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First year of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model − and speeding up the time frame

  • Written by Anastasiya Zavyalova, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Rice University
imageDemonstrators protest the foreign influence law in front of the Georgian Parliament building on May 28, 2024.Nicolo Vincenzo Malvestuto/Getty Images

Autocracy is on the move worldwide and becoming more resilient.

One of the driving forces behind this phenomenon is something scholars call “authoritarian learning,” a process by which...

Read more: First year of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model −...

Myanmar’s civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role

  • Written by Tharaphi Than, Associate Professor of World Cultures and Languages, Northern Illinois University
imageMyanmar's civil war involves a range of different ethnic groups fighting the military.Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty Images

While the United States talked military assistance and minerals with Ukraine, Russia did the same with one of its few remaining allies: Myanmar.

On March 4, 2025, the commander in chief and leader of Myanmar, Min Aung...

Read more: Myanmar’s civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role

What ‘The White Lotus’ gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices

  • Written by Brooke Schedneck, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Rhodes College
imageThai men can be ordained from a few days to the rest of their lives.Pakin Songmor/Moment via Getty Images

The new season of “The White Lotus” is set on a luxury resort on the Thai island of Koh Samui. This comedy-drama series, which critiques wealthy tourists, focuses one plotline on foreigners who arrive in Thailand with an interest...

Read more: What ‘The White Lotus’ gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices

Women are reclaiming their place in baseball

  • Written by Callie Maddox, Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management, Miami University

For most baseball fans, hope springs eternal on Opening Day.

Many of those fans – more than you might think – are women.

A 2024 survey found that women made up 39% of those who attended or watched Major League Baseball games, and franchises have taken notice. The Philadelphia Phillies offer behind-the-scenes tours and clinics for their...

Read more: Women are reclaiming their place in baseball

Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security

  • Written by Bradley J. Cardinale, Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State
imageIllegal deforestation is one way terrorist groups fund their activities.Amaury Falt-Brown/AFP via Getty Images

When the natural environment is stretched beyond its ability to meet basic human needs for food, clean air, drinkable water and shelter, it is not just a humanitarian concern for the world community. Research shows that these crises are a...

Read more: Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security

Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action

  • Written by Conner Philson, Executive Director, UCSB Natural Reserve System, University of California, Santa Barbara
imageA small group of wild yellow-bellied marmots near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado.D.T. Blumstein

It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you’re a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your...

Read more: Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action

Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app

  • Written by Frederick Scholl, Associate Teaching Professor of Cybersecurity, Quinnipiac University
imageSignal is in the news because of a security failure, but the app itself is quite secure.AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

When top White House defense and national security leaders discussed plans for an attack on targets in Yemen over the messaging app Signal, it raised many questions about operational security and recordkeeping and national security laws....

Read more: Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you –...

Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm

  • Written by Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of North Dakota
imageLosing your job can hurt you in many ways.Maskot/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s firing and furloughing of tens of thousands of federal workers and contractors have obviously caused economic hardship for Americans employed in national parks, research labs and dozens of government agencies.

As a professor of social work who studies how...

Read more: Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm

From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools

  • Written by Seth T. Kannarr, PhD Candidate in Geography, University of Tennessee
imagePresident Donald Trump re-renamed Denali as Mount McKinley in 2025.Tim Rains/National Park Service, CC BY

Place names are more than just labels on a map. They influence how people learn about the world around them and perceive their place in it.

Names can send messages and suggest what is and isn’t valued in society. And the way that they are...

Read more: From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political...

US swing toward autocracy doesn’t have to be permanent – but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections

  • Written by Jennifer Victor, Associate Professor of Political Science, George Mason University

The United States is no longer a democracy.

At least, that’s the verdict of one nonprofit, the Center for Systemic Peace, which measures regime qualities of countries worldwide based on the competitiveness and integrity of their elections, limits to executive authority and other factors.

“The USA is no longer considered a democracy and...

Read more: US swing toward autocracy doesn’t have to be permanent – but swinging back to democracy requires...

