NewsPronto

 
Times Advertising


.

The Conversation

What is 'dark money'? 5 questions answered

  • Written by Richard Briffault, Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia University
These Iowan supporters of Steve Bullock may hope he'll make good on promises to get 'dark money' out of politics.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

With the 2020 campaign season upon us, “dark money” is again in the news.

Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins has decried what she contends is a “dark money” campaign against...

Read more: What is 'dark money'? 5 questions answered

Not all candy is candy – at least for tax purposes

  • Written by Hayes Holderness, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Richmond
A convenience store worker hands out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.AP Photo/Wong Maye-E

Halloween shoppers have many delicious decisions to make before trick-or-treaters show up at their doors. And in many states, those choices will change how much tax they pay.

In Illinois, for example, locals pay a higher state sales tax rate – 6.25...

Read more: Not all candy is candy – at least for tax purposes

We mapped how food gets from farms to your home

  • Written by Megan Konar, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Where has your produce been?CoolR/Shutterstock.com

My team at the University of Illinois just developed the first high-resolution map of the U.S. food supply chain.

Our map is a comprehensive snapshot of all food flows between counties in the U.S. – grains, fruits and vegetables, animal feed, and processed food items.

To build the map, we...

Read more: We mapped how food gets from farms to your home

5 milestones that created the internet, 50 years after the first network message

  • Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University
This SDS Sigma 7 computer sent the first message over the predecessor of the internet in 1969.Andrew 'FastLizard4' Adams/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Fifty years ago, a UCLA computer science professor and his student sent the first message over the predecessor to the internet, a network called ARPANET.

The log page showing the connection from UCLA to...

Read more: 5 milestones that created the internet, 50 years after the first network message

Trump has upended the long history of US investment in Ukraine's democracy

  • Written by Matthew Pauly, Associate Professor of History, Michigan State University

On a cold December night in 2016, Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, spoke to an anxious audience at a library in the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa. The audience was eager to hear what the recent election of Donald Trump might mean for their own security.

Yovanovitch had been my boss at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine 15 years...

Read more: Trump has upended the long history of US investment in Ukraine's democracy

How steak became manly and salads became feminine

  • Written by Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, Yale University
Food didn't become gendered until the late 19th century.Maisei Raman/Shutterstock.com

When was it decided that women prefer some types of food – yogurt with fruit, salads and white wine – while men are supposed to gravitate to chili, steak and bacon?

In my new book, “American Cuisine: And How It Got This Way,” I show how...

Read more: How steak became manly and salads became feminine

The future of the US workforce will rely on AI, but don't count human workers out just yet

  • Written by Katherine Newman, Interim Chancellor and Torrey Little Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston
Robots have already started moving into Amazon's workforce alongside people.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Artificial intelligence has replaced many skills in recent years – including the skills needed to do some human jobs.

The tech revolution has not gone unnoticed by American workers. A 2018 Gallup poll revealed that 70% of Americans believe AI...

Read more: The future of the US workforce will rely on AI, but don't count human workers out just yet

As the climate changes, architects and engineers need to design buildings differently

  • Written by Nicholas Rajkovich, Assistant Professor of Architecture, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
A house in western New York during the 'Snowvember' snowstorm of 2014.Duane Warren, CC BY-ND

In the past seven years, four major disasters have caused serious disruptions in the Northeast and Midwest United States. Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York City in 2012, inflicting nearly US$11 billion in damage to buildings. In 2014, a storm dubbed...

Read more: As the climate changes, architects and engineers need to design buildings differently

When Halloween became America's most dangerous holiday

  • Written by W. Scott Poole, Professor of History, College of Charleston
Halloween can also be a time of expression of cultural and social anxieties.AP Photo/Richard Vogel

The unquiet spirits, vampires and the omnipresent zombies that take over American streets every October 31 may think Halloween is all about spooky fun. But what Halloween masqueraders may not realize is that in the early 1970s and well into the next...

