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How St. Francis created the Nativity scene, with a miraculous event in 1223

  • Written by Vanessa Corcoran, Adjunct Professor of History, Academic Counselor, Georgetown University
The earliest biblical descriptions do not mention the presence of any barnyard animals, that are part of Nativity displays today.Oscar Llerena/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Around the Christmas season, it is common to see a display of the Nativity scene: a small manger with the baby Jesus and his family, shepherds, the three wise men believed to have visited...

Read more: How St. Francis created the Nativity scene, with a miraculous event in 1223

Alcoholic? Me? How to tell if your holiday drinking is becoming a problem

  • Written by Sara Jo Nixon, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Florida
Holiday drinking can get out of hand before we know it. It's important to know the signs of overuse.Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock.com

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when holiday parties collide with collegiate and professional athletics events. What do they all have in common? Booze, lots of it, and often free. It’s no wonder the...

Read more: Alcoholic? Me? How to tell if your holiday drinking is becoming a problem

Can Congress hold Trump accountable? 4 essential reads on a historic power struggle

  • Written by Naomi Schalit, Senior Editor, Politics + Society, The Conversation US
The U.S. Capitol, where the vote to impeach President Trump is expected to take place.AP/J. Scott Applewhite

The vote to impeach President Donald Trump will be held soon in the House of Representatives. It brings to a head the battle that has raged for months between the president and Democratic members of the House.

Democrats and Trump have fought...

Read more: Can Congress hold Trump accountable? 4 essential reads on a historic power struggle

The Madrid climate conference's real failure was not getting a broad deal on global carbon markets

  • Written by Robert Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development, Harvard Kennedy School
Activists protest outside of COP25 climate talks in Madrid, Dec. 14, 2019.AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

Press accounts of the Madrid climate conference that adjourned on Dec. 15 are calling it a failure in the face of inspirational calls from youth activists and others for greater ambition. But based on my 25 years following and analyzing this process tog...

Read more: The Madrid climate conference's real failure was not getting a broad deal on global carbon markets

How Crisco toppled lard – and made Americans believers in industrial food

  • Written by Helen Zoe Veit, Associate Professor of History, Michigan State University
It's all about having faith in the purity of the process.melissamn/Shutterstock.com

Perhaps you’ll unearth a can of Crisco for the holiday baking season. If so, you’ll be one of millions of Americans who have, for generations, used it to make cookies, cakes, pie crusts and more.

But for all Crisco’s popularity, what exactly is...

Read more: How Crisco toppled lard – and made Americans believers in industrial food

Tracking your heart rate? 5 questions answered about what that number really means

  • Written by Anne R. Crecelius, Associate Professor of Health and Sport Science, University of Dayton
It's one of your body's most basic vital signs.Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com

The rise of wearable fitness trackers has increased the number of people monitoring their heart rate, both throughout the day and during exercise.

Whether you’re an athlete trying to gain the competitive edge, a weekend warrior tracking progress or someone who is just...

Read more: Tracking your heart rate? 5 questions answered about what that number really means

150 cooks, servers and dishwashers almost shut down a Democratic debate, showing unions' growing clout in the party

  • Written by Ruben J. Garcia, Professor of Law, Co-Director of UNLV Workplace Law Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Joe Biden was among the top candidates who met with Unite Here culinary workers in Las Vegas. MediaPunch/IPX/Damairs Carter

Organized labor’s clout in the Democratic Party is growing. For evidence, look no further than the small California food services union that nearly managed to shut down a presidential debate.

Unite Here Local 11, which...

Read more: 150 cooks, servers and dishwashers almost shut down a Democratic debate, showing unions' growing...

Think presidential debates are dull? Thank 1950s TV game shows

  • Written by Michael J. Socolow, Associate Professor, Communication and Journalism, University of Maine
Host Jack Barry, middle, is flanked by contestants on '21,' a 1950s TV game show.Orlando Fernandez/New York World-Telegram and Sun/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

Televised political debates continue to disappoint viewers and critics. Sometimes they even frustrate the participants themselves.

That’s because, since their inception,...

Read more: Think presidential debates are dull? Thank 1950s TV game shows

Parents of medically fragile children and their kids could use help, understanding year-round

  • Written by Katherine Rafferty, Assistant Teaching Professor, Iowa State University
Katie Buck holds her son, Alex, 3, who has Trisomy 18, a chromosomal abnormality that causes severe developmental delays. Aly Carroll, CC BY-ND

December is a prime time to fundraise for children’s hospitals and other charities, as people want to give back and help sick children throughout the holiday season.

