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Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news

  • Written by Eric Freedman, Professor of Journalism and Chair, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University
imageA majority of citizens in Central Asian countries practice Islam, but Muslims still face restrictions on religious expression. AP Photo/Theodore Kaye

Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government constraints on religion in...

Read more: Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making...

Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change that

  • Written by Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona
imageU.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a news conference in the White House on Feb. 4, 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should “take over” Gaza, displace its current population and turn the enclave into “the Riviera...

Read more: Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change that

After he reached the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s racial justice protests helped expose US views toward sports activism

  • Written by Betina Cutaia Wilkinson, Associate Professor & Associate Chair of Political Science, Wake Forest University
imageSan Francisco 49ers players Eric Reid, left, and Colin Kaepernick take a knee during the national anthem before a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 12, 2016.Daniel Gluskoter/AP Images for Panini

Back in 2012, quarterback Colin Kaepernick was one of the NFL’s most popular stars. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl and was...

Read more: After he reached the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s racial justice protests helped expose US views...

This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation

  • Written by Jeremy David Engels, Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication, Penn State
imageLove is one of the most diverse emotions, and it can be experienced in countless ways.fizkes/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Most people love love, but not everyone loves Valentine’s Day.

When it was first invented in the 1300s in medieval Europe, this holiday was a celebration of romantic love, the coming of spring and the freedom to choose a...

Read more: This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation

Friendship, a covenant, romance – no matter what you call it, David’s love for Jonathan is one of the Bible’s most beautiful

  • Written by Jacob F. Love, Lecturer in Religious Studies, University of Tennessee
imageAn illustration of David and Jonathan from 'Sunday at Home – A Family Magazine for Sabbath reading, 1883,' published by the Religious Tract Society in London.whitemay/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

For the idea of love, biblical Hebrew has precious few synonyms. Yet the Hebrew of the Bible can communicate a rich sensation of love: the...

Read more: Friendship, a covenant, romance – no matter what you call it, David’s love for Jonathan is one of...

Lightning strikes link weather on Earth and weather in space

  • Written by Lauren Blum, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
imageLightning, when coupled with solar flares, can knock electrons flying above the Earth out of place. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

There are trillions of charged particles – protons and electrons, the basic building blocks of matter – whizzing around above your head at any given time. These high-energy particles, which can travel at close to...

Read more: Lightning strikes link weather on Earth and weather in space

Why Trump’s rage defies historical and literary comparisons, according to a classics expert

  • Written by Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University - Newark
imageDonald Trump's anger has been building and now seems volcanic.Abstract Aerial Art/Getty Images

The Greek divinity Nemesis, rarely depicted in art, has no place in the Olympian pantheon of a dozen gods and goddesses. But she’s an omnipresent force of retribution, an implacable force of punishment that arrives, if not sooner, then later.

Nemesi...

Read more: Why Trump’s rage defies historical and literary comparisons, according to a classics expert

Trump’s administration seems chaotic, but he’s drawing directly from Project 2025 playbook

  • Written by Zachary Albert, Assistant Professor of Politics, Brandeis University
imageThe Heritage Foundation flag flies over its building in July 2024 in Washington. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In his first few days back in office, President Donald Trump engaged in a whirlwind of executive actions, from exiting the World Health Organization, to deploying military personnel and National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Many of...

Read more: Trump’s administration seems chaotic, but he’s drawing directly from Project 2025 playbook

Reverence for the sacred waters of the Ganga and belief in its power to wash away sins bring millions to India’s Maha Kumbh festival

  • Written by Sudipta Sen, Professor of History, University of California, Davis
imagePilgrims take a dip in the sacred waters of Sangam, at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj on Jan.13, 2025.Niharika Kulkarni/AFP via Getty Images

Millions of people have been visiting Prayagraj, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, to take part in the Maha Kumbh...

Read more: Reverence for the sacred waters of the Ganga and belief in its power to wash away sins bring...

Water is the other US-Mexico border crisis, and the supply crunch is getting worse

  • Written by Gabriel Eckstein, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University
imageView of the Rio Grande flowing through Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, photographed from the Paso Del Norte International Bridge.Paul Rarje/AFP via Getty Images

Immigration and border security will be the likely focus of U.S.-Mexico relations under the new Trump administration. But there also is a growing water crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border that...

