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What is the Sikh festival of Baisakhi and why is it so sacred?

  • Written by Simranjit Khalsa, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Memphis
imageSikh men and women during a prayer service during the Baisakhi festival.Giovanni Mereghetti/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Sikhs all over the world celebrate the festival of Baisakhi, a holiday with a special religious significance, observed each year on April 13 or 14. In 2022, Baisakhi falls on April 14.

As a sociologist...

Read more: What is the Sikh festival of Baisakhi and why is it so sacred?

What's next for Pakistan after Imran Khan's ouster?

  • Written by Ayesha Jalal, Professor of History, Tufts University
imageSupporters of Imran Khan take to the streetsFarooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)

A protracted political drama in Pakistan turned a page on April 10, 2022, with Prime Minister Imran Khan being removed from office following a vote of no confidence in the country’s Parliament.

He was replaced by opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif. But that is...

Read more: What's next for Pakistan after Imran Khan's ouster?

El problema de las viviendas ecológicas que Brad Pitt donó para los sobrevivientes del huracán Katrina

  • Written by Judith Keller, International Research Scholar of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
imageBrad Pitt, en 2008, con una de las primeras casas construidas en Nueva Orleans por su fundación, Make It Right.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

La Fundación Make It Right de Brad Pitt construyó 109 casas llamativas y accesibles en Nueva Orleans para una comunidad donde muchas personas fueron desplazadas por los daños causados por el...

Read more: El problema de las viviendas ecológicas que Brad Pitt donó para los sobrevivientes del huracán...

How a coffee company and a marketing maven brewed up a Passover tradition: A brief history of the Maxwell House Haggadah

  • Written by Kerri Steinberg, Department Chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Otis College of Art and Design
imageA Jewish family welcomes home their Navy man and gathers for a Passover Seder at their home in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1943.Minnesota Historical Society/CORBIS/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

For more than a millennium, the haggadah has been the centerpiece of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The book sets out the ceremony for the Seder meal, when...

Read more: How a coffee company and a marketing maven brewed up a Passover tradition: A brief history of the...

'Every day feels unsettled' – educators decry staffing shortage

  • Written by Laura Wangsness Willemsen, Associate Professor of Education, Concordia University, Saint Paul
imageA substitute teacher watches students file into a classroom.AP Photo/Michael Conroy

The COVID-19 pandemic, with its multiple waves of remote, hybrid and in-person education, increased students’ needs for support, revealed political minefields in teaching, and heightened labor tensions for educators. And in the 2021-2022 school year, staffing...

Read more: 'Every day feels unsettled' – educators decry staffing shortage

Do you need a second booster shot? An epidemiologist scoured the latest research and has some answers

  • Written by Katelyn Jetelina, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
imageThe CDC recommends the second booster for those over 50 who received their initial booster shot at least four months earlier.Scott Olson via Getty Images News

In late March 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a second booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines for vulnerable populations in the U.S., a move that was soon after endorsed by...

Read more: Do you need a second booster shot? An epidemiologist scoured the latest research and has some...

Store credit cards generate corporate profits and disgruntled workers

  • Written by Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, UMass Amherst
imageA smiling woman hands a dress to a clothing store cashier.Tom Werner/Getty Images

Clothing retailers sell their shoppers more than jeans and sweaters.

Major apparel companies also sell credit, often with very high fees, like The Gap’s 21.7% starting interest rate, and US$27 to $37 late payment charge. In 2019, Macy’s store credit card...

Read more: Store credit cards generate corporate profits and disgruntled workers

When are book bans unconstitutional? A First Amendment scholar explains

  • Written by Erica Goldberg, Associate Professor of Law, University of Dayton
imageThere was a surge in book banning in 2021.valmas/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

The United States has become a nation divided over importantissues in K-12 education, including which books students should be able to read in public school.

Efforts to ban books from school curricula, remove books from libraries and keep lists of books that some find...

Read more: When are book bans unconstitutional? A First Amendment scholar explains

Conservatives feel blamed, shamed and ostracized by the media

  • Written by Doron Taussig, Assistant Professor in Journalism, Ursinus College
imageSome conservatives view media as biased and take it personally.John Rowley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Tune in to a conservative podcast or scroll through conservative Facebook feeds and there is a decent chance you’ll encounter the terms “mainstream media,” “liberal media” or just “the media,” used in...