But for children who live with...

Read more: Parents of medically fragile children and their kids could use help, understanding year-round

7 reasons to learn a foreign language

  • Written by Kathleen Stein-Smith, Associate University Librarian; Adjunct Faculty, Fairleigh Dickinson University
America lags when it comes to being able to speak more than one language. Monopoly919/Shutterstock.com

Half of the world population is bilingual, but only 25% of Americans can hold a conversation in another language.

Changing that is one of the goals of language advocacy efforts, such as the Lead with Languages campaign. As the author of a book on...

Read more: 7 reasons to learn a foreign language

More Articles ...

  1. 7 science-based strategies to boost your willpower and succeed with your New Year’s resolutions
  2. My team uses crossbows and drones to collect bacteria from whales – and the results are teaching us how to keep whales healthy
  3. Feeling sick is an emotion meant to help you get better faster
  4. When a chief justice reminded senators in an impeachment trial that they were not jurors
  5. The science of gift wrapping explains why sloppy is better
  6. Planetary confusion -- why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet
  7. How can we make sure that algorithms are fair?
  8. 3 lessons for today's teachers and students from coach Vince Lombardi
  9. 6 charts that illustrate the surprising financial strength of American houses of worship
  10. Catholic activism, not repentance for sexual abuse, is what forces clergy to resign
  11. Evangelical gangs in Rio de Janeiro wage 'holy war' on Afro-Brazilian faiths
  12. Transgender homeless Americans find few protections in the law
  13. Why Congress would keep working during a government shutdown
  14. US-China trade deal: 3 fundamental issues remain unresolved
  15. In impeachment spotlight, dueling views of professionalism appear
  16. Impeachment is better than exile
  17. Kids aren't getting enough exercise, even in sporty Seattle
  18. Memo from a historian: White ladies cooking in plantation museums are a denial of history
  19. When Trump calls someone a dog, he's tapping into ugly history
  20. Margaret Morse Nice thought like a song sparrow and changed how scientists understand animal behavior
  21. Butterfly lovers become citizen scientists by logging sightings on eButterfly
  22. Uber's data revealed nearly 6,000 sexual assaults. Does that mean it's not safe?
  23. Asking people with memory loss about past holidays can help them recall happy times
  24. As rural Americans struggle for health care access, insurers may be making things worse
  25. The Earth needs multiple methods for removing CO2 from the air to avert worst of climate change
  26. 'Organic' label doesn't guarantee that holiday ham was a happy pig
  27. The dangers of depicting Greta Thunberg as a prophet
  28. Why are whales big, but not bigger?
  29. How old should kids be to get phones?
  30. ‘Richard Jewell’ is only the latest film to depict a female journalist trading sex for scoops
  31. Supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy may have a friend
  32. Winter is coming: 5 essential reads about snow and ice
  33. Myths around mental illness cause high rates of unemployment
  34. Slave life's harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations
  35. School resource officers aren't arrested often – but when they are, it's usually for sexual misconduct
  36. Myanmar charged with genocide of Rohingya Muslims: 5 essential reads
  37. Examining how primates make vowel sounds pushes timeline for speech evolution back by 27 million years
  38. USMCA: The 3 most important changes in the new NAFTA and why they matter
  39. Mexican Mennonites combat fears of violence with a new Christmas tradition
  40. Like 'Little Women,' books by Zitkála-Šá and Taha Hussein are classics
  41. We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid – globally, it's a lot
  42. Not every campus is a political battlefield
  43. 5 new ways for schools to work with families
  44. What happens when black Americans leave their segregated hometowns
  45. 'Robotic blacksmithing': A technology that could revive US manufacturing
  46. Paul Volcker helped shape an independent Federal Reserve – a vital legacy that's under threat
  47. What can drones do to protect civilians in armed conflict?
  48. Fat-shaming pregnant women isn't just mean, it's harmful
  49. Millions of burnt trees and rusted cars: Post-disaster cleanup is expensive, time-consuming and wasteful
  50. Taliban negotiations resume, feeding hope of a peaceful, more prosperous Afghanistan