Many interest rates in the U.S. are close to zero and even negative in some parts of the world, like Japan.

Not unexpectedly, U.S. savings rates are also quite low as individuals ask themselves: “Why save a lot of money at a bank if I get no return?”

This situation has many commen...

It’s unlikely that presidential candidates will ever utter the word “biodiversity” while campaigning this year.

Yet among emerging environmental challenges, none has fewer facts or more enduring...

Run a Google search on naturalist and preservationist John Muir and you will quickly turn up one of his best-known, yet abbreviated, sayings: “The mountains are calling and I must go.” It’s a compelling quote that says it all for many outdoor lovers, which may explain why...

The charter school debate is getting even more heated. Recently, charter opponents launched a campaign from the steps of the Massachusetts State House to warn that charter schools were “sapping resources from the traditional schools that serve most minority students, and creating a...

The first Earth Day was organized on April 22, 1970 to force U.S. leaders to address rising public concerns about pollution and waste. In an election year, it’s a fitting time to compare the leading presidential candidates' approaches to environmental regulation.

Their...

Companies such as drugmaker Pfizer and medical device maker Medtronic that have used a technique called an inversion to reduce their tax bill recently got a smackdown from President Barack Obama:

I am very pleased that the Treasury Department has taken new action to prevent more corporations from taking advantage of one of the most insidious tax...

In 2004, the North Korean government launched one of the oddest television campaigns in recent history: “Let’s trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle.”

Accompanied by radio and print ads, the five-part TV series urged North Korean men to wear their hair short. State-approved haircuts, the campaign explained,...

When we talk about the successes and shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – and health care in the U.S. in general – little attention is given to dental care.

While the ACA defines dental coverage as an essential benefit for those under 18, insurers aren’t required to offer dental coverage for adults. Medicare, the...

Two weeks ago Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz seemed to have all the momentum in the presidential race. In Wisconsin, Sanders won the Democratic primary by 13 percentage points and Cruz won the GOP primary by the same margin.

But on Tuesday night the narrative changed once again. In landslide victories, Donald Trump won the New York GOP primary and...

Editor’s note: This article is part of our collaboration with Point Taken, a new program from WGBH that will next air on Tuesday, April 19 on PBS and online at pbs.org. The show features fact-based debate on major issues of the day, without the shouting.

How do we change our minds about a person or group we consider a threat?

As the first...