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Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues

  • Written by James L. Gibson, Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, Washington University in St. Louis
imagePolarization has led many people to feel they're being silenced.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

For decades, Americans’ trust in one another has been on the decline, according to the most recent General Social Survey.

A major factor in that downshift has been the concurrent rise in the polarization between the two major political parties. Supporters...

Read more: Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their...

Detroit restaurants identified as ‘Black-owned’ on Yelp saw a slight drop in business ratings

  • Written by Matthew Bui, Assistant Professor of Information and Digital Studies, University of Michigan
imageYelp's Black-owned tag was designed to help business owners like Don Studvent attract more customers. His restaurant closed in 2018 after nine years in business.AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

When the online review platform Yelp added a “Black-owned” tag in 2020, it boosted the visibility of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit. It also caused...

Read more: Detroit restaurants identified as ‘Black-owned’ on Yelp saw a slight drop in business ratings

Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

  • Written by Zicheng Cheng, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications, University of Arizona
imageAre you in an echo chamber on TikTok?LeoPatrizi/E+ via Getty Images

People on TikTok tend to follow accounts that align with their own political beliefs, meaning the platform is creating political echo chambers among its users. These findings, from a study my collaborators, Yanlin Li and Homero Gil de Zúñiga, and I published in the...

Read more: Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?

  • Written by Alex Schwartz, Professor of Urban Policy, The New School
imageThousands of American families that can't find affordable apartments are stuck living in extended-stay motels.Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

If there’s one thing that U.S. politicians and activists from across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s thatrentsare far too high.

Many experts believe that this...

Read more: What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?

I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong

  • Written by Jake Scott, Clinical Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, Stanford University
imagePublic health experts worry that factually inaccurate statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threaten the public's confidence in vaccines.Andrew HarnikGetty Images

In the four months since he began serving as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made many public statements about vaccines that have cast...

Read more: I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what...

Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a relic of the past

  • Written by Andrea Stanton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies & Faculty Affiliate, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver
imageAmerican troops topple a statue of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, in Baghdad. Gilles Bassignac/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

After 12 days of trading deadly airstrikes, Israel and Iran confirmed on June 24, 2025, that a ceasefire is in effect, one day after President Donald Trump proclaimed the countries reached a deal to end fighting. Experts...

Read more: Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a...

A preservative removed from childhood vaccines 20 years ago is still causing controversy today − a drug safety expert explains

  • Written by Terri Levien, Professor of Pharmacy, Washington State University
imageA discredited study published in 1989 first alleged a link between thimerosal and autism.Flavio Coelho/Moment via Getty Images

An expert committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines is meeting for the first time since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly replaced the committee’s 17 members with...

Read more: A preservative removed from childhood vaccines 20 years ago is still causing controversy today − a...

What is reconciliation − the legislative shortcut Republicans are using to push through their ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?

  • Written by Linda J. Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance, Harvard Kennedy School
imageSenate Majority Leader John Thune speaks with reporters about the reconciliation process to advance President Donald Trump's spending and tax bill on June 3, 2025. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The word “reconciliation” sounds benign, even harmonious.

But in Washington, D.C., reconciliation refers to a potent legislative shortcut that...

Read more: What is reconciliation − the legislative shortcut Republicans are using to push through their ‘Big...

What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries’ shared history

  • Written by Gregory F. Treverton, Professor of Practice in International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageIranians protest the U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities in Tehran on June 22, 2025.Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Trump administration’s decision to bomb Iran dramatically marks the now nearly half-century of hostility between the United States and Iran, which began in 1979 with Iran’s takeover of the U.S....

Read more: What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries’ shared history

How do scientists calculate the probability that an asteroid could hit Earth?

  • Written by Toshi Hirabayashi, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageNASA's Webb telescope captured a photo of the asteroid 2024 YR4 from afar. European Space Agency via AP

I was preparing for my early morning class back in January 2025 when I received a notice regarding an asteroid called 2024 YR4. It said the probability it could hit Earth was unusually high.

As defending Earth from unexpected intruders such as...

Read more: How do scientists calculate the probability that an asteroid could hit Earth?

More Articles ...

