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How a reading group helped young German students defy the Nazis and find their faith

  • Written by Peter Nguyen, SJ, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
imageA copy of the sentences against, left to right, Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst is displayed at the White Rose Memorial in Munich.Johannes Simon/Getty Images

For three weeks in April 2025, my “Theology of Christian Martyrdom” class studied how a group of German students and...

Read more: How a reading group helped young German students defy the Nazis and find their faith

‘Agreeing to disagree’ is hurting your relationships – here’s what to do instead

  • Written by Lisa Pavia-Higel, Assistant Teaching Professor of English and Technical Communication, Missouri University of Science and Technology
imageConversational tools like 'looping' and 'reframing' can help move a conversation away from confrontation.Candra Ritonga/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As Americans become more polarized, even family dinners can feel fraught, surfacing differences that could spark out-and-out conflict. Tense conversations often end with a familiar refrain:...

Read more: ‘Agreeing to disagree’ is hurting your relationships – here’s what to do instead

Young bats learn to be discriminating when listening for their next meal

  • Written by Logan S. James, Research Associate in Animal Behavior, The University of Texas at Austin
imageA frog-eating bat approaches a túngara frog, one of its preferred foods.Grant Maslowski

It is late at night, and we are silently watching a bat in a roost through a night-vision camera. From a nearby speaker comes a long, rattling trill.

Cane toad’s rattling trill call.

The bat briefly perks up and wiggles its...

Read more: Young bats learn to be discriminating when listening for their next meal

RFK Jr. said many autistic people will never write a poem − even though there’s a rich history of neurodivergent poets and writers

  • Written by Bradley J. Irish, Associate Professor of English, Arizona State University
imageScholars today believe Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw was probably on the autism spectrum.Bettmann/Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently declared autism a national “epidemic,” calling it a “preventable disease” that is growing at an “alarming rate.”

He went...

Read more: RFK Jr. said many autistic people will never write a poem − even though there’s a rich history of...

Whooping cough is making a comeback, but the vaccine provides powerful protection

  • Written by Annette Regan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles
imageInfants can get vaccinated against whooping cough starting at 6 weeks of age.Hill Street Studios/Corbis via Getty Images

Whooping cough, a bacterial infection that can be especially dangerous for babies and young children, is on the rise. Already in 2025 the U.S. has recorded 8,485 cases. That’s compared with 4,266 cases during the same...

Read more: Whooping cough is making a comeback, but the vaccine provides powerful protection

No whistleblower is an island – why networks of allies are key to exposing corruption

  • Written by Kate Kenny, Professor of Business and Society, University of Galway
imageFacebook whistleblower Frances Haugen speaks at a conference in 2022. Kimberly White/Getty Images for SumOfUs

Whistleblowers – people who expose wrongdoing within their organizations – play a crucial role in holding governments and corporations accountable. But speaking up can come at a cost. People who report misconduct often face...

Read more: No whistleblower is an island – why networks of allies are key to exposing corruption

From cats and dogs to penguins and llamas, treating animals with acupuncture has become mainstream in veterinary medicine

  • Written by Joe Smith, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee
imageKevin, a King Charles spaniel, receives acupuncture treatment at a Washington, D.C. animal hospital.Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images

A perentie lizard in Dallas, an African penguin in Boston and an Oberhasli goat in Chicago are just a few recent examples of animals at zoos and aquariums benefiting recently from acupuncture therapy. As acupuncture...

Read more: From cats and dogs to penguins and llamas, treating animals with acupuncture has become mainstream...

The ‘sacramental shame’ many LGBTQ+ conservative Christians wrestle with – and how they find healing

  • Written by Dawne Moon, Professor of Social and Cultural Sciences, Marquette University
imageNot all LGBTQ+ Christians belong to congregations that support that aspect of their identity.D-Keine/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Kai found Jesus as a teenager. A person of white and Hawaiian descent, Kai now goes by gender-neutral pronouns and identifies as “māhū,” the traditional Hawaiian term for someone in-between...

Read more: The ‘sacramental shame’ many LGBTQ+ conservative Christians wrestle with – and how they find healing

Almost Zion: Remembering a short-lived Jewish state in New York

  • Written by Adam L. Rovner, Director of the Center for Judaic Studies, University of Denver
imageTwin bridges spanning the Niagara River lead from Tonawanda to Grand Island, New York -- the proposed site of 'Ararat.' Kevin Menschel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

At dawn on Sept. 15, 1825, a burst of cannon fire shook the ramshackle buildings of Buffalo, New York. Families raced down the main street to witness a grand ceremony, following a parade...

Read more: Almost Zion: Remembering a short-lived Jewish state in New York

Spider-Man’s lessons for us all on the responsibility to use our power, great or small, to do good

  • Written by George Tsakiridis, Senior Lecturer of Philosophy and Religion, South Dakota State University
imageA large statue of Spider-Man at a mall in Dubai.Giuseppe Cacace AFP via Getty Images

As a child, I watched reruns of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon on television. I was drawn to the action and colors and, of course, the catchy tune. This was my early introduction to Spider-Man, as it was for many children who grew up in the 1960s-’80s.

