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Local governments provide proof that polarization is not inevitable

  • Written by: Lauren Hall, Associate professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
imageLocal officials get to participate in events such as ribbon cuttings, celebrating projects they may have helped make happen.NHLI/Eliot J. Schechter via Getty Images

When it comes to national politics, Americans are fiercely divided across a range of issues, including gun control, election security and vaccines. It’s not new for Republicans...

Read more: Local governments provide proof that polarization is not inevitable

How a 22-year-old George Washington learned how to lead, from a series of mistakes in the Pennsylvania wilderness

  • Written by: Christopher Magra, Professor of American History, University of Tennessee
imageA young George Washington was thrust into the dense, contested wilderness of the Ohio River Valley as a land surveyor for real estate development companies in Virginia.Henry Hintermeister/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

This Presidents Day, I’ve been thinking about George Washington − not at his finest hour, but possibly at his...

Read more: How a 22-year-old George Washington learned how to lead, from a series of mistakes in the...

RNA is key to the dark matter of the genome − scientists are sequencing it to illuminate human health and disease

  • Written by: Thomas Begley, Professor of Biological Sciences, Associate Director of The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageThere is still a great deal unknown about RNA and its modifications.Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Although there are striking differences between the cells that make up your eyes, kidneys, brain and toes, the DNA blueprint for these cells is essentially the same. Where do those differences come from?

Scientists are...

Read more: RNA is key to the dark matter of the genome − scientists are sequencing it to illuminate human...

Mapping cemeteries for class – how students used phones and drones to help a city count its headstones

  • Written by: Robbyn Abbitt, Associate Director of the Geospatial Analysis Center, Miami University
imageMiami University students in the author's advanced GIS course collect headstone data.Robbyn Abbitt, CC BY-SA

If you told me a decade ago that I’d become an expert in mapping cemeteries, I would’ve laughed and been very confused about the dramatic turn my professional life must’ve taken at some point.

I’m an environmental...

Read more: Mapping cemeteries for class – how students used phones and drones to help a city count its...

Why eating cheap chocolate can feel embarrassing – even though no one else cares

  • Written by: Siti Nuraisyah Suwanda, Doctoral Student and Graduate Researcher in Marketing, West Virginia University
imageHow you feel about a treat can change based on the judgment of others.DeanDrobot/iStock via Getty Images Plus

It’s February, and you grab a box of cheap Valentine’s chocolate from the grocery store on your lunch break. Later, you’re eating it at your office desk when you realize someone else is watching. Suddenly, you feel a...

Read more: Why eating cheap chocolate can feel embarrassing – even though no one else cares

‘Which Side Are You On?’: American protest songs have emboldened social movements for generations, from coal country to Minneapolis

  • Written by: Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University
imageBruce Springsteen and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine perform on Jan. 30, 2026, in a concert in Minneapolis in protest of federal agents' actions in Minnesota.Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images

The presence of Department of Homeland Security agents in Minnesota compelled many people there to use songs as a means of...

Read more: ‘Which Side Are You On?’: American protest songs have emboldened social movements for generations,...

As Jeff Bezos dismantles The Washington Post, 5 regional papers chart a course for survival

  • Written by: Dan Kennedy, Professor of Journalism, Northeastern University
imageThe ranks of The Washington Post's newsroom have shrunk since this photo was taken in 2016.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Washington Post’s evisceration at the hands of its billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, didn’t have to happen.

Following months of speculation, the Post cut at least300 of its 800 journalists on Feb. 4,...

Read more: As Jeff Bezos dismantles The Washington Post, 5 regional papers chart a course for survival

Why Christian clergy see risk as part of their moral calling

  • Written by: Laura E. Alexander, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageA large group of protesters, including clergy, gathered outside St. Paul International Airport in St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 23, 2026, to demonstrate against the immigration crackdown.Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Image

As Christian clergy across the United States participate in ongoing protests against harsh immigration...

Read more: Why Christian clergy see risk as part of their moral calling

Held captive in their own country during World War II, Japanese Americans used nature to cope with their unjustified imprisonment

  • Written by: Susan H. Kamei, Adjunct Professor of History and Affiliated Faculty, USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Cultures, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageJapanese Americans incarcerated at Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming took art classes at the craft shop, using what they could find.Tom Parker, War Relocation Authority, Department of the Interior, via National Archives and Records Administration

With a stroke of a presidential pen, the lives of Izumi Taniguchi, Minoru Tajii, Homei...

Read more: Held captive in their own country during World War II, Japanese Americans used nature to cope with...

Valentine’s Day cards too sugary sweet for you? Return to the 19th-century custom of the spicy ‘vinegar valentine’

  • Written by: Melissa Chim, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Excelsior University
imageA woman turns down a dapper 'snake' in a 'vinegar valentine' from the 1870s.Wikimedia Commons

Ahh, Valentine’s Day: the perfect moment to tell your sweetheart how much you love them with a thoughtful card.

