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Stop obsessing over talent—everyone can sing

  • Written by Steven M. Demorest, Professor of Music Education, Northwestern University
imageStudents from a combined choir of the Edmonton public schools.Edmonton Public Schools / flickr, CC BY

A Hungarian film titled “Sing” recently won the Oscar for best short film. “Sing” tells the story of young Zsófi, who joins a renowned children’s choir at her elementary school where “everyone is...

Read more: Stop obsessing over talent—everyone can sing

Six charts that illustrate the divide between rural and urban America

  • Written by Brian Thiede, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography, Pennsylvania State University
imageThe divide is in the data.American Community Survey (ACS) 2011-2015 5 year estimates, Table S1810, CC BY

Editor’s note: We’ve all heard of the great divide between life in rural and urban America. But what are the factors that contribute to these differences? We asked sociologists, economists, geographers and historians to describe the...

Read more: Six charts that illustrate the divide between rural and urban America

EU court allows companies to ban headscarves. What will be the impact on Muslim women?

  • Written by Z. Fareen Parvez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that interprets EU law issued a landmark judgment on March 14 that upheld the right of private companies in EU member countries to enact policies barring employees from wearing “religious, political and philosophical signs” in the interest of “neutrality.”

Such visible signs...

Read more: EU court allows companies to ban headscarves. What will be the impact on Muslim women?

Reagan called America a 'city on a hill' because taxpayers funded the humanities

  • Written by Abram Van Engen, Associate Professor of English, Washington University in St Louis
imagePresident Ronald Reagan on stage with his wife Nancy, 1984.AP Photo/Reed Saxon

When Ronald Reagan called the United States a “city on a hill,” in 1974, it encapsulated an expansive, optimistic vision of America.

The phrase comes from a Puritan sermon by John Winthrop called “A Model of Christian Charity.” But no one knew...

Read more: Reagan called America a 'city on a hill' because taxpayers funded the humanities

What's behind phantom cellphone buzzes?

  • Written by Daniel J. Kruger, Research Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
imageThis is your brain on plugs.'Brain' via www.shutterstock.com

Have you ever experienced a phantom phone call or text? You’re convinced that you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, or that you heard your ring tone. But when you check your phone, no one actually tried to get in touch with you.

You then might plausibly wonder: “Is my...

Read more: What's behind phantom cellphone buzzes?

A serious and often overlooked issue for patients with brain diseases: Swallowing

  • Written by Don Bolser, Professor, University of Florida
imagePeople with brain diseases, particularly older people, have trouble swallowing. Via Shutterstock.www.Shutttertock.com

Recall that last time you had something “go down the wrong pipe”? You spent the next several minutes coughing, choking and feeling like something bad was in your throat.

It may seem strange to say this, but count...

Read more: A serious and often overlooked issue for patients with brain diseases: Swallowing

Sky-high drug prices for rare diseases show why Orphan Drug Act needs reform

  • Written by Dana Goldman, Director, Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California
imageThe FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.AP/Andrew Harnick

When Marathon Pharmaceuticals announced in February it would market a drug for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy for US$89,000 a year, the negative reaction was so intense that the company immediately suspended the rollout. (On Thursday, March 16, Marathon announced it was...

Read more: Sky-high drug prices for rare diseases show why Orphan Drug Act needs reform

Bypassing encryption: 'Lawful hacking' is the next frontier of law enforcement technology

  • Written by Ben Buchanan, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cyber Security Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
imageHow can investigators get into digital files?Sherlock Holmes and computer via shutterstock.com

The discussion about how law enforcement or government intelligence agencies might rapidly decode information someone else wants to keep secret is – or should be – shifting. One commonly proposed approach, introducing what is called a...

Read more: Bypassing encryption: 'Lawful hacking' is the next frontier of law enforcement technology

The old, dirty, creaky US electric grid would cost $5 trillion to replace. Where should infrastructure spending go?