  1. Trump administration aims to slash funds that preserve the nation’s rich architectural and cultural history
  2. Grover Norquist’s lasting influence on the GOP and US economic policy
  3. Checking in on New England’s fishing industry 25 Years after ‘The Perfect Storm’ hit movie theaters
  4. Why power skills – formerly known as ‘soft skills’ – are the key to business success
  5. Checking in on New England fisheries 25 years after ‘The Perfect Storm’ movie
  6. Blocking exports and raising tariffs is a bad defense against industrial cyber espionage, study shows
  7. Mitochondria can sense bacteria and trigger your immune system to trap them – revealing new ways to treat infections and autoimmunity 
  8. More than half of US teens have had at least one cavity, but fluoride programs in schools help prevent them – new research
  9. Philly psychology students map out local landmarks and hidden destinations where they feel happiest
  10. Ceasefires like the one between Iran and Israel often fail – but an agreement with specific conditions is more likely to hold
  11. Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 − it pushed program underground and spurred Saddam Hussein’s desire for nukes
  12. Supreme Court rules Trump can rapidly deport immigrants to Libya, South Sudan and other countries they aren’t from
  13. How Internet of Things devices affect your privacy – even when they’re not yours
  14. Federal energy office illustrates the perils of fluctuating budgets and priorities
  15. ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since
  16. 3D-printed model of a 500-year-old prosthetic hand hints at life of a Renaissance amputee
  17. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake
  18. Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools
  19. Charitable giving grew to $593B in 2024, propelled by a strengthening US economy and a booming stock market
  20. Presidents of both parties have launched military action without Congress declaring war − Trump’s bombing of Iran is just the latest
  21. How the end of carbon capture could spark a new industrial revolution
  22. 3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk
  23. To spur the construction of affordable, resilient homes, the future is concrete
  24. Astronomy has a major data problem – simulating realistic images of the sky can help train algorithms
  25. Neuropathic pain has no immediate cause – research on a brain receptor may help stop this hard-to-treat condition
  26. I’m an expert in crafting public health messages: Here are 3 marketing strategies I use to make Philadelphia healthier
  27. How do atoms form? A physicist explains where the atoms that make up everything around come from
  28. The sleeper Supreme Court decision that could have profound impacts on the Trump administration agenda – and restore faith in the high court
  29. No country for old business owners: Economic shifts create a growing challenge for America’s aging entrepreneurs
  30. After the smoke clears, a wildfire’s legacy can haunt rivers for years, putting drinking water at risk
  31. US bombs Iran’s nuclear sites: What led to Trump pulling the trigger – and what happens next?
  32. Outsourcing cost of ‘impact’ data could mean 13% more bang for every charitable buck
  33. A militarily degraded Iran may turn to asymmetrical warfare – raising risk of proxy and cyber attacks
  34. How artificial intelligence controls your health insurance coverage
  35. What is CREC? The Christian nationalist group has a vision for America − and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s support
  36. At Antarctica’s midwinter, a look back at the frozen continent’s long history of dark behavior
  37. Low-income homeowners hit by disasters may get less help from the government, as Trump administration nixes rules on fairness, community input and resilience
  38. Nuclear scientists  have long been targets in covert ops – Israel has brought that policy out of the shadows
  39. Nuclear scientists have long been targets in covert ops – Israel has brought that policy out of the shadows
  40. How to stay safe during heat waves – and the heat stroke warning signs to watch for
  41. How to stay safe during heat waves – and heat stroke warning signs to watch for
  42. Light-powered reactions could make the chemical manufacturing industry more energy-efficient
  43. Trump administration’s conflicting messages on Chinese student visas reflect complex US-China relations
  44. Metro Detroit is growing – but its suburbs are telling a more complicated story
  45. Family and friends shoulder the real cost of dementia − $224B in unpaid care
  46. The term ‘lone gunman’ ignores the structures that enable violence
  47. 50 years after ‘Jaws,’ researchers have retired the man-eater myth and revealed more about sharks’ amazing biology
  48. Grok’s ‘white genocide’ responses show how generative AI can be weaponized
  49. Smartphones are once again setting the agenda for justice as the Latino community documents ICE actions
  50. Expansion of marriage rights to same-sex couples also expanded access to the psychological benefits that come with tying the knot