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Chinese barges and Taiwan Strait drills are about global power projection − not just a potential invasion

  • Written by Colin Flint, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Utah State University
imageA Mulberry Harbour for the 21st century.Image from video posted on Weibo via Chinese state media.

Is China intent on a D-Day style invasion of Taiwan?

Certainly that has been the tone of some of the reporting following the emergence of photosand videos depicting massive new Chinese barges designed for land-to-sea military operations. The fact that...

Read more: Chinese barges and Taiwan Strait drills are about global power projection − not just a potential...

Feeling FOMO for something that’s not even fun? It’s not the event you’re missing, it’s the bonding

  • Written by Jacqueline Rifkin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Cornell University
imageThey had so much fun without me.Milko/E+ via Getty Images

Imagine you’ve planned the trip of a lifetime for your animal-loving family: a cruise to Antarctica with the unique opportunity to view penguins, whales and other rare wildlife. Your adventure-loving kids can kayak through fjords, plunge into icy water and camp under the Antarctic sky.

B...

Read more: Feeling FOMO for something that’s not even fun? It’s not the event you’re missing, it’s the bonding

23andMe is potentially selling more than just genetic data – the personal survey info it collected is just as much a privacy problem

  • Written by Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan
imageFor companies like 23andMe, consumers are as much the product as the DNA test kits.Veronika Oliinyk/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As soon as the genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy on March 23, 2025, concerns about what would happen to the personal information contained in its massive genetic and health information database were...

Read more: 23andMe is potentially selling more than just genetic data – the personal survey info it collected...

Research shows that a majority of Christian religious leaders accept the reality of climate change but have never mentioned it to their congregations

  • Written by Stylianos Syropoulos, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
imageA multi-faith assembly of religious leaders and lay people in Manhattan in 2023 protest investments in fossil fuel.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

Nearly 90% of U.S. Christian religious leaders believe humans are driving climate change. When churchgoers learn how widespread this belief is, they report taking steps to reduce its effects,...

Read more: Research shows that a majority of Christian religious leaders accept the reality of climate change...

The never-ending sentence: How parole and probation fuel mass incarceration

  • Written by Lucius Couloute, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Trinity College

The U.S. operates one of the largest and most punitive criminal justice systems in the world. On any given day, 1.9 million people are incarcerated in more than 6,000 federal, state and local facilities. Another 3.7 million remain under what scholars call “correctional control” through probation or parole supervision.

That means one...

Read more: The never-ending sentence: How parole and probation fuel mass incarceration

In Israel, calls for genocide have migrated from the margins to the mainstream

  • Written by Tamir Sorek, Liberal Arts Professor of Middle East History, Penn State
imageA Palestinian woman cries while sitting on the rubble of her home, which was destroyed in an Israeli strike on March 18, 2025.Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

Thirty years ago in Israel, advocating for genocide could land you in prison.

In April 1994, an Israeli rabbi named Ido Alba published an article that read, in part, “In war, as long as...

Read more: In Israel, calls for genocide have migrated from the margins to the mainstream

With its executive order targeting the Smithsonian, the Trump administration opens up a new front in the history wars

  • Written by Jennifer Tucker, Professor of History, Wesleyan University
imageA portrait of President Donald Trump in the 'America’s Presidents' exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery.Win McNamee/Getty Images

I teach history in Connecticut, but I grew up in Oklahoma and Kansas, where my interest in the subject was sparked by visits to local museums.

I fondly remember trips to the Fellow-Ree...

Read more: With its executive order targeting the Smithsonian, the Trump administration opens up a new front...

Christian Zionism hasn’t always been a conservative evangelical creed – churches’ views of Israel have evolved over decades

  • Written by Shalom Goldman, Professor of Religion, Middlebury
imageParticipants in a 'United for Israel' march, led by The Pursuit NW Christian Church, stand on the University of Washington's campus in May 2024.Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

During confirmation hearings, Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Israel, told senators that he would “respect and represent the...