  • Written by Joshua D. Rhodes, Postdoctoral Researcher of Energy, University of Texas at Austin
imageOld school: Much of the power plant and transmission network we rely on has been around for decades. andrewfhart/flickr, CC BY-SA

The electric grid is an amazing integrated system of machines spanning an entire continent. The National Academy of Engineering has called it one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century.

But it is...

Read more: The old, dirty, creaky US electric grid would cost $5 trillion to replace. Where should...

Trump's planned military buildup is based on faulty claims, not good strategy

  • Written by Daniel Wirls, Professor of Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz

President Donald Trump just released a budget plan intended to fulfill a promise to rebuild the military with “one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.”

Specifically, Trump wants to boost “base” military spending by US$52.3 billion to $574 billion, an increase of 10 percent over fiscal...

Read more: Trump's planned military buildup is based on faulty claims, not good strategy

More Articles ...

  1. Populist Wilders may have come up short, but Dutch intolerance is still real
  2. Donald Trump and Enda Kenny celebrate a tense St. Patrick's Day
  3. North Korea and the dangers of Trump's diplomacy-free Asia strategy
  4. A big pawprint: The environmental impact of pet food
  5. How online hate infiltrates social media and politics
  6. How a Christian movement is growing rapidly in the midst of religious decline
  7. Why US communities should be designing parks for older adults
  8. Revenge isn't always sweet, but it can be beautiful
  9. Why higher interest rates should make you happy
  10. Russian interventions in other people's elections: A brief history
  11. School bus routes are expensive and hard to plan. We calculated a better way
  12. Hot food, fast: The home microwave oven turns 50
  13. Debunking the 'gaydar' myth
  14. The power of ordinary people facing totalitarianism
  15. How did we get here? Four essential reads on the status of health care in America
  16. How a kernel of corn may yield answers into some cancers
  17. Trade Facilitation Agreement's benefits may extend well beyond cutting red tape
  18. How unaccompanied youth become exploited workers in the US
  19. Why powerful people fail to stop bad behavior by their underlings
  20. Did artificial intelligence deny you credit?
  21. Whose votes count the least in the Electoral College?
  22. Upgrading our infrastructure: Targeting repairs for locks, dams and bridges
  23. What's the purpose of President Trump's Navy?
  24. Could the individual insurance market collapse in some states? Here's how that could happen
  25. Why prison building will continue booming in rural America
  26. Curbing climate change has a dollar value — here's how and why we measure it
  27. Mixing glitter and protest to support LGBTQ rights
  28. 3.14 essential reads about pi; for Pi Day
  29. The House health plan: Here's how the numbers don't add up for the poor
  30. How disaster relief efforts could be improved with game theory
  31. My doctor says there’s a guideline for my treatment – but is it right for me?
  32. Life on Earth is used to gravity – so what happens to our cells and tissues in space?
  33. Neil Gorsuch and the First Amendment: Questions the Senate Judiciary Committee should ask
  34. Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend
  35. Now under attack, EPA's work on climate change has been going on for decades
  36. Why we should not know our own passwords
  37. Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?
  38. Six years after Fukushima, much of Japan has lost faith in nuclear power
  39. If men are favored in our society, why do they die younger than women?
  40. House plan to replace Obamacare 'has Republican DNA,' especially regarding mandate
  41. From the mundane to the divine, some of the best-designed products of all time
  42. Largest deportation campaign in US history is no match for Trump's plan
  43. Want to help Chicago's youth? Pay more attention to the effect of violence on police
  44. The WikiLeaks CIA release: When will we learn?
  45. Why Trump’s 'skinny' budget is already dead
  46. We don't need to double world food production by 2050 – here's why
  47. A look at the House health care plan through the lens of faith, hope and charity
  48. Despite differences in culture, US and India fall short in childbirth in similar ways
  49. How 'cannibalism' by breast cancer cells promotes dormancy: A possible clue into cancer recurrence
  50. Scientific theories aren't mere conjecture – to survive they must work