Read more: Water is the other US-Mexico border crisis, and the supply crunch is getting worse

More Articles ...

  1. As Trump tries to slash US foreign aid, here are 3 common myths many Americans mistakenly believe about it
  2. Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain
  3. Trump’s tariff gambit: As allies prepare to strike back, a costly trade war looms
  4. Who are immigrants to the US, where do they come from and where do they live?
  5. What the ‘moral distress’ of doctors tells us about eroding trust in health care
  6. Some viruses prefer mosquitoes to humans, but people get sick anyway − a virologist and entomologist explain why
  7. Smart brands rein in ad spending when a rival faces a setback − here’s why
  8. Hunger rises as food aid falls – and those living under autocratic systems bear the brunt
  9. Why are rubies red and emeralds green? Their colors come from the same metal in their atomic structure
  10. I’m a sports psychologist and diehard Eagles fan – here’s the behavioral science behind a Super Bowl LIX win
  11. I’m a sports psychologist and diehard Eagles fan - here’s the behavioral science behind a Super Bowl LIX win
  12. Musk’s inauguration salute is not the only apparent fascist signal from Trump’s administration
  13. President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants
  14. 3 ways the Trump administration could reinvest in rural America’s future
  15. 3 ways the Trump administration could reinvest in rural America’s future, starting with health care
  16. Trump’s Project 2025 agenda caps decades-long resistance to 20th century progressive reform
  17. Trump’s tariff threats fit a growing global phenomenon: hardball migration diplomacy
  18. Drought can hit almost anywhere: How 5 cities that nearly ran dry got water use under control
  19. Fossil shark teeth are abundant and can date the past in a unique way
  20. Rare portraits reveal the humanity of the slaves who revolted on the Amistad
  21. Your environment affects how well your medications work − identifying exactly how could make medicine better
  22. Where does black fall on the color spectrum? A color scientist explains
  23. The Black librarian who rewrote the rules of power, gender and passing as white
  24. Bogus scientific papers are enriching fraudsters and slowing lifesaving medical research
  25. Property and sovereignty in space − as countries and companies take to the stars, they could run into disputes
  26. Can a charter school be religious? The Supreme Court decision about St. Isidore, a Catholic school in Oklahoma, could redraw lines around church and state in education
  27. AI gives nonprogrammers a boost in writing computer code
  28. Teens on social media: Red, blue and purple states are all passing laws to restrict and protect adolescents
  29. Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money
  30. From breakbeats to the dance floor: How hip-hop and house revolutionized music and culture
  31. How nonprofits abroad can fill gaps when the US government cuts off foreign aid
  32. Biden targeted the online right-wing terrorism threat − now it’s up to Trump
  33. A federal policy expert weighs in on Trump’s efforts to stifle gender-affirming care for Americans under 19
  34. How satellites and AI help fight wildfires today
  35. Why Trump’s meme coin is a cash grab
  36. Stricter abortion laws may cause increased infant deaths − 2 maternal and child health researchers explain the data
  37. ‘We painted our fear, hope and dreams’ − examining the art and artists of Guantánamo Bay
  38. Gen Z seeks safety above all else as the generation grows up amid constant crisis and existential threat
  39. Philly Whole Foods store becomes first to unionize – a labor expert explains what’s next and how Trump could stall workers’ efforts
  40. Bennu asteroid reveals its contents to scientists − and clues to how the building blocks of life on Earth may have been seeded
  41. Problematic Paper Screener: Trawling for fraud in the scientific literature
  42. Why building big AIs costs billions – and how Chinese startup DeepSeek dramatically changed the calculus
  43. Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research
  44. Rest, reorientation and hope – the pillars of 2025’s Catholic Jubilee year
  45. President Carter had to balance employers’ demands for foreign workers with pressure to restrict immigration – and so does Trump
  46. Skin phantoms help researchers improve wearable devices without people wearing them
  47. Almost half of evicted women and families in metro Detroit say they were illegally pushed out of their homes
  48. ‘Aliens’ and ‘animals’ – language of hate used by Trump and others can be part of a violent design
  49. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination signals a new era of anti-intellectualism in American politics
  50. What’s behind Trump’s flurry of executive action: 4 essential reads on autocrats and authoritarianism