Read more: Christian Zionism hasn’t always been a conservative evangelical creed – churches’ views of Israel...

Schools and communities can help children bounce back after distressing disasters like the LA wildfires

  • Written by Rita V. Burke, Associate Professor of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California

The 2025 Los Angeles wildfires reduced more than 15,000 structures to ash in a matter of days. Among the devastation were 11 public and private schools and 30 child care facilities. In all, the fires disrupted the education and daily lives of over 700,000 students.

The fires first erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades, a small enclave...

Read more: Schools and communities can help children bounce back after distressing disasters like the LA...

Why a presidential term limit got written into the Constitution – the story of the 22nd Amendment

  • Written by Mark Satta, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Law, Wayne State University
imageNo president other than Franklin D. Roosevelt has held office for more than two terms. Walter Leporati/Getty Images

Only one person, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, has ever served more than two terms as president of the United States. This is for two reasons.

First, prior to Roosevelt’s election to a third term in 1940 there was a longstanding...

Read more: Why a presidential term limit got written into the Constitution – the story of the 22nd Amendment

More Articles ...

  1. America the secular? What a changing religious landscape means for US politics
  2. Land reparations are possible − and over 225 US communities are already working to make amends for slavery and colonization
  3. Planned blackouts are becoming more common − and not having cash on hand could cost you
  4. GOP lawmakers eye SNAP cuts, which would scale back benefits that help low-income people buy food at a time of high food prices
  5. US earthquake safety relies on federal employees’ expertise
  6. Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic, like in Europe and Middle East
  7. Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court
  8. Doctor shortages have hobbled health care for decades − and the trend could be worsening
  9. Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans − but there are ways to slow down viral evolution
  10. Measles can ravage the immune system and brain, causing long-term damage – a virologist explains
  11. Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy
  12. Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for life in the universe
  13. Why do dogs love to play with trash?
  14. What is a ‘revisionist’ state, and what are they trying to revise?
  15. As ‘right to die’ gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church
  16. The Panama Canal’s other conflict: Water security for the population and the global economy
  17. How is classified information typically shared and can officials declassify secrets whenever they want? A national security expert explains
  18. ‘Everyday discrimination’ linked to increased anxiety and depression across all groups of Americans
  19. From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis’ appreciation for the power of history and books
  20. Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs
  21. Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
  22. As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans
  23. Want to stay healthier and fulfilled later in life? Try volunteering
  24. We analyzed racial justice statements from the 500 largest US companies and found that DEI officials really did have an influence
  25. First year of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model − and speeding up the time frame
  26. Myanmar’s civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role
  27. What ‘The White Lotus’ gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices
  28. Women are reclaiming their place in baseball
  29. Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security
  30. Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action
  31. Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app
  32. Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm
  33. From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools
  34. US swing toward autocracy doesn’t have to be permanent – but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections
  35. Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could spell trouble for distilled spirits
  36. With Hooters on the verge of bankruptcy, a psychologist reflects on her time spent studying the servers who work there
  37. Mississippi’s education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
  38. Medetomidine is replacing xylazine in Philly street fentanyl − creating new hurdles for health care providers and drug users
  39. Maritime truce would end a sorry war on the waves for Russia that set back its naval power ambitions
  40. Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next
  41. Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about − by dumping debris into the thriving midwater zone
  42. The solution to workplace isolation might be in the gap − the generation gap
  43. Trump is not a king – but that doesn’t stop him from reveling in his job’s most ceremonial and exciting parts
  44. Trump’s desire to ‘un-unite’ Russia and China is unlikely to work – in fact, it could well backfire
  45. Engineering students explore how to ethically design and locate nuclear facilities in this college course
  46. Amid a tropical paradise known as ‘Lizard Island,’ researchers are cracking open evolution’s black box – scientist at work
  47. Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship
  48. Rethinking repression − why memory researchers reject the idea of recovered memories of trauma
  49. Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends − here’s why the US isn’t likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan
  50. How many types of insects are there in the world?