Read more: When Halloween became America's most dangerous holiday

Leaf peep for science – I want your old photos of fall foliage

  • Written by Stephanie Spera, Assistant Professor of Climate Change & Remote Sensing, University of Richmond
What can your vacation pix tell scientists?Try Media/Shutterstock.com

Every October, when I was growing up in Massachusetts, my parents would check out the fall foliage reports and determine where we were going to drive to see the colorful leaves. And they still do. In New England, leaf peeping, as it’s called, is a billion dollar industry and...

Read more: Leaf peep for science – I want your old photos of fall foliage

More Articles ...

  1. How forceps permanently changed the way humans are born
  2. In Paraguay, rural communities facing deforestation see power – and profit – in a beloved drink
  3. Why the US has nuclear weapons in Turkey – and may try to put the bombs away
  4. Syrian refugees in Turkey are there to stay, at least for now
  5. ¿Vales educativos suponen una mejor educación? Nuevas investigaciones dejan interrogantes
  6. They're not all racist nut jobs – and 4 other observations about the patriot militia movement
  7. Analyzing online posts could help spot future mass shooters and terrorists
  8. Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless
  9. 5 tips for surviving in an increasingly uncertain world
  10. Oil companies are thinking about a low-carbon future, but aren't making big investments in it yet
  11. Community colleges open the door to selective universities
  12. Sulfur pollution from coal and gas is insanely bad – but a new chemistry innovation could clean it up
  13. A new chemistry innovation could reduce smog, acid-rain and asthma-inducing pollution
  14. What is sex really for?
  15. Deportation to Syria could mean death for women, children and LGBTQ refugees in Turkey
  16. If you’re using 'millennial' as a meaningful measurement, you should probably stop
  17. Voting could be the problem with democracy
  18. Have we become too paranoid about mass shootings?
  19. Even when they aren't fired for being pregnant or gay, teachers face strict moral demands
  20. New evidence that an extraterrestrial collision 12,800 years ago triggered an abrupt climate change for Earth
  21. Wildfire rebuilding: Taxes are better than bans for keeping homeowners from rebuilding in fire-plagued areas
  22. Bans on rebuilding in disaster-prone areas ignore homeowners preferences – raising costs works better
  23. Cities with more black residents rely more on traffic tickets and fines for revenue
  24. Why don't evergreens change color and drop their leaves every fall?
  25. Your political views can predict how you pronounce certain words
  26. Americans, especially millennials, are embracing plant-based meat products
  27. Trump is flouting global trade rules with China yet embracing them with the EU – here's why it matters
  28. Where is my Xanax Rx? Why your doctor may be concerned about prescribing benzodiazepines
  29. Blockchain voting is vulnerable to hackers, software glitches and bad ID photos – among other problems
  30. Pope affirms Catholic Church's duty to indigenous Amazonians hurt by climate change
  31. How Mister Rogers' faith shaped his idea of children's television
  32. The Chicago teachers' strike isn't just about kids – it's about union power too
  33. This overdose-reversal medicine could reduce opioid deaths – so why don't more people carry it?
  34. Here's what's missing in efforts to curb heavy drinking and hazing on campus
  35. Our world is getting smaller
  36. In fire-prone California, many residents can't afford wildfire insurance
  37. Bosses face more discrimination if they are women – from employees of any gender
  38. A UN treaty guarantees youth rights everywhere on earth – except the United States
  39. Pell Grants are getting their due in the 2020 campaign
  40. China's worldwide investment project is a push for more economic and political power
  41. Lower refugee limits are weakening resettlement in the US
  42. Study: Racism shortens lives and hurts health of blacks by promoting genes that lead to inflammation and illness
  43. Keeping students safe is a growth industry struggling to fulfill its mission
  44. I study teen suicide and believe clinical science can predict who is at risk
  45. How gambling built baseball – and then almost destroyed it
  46. Los Angeles is far from ending homelessness – but other American cities can still learn a lot from it
  47. Why a computer will never be truly conscious
  48. Iowa's farmers – and American eaters – need a national discussion on transforming US agriculture
  49. Why the guillotine may be less cruel than execution by slow poisoning
  50. Stimulants: Using them to cram for exams ruins sleep and doesn't help test scores