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Philly Roller Derby league turns 20 - here’s how the sport skated its way to feminism, anti-racism and queer liberation

  • Written by Colleen English, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Penn State
imageEarly members of Philly's roller derby league face off in a match circa 2005-2006.Jeff Fusco/The Conversation U.S., CC BY-ND

For 20 years, Philly Roller Derby skaters, who go by names like Woolly Slammoth, TrailBlazeHer and Reba Smackentire, have jammed and blocked their way around oval skating rinks in the spirit of feminism, anti-racism, body...

Read more: Philly Roller Derby league turns 20 - here’s how the sport skated its way to feminism, anti-racism...

How an unexpected observation, a 10th-century recipe and an explorer’s encounter with a cabbage thief upend what we know about collard greens’ journey to the American South

  • Written by Bronwen Powell, Associate Professor of Geography, African Studies and Anthropology, Penn State
imageCollard greens − a staple of diets across the African diaspora.Bronwen Powell/Abderrahim Ouarghidi, CC BY

For generations, collard greens have formed an important part of African and African-diaspora diets around the world.

The leafy vegetable is a quintessential part of African American, Southern and “soul” foods in the United...

Read more: How an unexpected observation, a 10th-century recipe and an explorer’s encounter with a cabbage...

I study refugees, and here are the facts on the history and impact of refugee resettlement in the US

  • Written by Tazreena Sajjad, Senior Professorial Lecturer of Global Governance, Politics and Security, American University School of International Service
imageBorders: closed.Anton Petrus/Moment via Getty

Refugees haven’t been welcome in the United States since the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, when he signed an executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 90 days. Despite a February 2025 federal court order to resume refugee resettlement, the...

Read more: I study refugees, and here are the facts on the history and impact of refugee resettlement in the US

You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory

  • Written by Scott Paeth, Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University
imageIt may be timeless wisdom, but the prayer itself isn't ancient.Roy Morsch/The Image Bank via Getty Images

I’m not sure when I first encountered the Serenity Prayer, or when it first occurred to me to ask who wrote it. For much of my life it never occurred to me that prayers were the kind of things that people actually wrote down, especially...

Read more: You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory

3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars

  • Written by Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn State
image3D printing could make many of the components for future structures on Mars.3000ad/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Throughout history, when pioneers set out across uncharted territory to settle in distant lands, they carried with them only the essentials: tools, seeds and clothing. Anything else would have to come from their new environment.

So they...

Read more: 3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the...

Can the Trump administration legally deport Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil? 3 things to know about green card holders’ rights

  • Written by Gabriel J. Chin, Professor of Criminal Law, Immigration, and Race and Law, University of California, Davis
imageMahmoud Khalil, center, a permanent resident facing deportation, speaks at a press conference organized by Palestinian rights protesters at Columbia University in New York City on June 1, 2024. Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the government will deport lawful permanent residents who support Hamas...

Read more: Can the Trump administration legally deport Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil? 3 things...

America’s clean air rules have boosted health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s deregulation spree ignores

  • Written by Richard E. Peltier, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, UMass Amherst
imageRegulations have cleaned up cars, power plants and factories, leaving cleaner air while economies have grown. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The Trump administration announced on March 12, 2025, that it is “reconsidering” more than 30 air pollution regulations in a series of moves that could impact air quality across the United States.

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Read more: America’s clean air rules have boosted health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s deregulation...

America’s clean air rules boost health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s new deregulation plans ignore

  • Written by Richard E. Peltier, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, UMass Amherst
imageRegulations have cleaned up cars, power plants and factories, leaving cleaner air while economies have grown. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The Trump administration announced on March 12, 2025, that it is “reconsidering” more than 30 air pollution regulations in a series of moves that could impact air quality across the United States.

&ldqu...

Read more: America’s clean air rules boost health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s new deregulation plans...

Mass layoffs at Education Department signal Trump’s plan to gut the agency

  • Written by Joshua Cowen, Professor of Education Policy, Michigan State University
imageThe Department of Education is seen on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration on Tuesday slashed staff at the Department of Education – firing roughly 1,300 employees – as part of its long-planned effort to eliminate the agency entirely. The move leaves the department with 2,183 employees, down...

Read more: Mass layoffs at Education Department signal Trump’s plan to gut the agency

Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to find out

  • Written by Matt Williams, Senior International Editor
imageHello, shutdown, my old friend ...Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Brinkmanship, a political scramble to keep the lights on in Washington and finger-pointing over who is to the blame – we’ve been here before, right?

