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Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’

  • Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
imageAn 18th-century stained glass window panel by William Peckitt, showing The Last Supper of Christ and the disciples.TonyBaggett via iStock / Getty Images Plus

For decades, winning an Olympic medal has been described as the Holy Grail of sports.

Athletes aren’t the only ones in search of a Holy Grail. For example, in 2012, when physicists...

Read more: Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’

If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change

  • Written by Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Director of Behavioral Science & Policy Initiative, Schaeffer Institute of Public Policy & Government Service, USC Price School of Public Policy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageEscalating the language might work in a rally, but the general public isn't as swayed by it, a new study show.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

You probably have been hearing phrases like “climate crisis,” “climate emergency” or “climate justice” more often lately as people try to get across the urgent...

Read more: If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change

Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries

  • Written by Christopher Michael Faulkner, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs in the College of Distance Education, US Naval War College

While Russia’s army is bogged down in Ukraine, its mercenaries are faring no better in Africa.

In late July 2024, mercenaries from the the Wagner Group, a Moscow-aligned private military company, accompanied the Malian army in what the Malian regime called a “stabilization operation” in the West African country’s...

Read more: Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in...

A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit

  • Written by Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College
imageWorkers on a trolley at 5 p.m. in Baltimore, April 1943.Marjory Collins/Library of Congress, CC BY-ND

Since the 1940s, there has been a broad shift away from public transit across the U.S., and service has declined in many cities, including New York, Boston, Denver, Orlando and St. Louis. A look back at the last national mass transit boom helps...

Read more: A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit

Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world

  • Written by Meghan P. Keating, PhD Candidate in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Clemson University
imageThis mountain lion, known as P-47, was found dead in Southern California on March 21, 2019, with rat poison in his system.National Park Service via AP

Rats thrive around humans, for good reason: They feed off crops and garbage and readily adapt to many settings, from farms to the world’s largest cities. To control them, people often resort to...

Read more: Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world

No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing

  • Written by Joonhyuk Yang, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame

How you shop and what you buy at the grocery store can predict whether you pay your credit card bills on time, our new research shows.

As marketingprofessors, we wanted to learn about alternatives to traditional credit scores. So we teamed up with a multinational conglomerate that, among other things, runs a large supermarket chain and a credit...

Read more: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing

The problem with pronatalism: Pushing baby booms to boost economic growth amounts to a Ponzi scheme

  • Written by Emily Klancher Merchant, Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies, University of California, Davis
imageJapan is pushing for more pedestrians.AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

In the face of shrinking populations, many of the world’s major economies are trying to engineer higher birth rates.

Policymakers from South Korea, Japan and Italy, for example, have all adopted so-called “pronatalist” measures in the belief that doing so will defuse a...

Read more: The problem with pronatalism: Pushing baby booms to boost economic growth amounts to a Ponzi scheme

Despite Donald Trump’s claims, his gag order holds up against the Constitution

  • Written by Lynn Greenky, Professor Emeritus of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University
imageFormer President Donald Trump attends his New York trial on April 23, 2024. Timothy A. Clary/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The First Amendment protects speech, but Americans don’t have a right to speech that may cause harm.

That’s why former President Donald Trump is still not allowed to speak about prosecutors, individual jurors and court...

Read more: Despite Donald Trump’s claims, his gag order holds up against the Constitution

How San Francisco’s Democratic political machine led to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign

  • Written by Lincoln Mitchell, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
imageCalifornia Democratic Congressman Phil Burton, second from right, with – left to right – Democratic State Assemblymen Leo T. McCarthy, Willie L. Brown and Art Agnos, in the early 1980s.San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

The political earthquake that has made Kamala Harris the Democratic Party’s nominee for...

Read more: How San Francisco’s Democratic political machine led to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign

The real ‘Big Bang’ of country music: How Vernon Dalhart’s 1924 breakthrough recordings launched a genre

  • Written by Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University
imageVernon Dalhart was a widely recorded singer in the early 20th century.The Library of Congress

Country music’s origin story has been heavily influenced by a romanticized notion of authenticity. Today, celebrations of the genre’s origins tend to focus on one event: recording sessions in late July and early August 1927 in the small...

Read more: The real ‘Big Bang’ of country music: How Vernon Dalhart’s 1924 breakthrough recordings launched a...

More Articles ...