But what about people in your life you don’t like so much? Why is there no Hallmark card telling them to get lost?

The Victorians had...

Read more: Valentine’s Day cards too sugary sweet for you? Return to the 19th-century custom of the spicy...

More Articles …

  1. Philadelphia was once a sweet spot for chocolatiers and other candymakers who made iconic treats for Valentine’s Day and other holidays
  2. Infusing asphalt with plastic could help roads last longer and resist cracking under heat
  3. How do scientists hunt for dark matter? A physicist explains why the mysterious substance is so hard to find
  4. Americans are asking too much of their dogs
  5. Fifteen years after Egypt’s uprising, how faith and politics reshaped a generation
  6. How the law can add to child sex trafficking victims’ existing trauma
  7. Sixth year of drought in Texas and Oklahoma leaves ranchers bracing for another harsh summer
  8. Why ‘The West Wing’ went from a bipartisan hit to a polarized streaming comfort watch over 2 decades, reflecting profound shifts in media and politics
  9. Journalism may be too slow to remain credible once events are filtered through social media
  10. No animal alive today is ‘primitive’ – why are so many still labeled that way?
  11. Winter Olympians often compete in freezing temperatures – physiology and advances in materials science help keep them warm
  12. Whether it’s yoga, rock climbing or Dungeons Dragons, taking leisure to a high level can be good for your well-being
  13. New technologies are stepping up the global fight against wildlife trafficking
  14. US experiencing largest measles outbreak since 2000 – 5 essential reads on the risks, what to do and what’s coming next
  15. Federal and state authorities are taking a 2-pronged approach to make it harder to get an abortion
  16. What is the American Dream, and has it become harder to achieve in recent years?
  17. Will a ‘Trump slump’ continue to hit US tourism in 2026 − and even keep World Cup fans away?
  18. Has globalization lessened the importance of physical distance? For economic shocks, new research suggests ‘yes’
  19. Aldi is coming to Colorado, and the disruption could lead to lower food prices
  20. There’s a competition crisis in America’s state legislatures – and that’s bad for democracy
  21. From ski jumps and sliding bobsleds to engineering snow, here are 5 essential reads on the science of the Winter Olympics
  22. Fears about TikTok’s policy changes point to a deeper problem in the tech industry
  23. What Olympic athletes see that viewers don’t: Machine-made snow makes ski racing faster and riskier – and it’s everywhere
  24. Clarence ‘Taffy’ Abel: A pioneering US Olympic hockey star who hid his Indigenous identity to play in the NHL
  25. A terrorism label that comes before the facts can turn ‘domestic terrorism’ into a useless designation
  26. Why corporate America is mostly staying quiet as federal immigration agents show up at its doors
  27. You’ve reached your weight loss goal on GLP-1 medications – what now?
  28. Overactive immune cells can worsen heart failure – targeting them could offer new treatments
  29. AI-generated text is overwhelming institutions – setting off a no-win ‘arms race’ with AI detectors
  30. How women are reinterpreting the menstrual taboos in Chinese Buddhism
  31. Has Little Caesars Arena boosted economic activity in Detroit? We looked at hotel and short-term rental industry data to find out
  32. ‘Less lethal’ crowd-control weapons still cause harm – 2 physicians explain what they are and their health effects
  33. ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota − accused of violating 1st, 2nd, 4th and 10th amendment rights − are testing whether the Constitution can survive
  34. Schools are increasingly telling students they must put their phones away – Ohio’s example shows mixed results following new bans
  35. Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left out of those maps
  36. Congress has exercised minimal oversight over ICE, but that might change
  37. Lüften sounds simple – but ‘house-burping’ is more complicated in Pittsburgh
  38. ‘Inoculation’ helps people spot political deepfakes, study finds
  39. Philly theaters unite to stage 3 plays by Pulitzer-winning playwright James Ijames
  40. Trump wants to shutter the Kennedy Center for 2 years – an arts management professor explains what that portends
  41. An epic border: Finland’s poetic masterpiece, the Kalevala, has roots in 2 cultures and 2 countries
  42. Medicare is experimenting with having AI review claims – a cost-saving measure that could risk denying needed care
  43. Reclaiming water from contaminated brine can increase water supply and reduce environmental harm
  44. The Supreme Court may soon diminish Black political power, undoing generations of gains
  45. Climate change threatens the Winter Olympics’ future – and even snowmaking has limits for saving the Games
  46. Confused by the new dietary guidelines? Focus on these simple, evidence-based shifts to lower your chronic disease risk
  47. Federal power meets local resistance in Minneapolis – a case study in how federalism staves off authoritarianism
  48. Data centers told to pitch in as storms and cold weather boost power demand
  49. Clergy protests against ICE turned to a classic – and powerful – American playlist
  50. NASA’s Artemis II plans to send a crew around the Moon to test equipment and lay the groundwork for a future landing