The threat of government shutdowns seems to be a regular feature of modern American politics.

And while this is...

Read more: Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to...

More Articles ...

  1. How do researchers determine how toxic a chemical is? A toxicologist explains alternatives to animal testing
  2. The fediverse promises social media without Big Tech – if it can avoid familiar pitfalls
  3. For superfans, comic-con culture is more than fun – it’s sacred, a sociologist explains
  4. Alien and Sedition Acts were reviled in their time, and John Adams was not sorry to see them go
  5. Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry faces urgent labor shortage − and latest immigration policies will likely make it worse
  6. US workers with remote-friendly jobs are still working from home nearly half the time, 5 years after the pandemic began
  7. How Jesse Jackson embodied Southern politics − and changed American elections
  8. The parallels between Kash Patel and William J. Burns, a scandal-mongering 1920s FBI director — an FBI historian explains
  9. Middle age is a time when women are vulnerable to eating disorders
  10. Arrest of ex-president Duterte will shake up dynastic politics in the Philippines – and hand initiative to rival Marcos family
  11. US-Ukraine deal highlights Ukraine’s wealth of critical minerals, but extracting them isn’t so simple
  12. The world regulated sulfur in ship fuels − and the lightning stopped
  13. 5 years of COVID-19 underscore value of coordinated efforts to manage disease – while CDC, NIH and WHO face threats to their ability to respond to a crisis
  14. What is a SLAPP suit? Legal experts explain how these lawsuits suppress free speech
  15. How Trump’s foreign aid and diplomatic cuts will make it harder for the US to wield soft power to maintain its friendships and win new ones
  16. Mission possible − parastronaut programs can make space travel more inclusive and attainable for all
  17. From TB to HIV/AIDS to cancer, disease tracking has always had a political dimension, but it’s the foundation of public health
  18. End-of-life planning can be hampered by misconceptions − but the process is easier than you might think
  19. Trump’s DOGE campaign accelerates 50-year trend of government privatization
  20. What happens when leaders have loyalists in charge of men with guns: Lessons for the US from Nicaragua, Syria and other authoritarian countries
  21. The sun is setting on government transparency in Florida – and secrecy creep is affecting the rest of the US, too
  22. How the color of St. Patrick’s Day went from blue to green
  23. George Washington, a real estate investor and successful entrepreneur, knew the difference between running a business and running the government
  24. Taking a leap of faith into imaginary numbers opens new doors in the real world through complex analysis
  25. DEI initiatives removed from federal agencies that fund science, but scientific research continues
  26. The dark parallels between 1920s America and today’s political climate
  27. The fear of deportation hangs over unauthorized workers trying to fight exploitation, but all workers in the US have rights
  28. The FACE Act was enacted to protect reproductive health clinics − here’s why its history matters today
  29. Ann Arbor’s sustainable energy utility aims to build the electric power grid of the future − alongside the old one
  30. 5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since COVID-19
  31. Is ranch dressing a liquid or a solid? A physicist explains
  32. America is becoming a nation of homebodies
  33. 5 reasons veterans are especially hard-hit by federal cuts
  34. Daylight saving time and early school start times cost billions in lost productivity and health care expenses
  35. How Trump’s $2B court battle over foreign aid could reshape executive authority
  36. Pause in aid has introduced uncertainty into Ukraine’s military planning − forever changing its war calculus
  37. NIH funding cuts will hit red states, rural areas and underserved communities the hardest
  38. ‘Pac-Man with a ponytail’ proteins regulate everything from night vision to heartbeats – studying what GRKs look like could improve an array of drugs
  39. What Amazon MGM’s creative control over the James Bond film franchise means for the future of 007
  40. Exhausted by the news? Here are 6 strategies to stay informed without getting overwhelmed − or misled by misinformation
  41. The US has pardoned insurrectionists twice before – and both times, years of violent racism followed
  42. Beyond AI regulation: How government and industry can team up to make the technology safer without hindering innovation
  43. Knocking down abandoned buildings has a lot of benefits for Detroit − but it’s costly for cities
  44. Why getting the numbers right isn’t enough for pollsters to be credible in today’s polarized climate
  45. Butterflies declined by 22% in just 2 decades across the US – there are ways you can help save them
  46. How 18F transformed government technology − and why its elimination matters
  47. Anger is a flow of emotion like water through a hose − at work, it helps to know when to turn it up or down and how to direct it
  48. DOGE threat: How government data would give an AI company extraordinary power
  49. As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline
  50. What’s that microplastic? Advances in machine learning are making identifying plastics in the environment more reliable