  1. Infectious diseases spike when kids return to school − here’s what you can do about it
  2. Dealing with election anxiety? A psychiatrist explains how to channel your fears and break out of tribal thinking
  3. This anthropology course looks at building design from the standpoint of different species
  4. Paris Games herald a new anti-corruption era, but carrying the torch may pose an Olympic challenge for the US
  5. How do breakdancers avoid breaking their necks?
  6. Decades on, Delbert Africa’s surrender still provides powerful image of US racism and Black victimhood
  7. From Michael Brown to Sonya Massey, a decade of police antiblack violence causes grief, worry and coping for Black parents
  8. Good flooding? Scientists use rice cultivation to preserve soil in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area
  9. From a pig as political candidate to a breakout speech for Obama − Democratic National Convention often leaves its mark on history
  10. Members of Congress undermine the country – and their own legitimacy – with antidemocratic rhetoric
  11. How charities with thrift shops can get better stuff from their donors instead of junk
  12. Islamic State’s genocide was not limited to killing and enslaving Yazidis, Christians and other communities − it also erased their heritage
  13. How to get your kids ready to go back to school without stress − 5 tips from an experienced school counselor
  14. Qatari mediation was already producing diminishing returns – assassination of Hamas negotiator further erodes Gulf state’s role
  15. White men who have been mistreated at work are more likely to notice and report harassment − new research
  16. Remembering the longest journey to Auschwitz – the deportation of Rhodes’ Jews decimated a small but vibrant community with centuries of Mediterranean history
  17. Imane Khelif controversy at Paris Olympics shows how sex testing in women’s sports puts regulators in an impossible bind
  18. Imane Khelif’s gold medal run shows how sex testing in women’s sports puts regulators in an impossible bind
  19. Shortage of Black doctors is rooted in racist history − a $600M gift will help historically Black medical schools address the gap
  20. For Black Americans, higher police pay doesn’t always mean fewer violent confrontations as it does for other racial groups
  21. Ancient grains of dust from space can be found on Earth − and provide clues about the life cycle of stars
  22. Heat risk isn’t just about the highs: Large daily temperature swings can harm human health – maps show who is affected most
  23. Tropical Storm Debby stalls along the Carolinas, bringing days of heavy rain and flooding – a climate scientist explains why
  24. Tropical Storm Debby’s stalling brought days of heavy rain and flooding – a climate scientist explains what happened
  25. Multiple goals, multiple solutions, plenty of second-guessing and revising − here’s how science really works
  26. AI helps lighten the load on the electric grid – without skimping on people’s energy use
  27. A common parasite could one day deliver drugs to the brain − how scientists are turning ‘Toxoplasma gondii’ from foe into friend
  28. Bangladesh’s protests explained: What led to PM’s ouster and the challenges that lie ahead
  29. Walz pick turns focus on what a VP brings to White House – 3 essential reads
  30. Chang'e 6 brought rocks from the far side of the Moon back to Earth − a planetary scientist explains what this sample could hold
  31. Readers trust journalists less when they debunk rather than confirm claims
  32. Assassination is always unlawful − regardless of who is killed and on whose orders
  33. Brain implants to restore sight, like Neuralink’s Blindsight, face a fundamental problem − more pixels don’t ensure better vision
  34. Kamala Harris’ identity as a biracial woman is either a strength or a weakness, depending on whom you ask
  35. Grassroots efforts to increase voting are gaining momentum in these states, even as other states make voting harder
  36. Attention, jittery investors: Stop panicking … this is what a soft landing should look like
  37. Ancient poppy seeds and willow wood offer clues to the Greenland ice sheet’s last meltdown and a glimpse into a warmer future
  38. Love for cats lures students into this course, which uses feline research to teach science
  39. Stuck bridges, buckling roads − extreme heat is wreaking havoc on America’s aging infrastructure
  40. How can there be ice on the Moon?
  41. Why are migraines worse during your period? Research in mice points to a hormone called progesterone, offering a new treatment target
  42. How people with disabilities got game − the surprisingly long history of access to arcade and video sports
  43. Racism and discrimination lead to faster aging through brain network changes, new study finds
  44. Menstrual cycle is a vital sign and important indicator of overall health − 2 reproductive health experts explain
  45. Arab Druze community in mourning after tragic rocket strike on Golan Heights soccer field − highlighting challenges for Druze within Israel and the region
  46. In ‘bamboo diplomacy,’ late Vietnam leader Nguyen Phu Trong left a path for smaller nations to navigate great-power rivalries
  47. Democratic Party’s choice of Harris was undemocratic − and the latest evidence of party leaders distrusting party voters
  48. I researched the dark side of social media − and heard the same themes in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
  49. AIs encode language like brains do − opening a window on human conversations
  50. Gov. Josh Shapiro has a reputation for getting things done in Pennsylvania – but not necessarily things all Democrats like