More Articles ...

  1. Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could spell trouble for distilled spirits
  2. With Hooters on the verge of bankruptcy, a psychologist reflects on her time spent studying the servers who work there
  3. Mississippi’s education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
  4. Medetomidine is replacing xylazine in Philly street fentanyl − creating new hurdles for health care providers and drug users
  5. Maritime truce would end a sorry war on the waves for Russia that set back its naval power ambitions
  6. Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next
  7. Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about − by dumping debris into the thriving midwater zone
  8. The solution to workplace isolation might be in the gap − the generation gap
  9. Trump is not a king – but that doesn’t stop him from reveling in his job’s most ceremonial and exciting parts
  10. Trump’s desire to ‘un-unite’ Russia and China is unlikely to work – in fact, it could well backfire
  11. Engineering students explore how to ethically design and locate nuclear facilities in this college course
  12. Amid a tropical paradise known as ‘Lizard Island,’ researchers are cracking open evolution’s black box – scientist at work
  13. Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship
  14. Rethinking repression − why memory researchers reject the idea of recovered memories of trauma
  15. Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends − here’s why the US isn’t likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan
  16. How many types of insects are there in the world?
  17. Genomic sequencing reveals previously unknown genes that make microbes resistant to drugs and hard to kill
  18. Poor neighborhoods, health care barriers are factors for heart disease risk in Black mothers
  19. National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act
  20. How Japanese anime draws on religious traditions to explore themes of destiny, sacrifice and the struggle between desire and duty
  21. Egg prices soar as outdated supply chains crack under pressure
  22. Who gets to brand Puerto Rico: Its tourism agency or its biggest star?
  23. Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department was inspired by the Heritage Foundation’s decades-long disapproval of the agency
  24. What are AI hallucinations? Why AIs sometimes make things up
  25. Why the words in your job posting may attract rule-bending narcissists
  26. Avoiding your neighbor because of how they voted? Democracy needs you to talk to them instead
  27. Defending humanitarian aid in terms of national security obscures its real purpose
  28. Trump’s firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks
  29. Cuts to research into inequality, disparities and other DEIA topics harm science
  30. Helper bots in online communities diminish human interaction
  31. Digital imperialism: How US social media firms are using American law to challenge global tech regulation
  32. Debate over H-1B visas shines spotlight on US tech worker shortages
  33. What causes the powerful winds that fuel dust storms, wildfires and blizzards? A weather scientist explains
  34. Trump administration seeks to starve libraries and museums of funding by shuttering this little-known agency
  35. Tyrannical leader? Why comparisons between Trump and King George III miss the mark on 18th-century British monarchy
  36. 5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data
  37. Atlantic sturgeon were fished almost to extinction − ancient DNA reveals how Chesapeake Bay population changed over centuries
  38. Insomnia can lead to heart issues − a psychologist recommends changes that can improve sleep
  39. How power imbalance, misread signs and strategic blunders clouded Hamas’ judgment over Gaza ceasefire
  40. Arrested and stripped of degree: Twin moves to bar Istanbul mayor from ballot suggests Turkey’s Erdogan is really worried this time
  41. Trump’s defiance of a federal court order fuels a constitutional crisis − a legal scholar unpacks the complicated case
  42. US isn’t first country to dismantle its foreign aid office − here’s what happened after the UK killed its version of USAID
  43. Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences
  44. The Gaza ceasefire is dead − Israeli domestic politics killed it
  45. Measles cases are on the rise − here’s how to make sure you’re protected
  46. Humans aren’t the only animals with complex culture − but researchers point to one feature that makes ours unique
  47. Fires, wars and bureaucracy: The tumultuous journey to establish the US National Archives
  48. Can animals make art?
  49. Shaken baby syndrome can cause permanent brain damage, long-term disabilities or death – a pediatrician examines the preventable tragedy
  50. Donald Trump’s nonstop news-making can be exhausting, making it harder for people to scrutinize his presidential actions