asians and Hispanics increasingly live in their own neighborhoods