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Should spies use secret software vulnerabilities?

  • Written by Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
imageWhen is it okay for the government to keep a secret?sharpshutter via shutterstock.com

The recent WannaCry ransomware attack infected about 300,000 computers in 150 countries, and cost computer users thousands of dollars in ransom money and billions in lost productivity.

The attack took advantage of a vulnerability in the Windows operating system...

Read more: Should spies use secret software vulnerabilities?

Understanding tornadoes: 5 questions answered

  • Written by Paul Markowski, Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University
imageTornado seven miles south of Anadarko, Oklahoma, May 3, 1999.OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory/Flickr, CC BY

Editor’s note: May and June are typically peak months for tornadoes in North America. We asked Penn State meteorology professors Paul Markowski and Yvette Richardson to explain why tornadoes form, how to stay safe if...

Read more: Understanding tornadoes: 5 questions answered

Child anxiety and parenting in the Trump era

  • Written by Barbara Milrod, Professor of Psychiatry, Medical College, Cornell University
imageWhat can parents do to help their children manage the political climate?AP Photo/Richard Vogel

“Lucy,” a shy, intelligent six-year-old, missed three days of school because she had stomachaches. The symptoms started the day after Lucy witnessed a loud argument while waiting for the bus with her babysitter. A “scary man”...

Read more: Child anxiety and parenting in the Trump era

When some US firms move production overseas, they also offshore their pollution

  • Written by Yue Maggie Zhou, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
imageHeavy gray smog blankets northeastern China, including Beijing and Tianjin, on Dec. 18, 2016 during a five-day air pollution 'red alert.' NASA Earth Observatory

On April 22, as protesters swelled Earth Day rallies in U.S. cities and around the world, President Trump tweeted that he was “committed to keeping our air and water clean but always...

Read more: When some US firms move production overseas, they also offshore their pollution

Trump's global gag order: 5 questions answered

  • Written by Maureen Miller, Professor, Columbia University Medical Center
imageCommunity health workers like these visit patients’ homes in Malawi to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation–Malawi/Chris Cox, CC BY-ND

Editor’s note: President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that media reports say could obstruct nearly US$8.8 billion...

Read more: Trump's global gag order: 5 questions answered

Meet Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric challenging incumbent Rouhani for president of Iran

  • Written by Emily L. Blout, Faculty Fellow, Internet Governance Lab, American University School of Communication

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi is an important newcomer to electoral politics.

Last year, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Raisi custodian of the shrine of Imam Reza and chairman of the foundation that manages its extensive complex. This is no minor post. The foundation nets the regime billions of dollars.

imageThe shrine of...

Read more: Meet Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric challenging incumbent Rouhani for president of Iran

Meet Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric who challenged incumbent Rouhani for president of Iran

  • Written by Emily L. Blout, Faculty Fellow, Internet Governance Lab, American University School of Communication

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi is an important newcomer to electoral politics.

Last year, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Raisi custodian of the shrine of Imam Reza and chairman of the foundation that manages its extensive complex. This is no minor post. The foundation nets the regime billions of dollars.

imageThe shrine of...

Read more: Meet Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric who challenged incumbent Rouhani for president of Iran

Comey isn't the first FBI director to keep memos on a president

  • Written by Douglas M. Charles, Associate Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University

President Donald Trump allegedly asked FBI Director James Comey to drop the FBI’s investigation into Michael Flynn.

President Franklin Roosevelt asked FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to collect information on Americans who had committed no crimes.

President Richard Nixon asked Hoover to provide the White House a list of reporters the FBI knew...

Read more: Comey isn't the first FBI director to keep memos on a president

Fidget toys aren't just hype

  • Written by Katherine Isbister, Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz
imageBalancing and doing tricks requires visual attention.ThamKC via shutterstock.com

The fidget spinner craze has been sweeping elementary and middle schools. As of May 17 every one of the top 10 best-selling toys on Amazon was a form of the hand-held toy people can spin and do tricks with. Kids and parents are even making them for themselves using 3D...

Read more: Fidget toys aren't just hype

What witch-finders can teach us about today's world

  • Written by David Frankfurter, Professor of Religion, Boston University
imageHow do leaders find authority as discerners of evil?Wellcome Library, London., CC BY

It is hardly a new observation that political leaders seeking populist appeal will exacerbate popular fears: about immigrants, terrorists and the other.

President Donald Trump plays to fears of immigrants and Muslims. Benjamin Netanyahu inflames Israeli fears by...

Read more: What witch-finders can teach us about today's world

More Articles ...

  1. What witch-hunters can teach us about today's world
  2. From Nazis to Netflix, the controversies and contradictions of Cannes
  3. Beyond just promise, CRISPR is delivering in the lab today
  4. Impeachment: It's political
  5. Giraffes are in trouble – the US Endangered Species Act can help
  6. What is classified information, and who gets to decide?
  7. Are movies a good way to learn history?
  8. Why banning laptops from airplane cabins doesn't make sense
  9. Ivanka Trump's deeply political tome
  10. Why Trump's White House leaks
  11. The firing of James Comey: Psychology helps explain what Trump got wrong
  12. Protecting endangered species: 6 essential reads
  13. Why United's culture needs to loosen up to avoid more PR fiascos
  14. Electrically stimulating your brain can boost memory – but here's one reason it doesn't always work
  15. Fainting and the summer heat: Warmer days can make you swoon, so be prepared
  16. The FBI: With great power comes great scandal
  17. On the Reformation's 500th anniversary, remembering Martin Luther's contribution to literacy
  18. Why installing software updates makes us WannaCry
  19. Trump's trade policy is unlikely to deliver big wins for US workers
  20. 4 things to know about North and South Korea
  21. The mall isn't dead -- it’s just changing
  22. Why the US does not have universal health care, while many other countries do
  23. Inoculation theory: Using misinformation to fight misinformation
  24. Should the US stay in the Paris Agreement? A majority of Democrats and Republicans think so
  25. How El Niño forecasts can help prevent cholera deaths in Africa
  26. Mining the moon for rocket fuel to get us to Mars
  27. Before Trump, Mexicans really liked the US
  28. What France and the UK can teach Trump about reviving America's middle class
  29. Why America needs a 'do-over' on Medicaid reform
  30. Are solar and wind really killing coal, nuclear and grid reliability?
  31. The forgotten origins of the modern gay rights movement in WWI
  32. What the 1970 Kent State shootings tell us about universities then and now
  33. Christian sex advice websites offer a peek into evangelical politics
  34. Global ransomware attack reinforces message of Trump's new cybersecurity order
  35. Why dads can't be the dads they want to be
  36. Trump will likely win reelection in 2020
  37. Social media helps officials spot public health threats – but only for the rich?
  38. Comey's firing may end other investigations into 2016 election
  39. Census director's resignation could affect control of Congress after 2020
  40. What's behind the fidget spinner fad?
  41. Five rational arguments why God (very probably) exists
  42. Arguments why God (very probably) exists
  43. Computers to humans: Shall we play a game?
  44. Why Facebook may fuel new mothers' insecurity
  45. Will Trump give working families a break?
  46. Why big-data analysis of police activity is inherently biased
  47. 'Moonlight' schooled Hollywood on race. Can it take on school discipline, too?
  48. Four challenges for Moon Jae-in, South Korea's new president
  49. To curb climate change, we need to protect and expand US forests
  50. How the refugee crisis is playing out on the German stage