Spidey, as...

Read more: Spider-Man’s lessons for us all on the responsibility to use our power, great or small, to do good

More Articles ...

  1. Disinformation and other forms of ‘sharp power’ now sit alongside the ‘hard power’ of tanks and ‘soft power’ of ideas in policy handbook
  2. Florida panthers and black bears need a literal path for survival – here’s how the Florida Wildlife Corridor provides it in one of the fastest-growing US states
  3. How Trump promotes a radical, unscientific theory about sex and gender in the name of opposing ‘gender ideology extremism’
  4. Trump’s first 100 days show him dictating the terms of press coverage − following Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán’s playbook for media control
  5. 50 years later, Vietnam’s environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine
  6. Trump administration’s attempt to nix the labor rights of thousands of federal workers on ‘national security’ grounds furthers the GOP’s long-held anti-union agenda
  7. Bureaucrats get a bad rap, but they deserve more credit − a sociologist of work explains why
  8. Italy’s Meloni is positioning herself as bridge between EU and Trump – but will it work?
  9. Pope Francis filled the College of Cardinals with a diverse group of men – and they’ll be picking his successor
  10. Granular systems, such as sandpiles or rockslides, are all around you − new research will help scientists describe how they work
  11. Cancer research in the US is world class because of its broad base of funding − with the government pulling out, its future is uncertain
  12. Detroit’s lack of affordable housing pushes families to the edge - and children sometime pay the price
  13. How does soap keep you clean? A chemist explains the science of soap
  14. Tensions over Kashmir and a warming planet have placed the Indus Waters Treaty on life support
  15. In talking with Tehran, Trump is reversing course on Iran – could a new nuclear deal be next?
  16. Colors are objective, according to two philosophers − even though the blue you see doesn’t match what I see
  17. Florida, once considered a swing state, is firmly Republican – a social anthropologist explains what caused this shift
  18. ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence’ − an astronomer explains how much evidence scientists need to claim discoveries like extraterrestrial life
  19. Trump’s ‘Garden of American Heroes’ is a monument to celebrity and achievement – paid for with humanities funding that benefits everyday Americans
  20. Hotter and drier climate in Colorado’s San Luis Valley contributes to kidney disease in agriculture workers, new study shows
  21. Japanese women have long sacrificed their surnames in marriage − politics and demographics might change that
  22. ‘I were but little happy, if I could say how much’: Shakespeare’s insights on happiness have held up for more than 400 years
  23. Why predicting battery performance is like forecasting traffic − and how researchers are making progress
  24. These 4 tips can make screen time good for your kids and even help them learn to talk
  25. Trump’s aggressive actions against free speech speak a lot louder than his words defending it
  26. Memes and conflict: Study shows surge of imagery and fakes can precede international and political violence
  27. Pope Francis’ death right after Easter sounds miraculous – but patients and caregivers often work together to delay dying
  28. US colleges and universities have billions stashed away in endowments − a higher ed finance expert explains what they are
  29. Gratitude comes with benefits − a social psychologist explains how to practice it when times are stressful
  30. Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage
  31. How do children learn to read? This literacy expert says ‘there are as many ways as there are students’
  32. The hidden history of Philadelphia’s window-box gardens and their role in urban reform
  33. Is China the new cool? How Beijing is using pop culture to win the soft power war
  34. From Doing Business to B-READY: World Bank’s new rankings represent a rebrand, not a revamp
  35. Justice Department lawyers work for justice and the Constitution – not the White House
  36. Trump is stripping protections from marine protected areas – why that’s a problem for fishing’s future, and for whales, corals and other ocean life
  37. US universities lose millions of dollars chasing patents, research shows
  38. From help to harm: How the government is quietly repurposing everyone’s data for surveillance
  39. Trump administration pauses new mine safety regulation − here’s how those rules benefit companies as well as workers
  40. Controlled burns reduce wildfire risk, but they require trained staff and funding − this could be a rough year
  41. Stripping federal protection for clean water harms just about everyone, especially already vulnerable communities
  42. I study local government and Hurricane Helene forced me from my home − here’s how rural towns and counties in North Carolina and beyond cooperate to rebuild
  43. A warning for Democrats from the Gilded Age and the 1896 election
  44. Habeas corpus: A thousand-year-old legal principle for defending rights that’s getting a workout under the Trump administration
  45. Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase undermines its true purpose
  46. Perfect brownies baked at high altitude are possible thanks to Colorado’s home economics pioneer Inga Allison
  47. Some politicians who share harmful information are rewarded with more clicks, study finds
  48. Make Russia Medieval Again! How Putin is seeking to remold society, with a little help from Ivan the Terrible
  49. Francis, a pope of many firsts: 5 essential reads
  50. Lawful permanent residents like Mahmoud Khalil have a right to freedom of speech – but does that protect them from deportation?