Read more: Conservatives feel blamed, shamed and ostracized by the media

Redwood trees have two types of leaves, scientists find – a trait that could help them survive in a changing climate

  • Written by Alana Chin, Postdoctoral Fellow in Plant Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
imageCoastal redwoods in Felton, California.Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Coast redwoods are amazing trees that scientists have studied for generations. We know they are the tallest living trees and have survived for millennia, resisting fire and pests. Because redwoods are long-lived, large and decay-resistant, the forests...

Read more: Redwood trees have two types of leaves, scientists find – a trait that could help them survive in...

More Articles ...

  1. How math – and eating while running – can help you complete your best marathon
  2. Why 'bad' ads appear on 'good' websites – a computer scientist explains
  3. ALS is only 50% genetic – identifying DNA regions affected by lifestyle and environmental risk factors could help pinpoint avenues for treatment
  4. Russia isn't likely to use chemical weapons in Ukraine – unless Putin grows desperate
  5. Russian ruble's recovery masks disruptive impact of West's sanctions – but it won't make Putin seek peace
  6. Soaring energy costs fuel fastest inflation in 40 years: 3 essential reads
  7. Archaeological site along the Nile opens a window on the Nubian civilization that flourished in ancient Sudan
  8. Abusive bosses often blame a worker's lack of effort or care for poor performance when it's their own biases that may be the problem
  9. Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes beneath the surface as the climate warms
  10. Raising cattle on native grasses in the eastern U.S. benefits farmers, wildlife and the soil
  11. Monkeys can sense their own heartbeats, an ability tied to mental health, consciousness and memory in humans
  12. Best Easter pageant ever? Half a century of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
  13. Psychological tips aren’t enough – policies need to address structural inequities so everyone can flourish
  14. Mismanaged cloud services put user data at risk
  15. Electrifying homes to slow climate change: 4 essential reads
  16. Great white sharks occasionally hunt in pairs - new research sheds light on social behavior of these mysterious predators
  17. Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
  18. Water fights, magical decapitated heads and family reunions – the Southeast Asian festival of Songkran has it all
  19. Penance and plague: How the Black Death changed one of Christianity's most important rituals
  20. Will Smith's slap shows 'honor culture' is alive and well
  21. Ukrainian teens' voices from the middle of war: 'You begin to appreciate what was common and boring for you'
  22. Will French presidential election be a case of 'plus ca change, moins ca change?' -- 5 things to watch as nation heads to the poll
  23. To protect wildlife from free-roaming cats, a zone defense may be more effective than trying to get every feline off the street
  24. UN Security Council is powerless to help Ukraine – but it's working as designed to prevent World War III
  25. What is a 529 college savings plan? An economist explains
  26. Fishing, strip clubs and golf: How male-focused networking in medicine blocks female colleagues from top jobs
  27. Your digital footprints are more than a privacy risk – they could help hackers infiltrate computer networks
  28. Pope Francis apologized for the harm done to First Nations peoples, but what does a pope’s apology mean?
  29. Oklahoma state officials resist Supreme Court ruling affirming tribal authority over American Indian country
  30. Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed as Supreme Court justice: 4 essential reads
  31. Researchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean, including a missing link in viral evolution
  32. COVID-19: Mental health telemedicine was off to a slow start – then the pandemic happened
  33. 'Is It Cake?' feeds viewers visual catharsis for uncertain times
  34. Bird flu is killing millions of chickens and turkeys across the US
  35. Helping Ukrainians means listening to their needs – 3 lessons for aid groups from Syria's war
  36. The forgotten story of Black soldiers and the Red Ball Express during World War II
  37. How QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains
  38. Mental health problems come with an added 'cost' of poorer cognitive function – a neuropsychologist explains
  39. Russia is sparking new nuclear threats – understanding nonproliferation history helps place this in context
  40. Rape by Russian soldiers in Ukraine is the latest example of a despicable wartime crime that spans the globe
  41. Why the best way to stop strongmen like Putin is to prevent their rise in the first place
  42. What is going on in Pakistan? And why has the US been dragged into it?
  43. War in Ukraine is testing some American evangelicals' support for Putin as a leader of conservative values
  44. Shame and secrecy shroud culture of sexual assault in boys' high school sports
  45. How should Dostoevsky and Tolstoy be read during Russia's war against Ukraine?
  46. Repurposing generic drugs can reduce time and cost to develop new treatments – but low profitability remains a barrier
  47. How a poet and professor promotes racial understanding with lessons from history
  48. Paid family leave makes people happier, global data shows
  49. To understand why Biden extended tariffs on solar panels, take a closer look at their historical impact
  50. The cheerful lexicon of the Spanish language may help solve a health mystery called the Hispanic Paradox