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60 years of progress in expanding rights is being rolled back by Trump − a pattern that’s all too familiar in US history

  • Written by Philip Klinkner, James S. Sherman Professor of Government, Hamilton College
imageThere's a long history in the U.S. of denying the rights, liberties and benefits of democracy to some Americans.rob dobi/Getty Images

For many Americans, Donald Trump’s head-spinning array of executive orders in the early days of his second term look like an unprecedented effort to roll back democracy and the rights and liberties of American...

Read more: 60 years of progress in expanding rights is being rolled back by Trump − a pattern that’s all too...

From Jewish summer camp to gospel to Chabad, Bob Dylan’s faith doesn’t fit in a box − but he’s long had a connection to Israel

  • Written by Shalom Goldman, Professor of Religion, Middlebury
imageBob Dylan gives his first concert in Israel in 1987 in Tel Aviv, playing with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.AP Photo/Anat Givon

James Mangold’s film “A Complete Unknown,” nominated for eight Oscars, captures the elusive, enigmatic quality of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s: the years he emerged as a major musical and cultural...

Read more: From Jewish summer camp to gospel to Chabad, Bob Dylan’s faith doesn’t fit in a box − but he’s...

Can the president really kill off the penny – and should he?

  • Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor Questrom School of Business, Boston University

In the middle of Super Bowl LIX, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was getting rid of the penny. Since the lowly penny in 2024 cost about 3.7 cents to make – meaning the government loses money on every coin – the announcement might seem practical at first glance. But does the president have the power to kill off the...

Read more: Can the president really kill off the penny – and should he?

Syria’s mass graves: Accounting for the dead and disappeared is crucial for the nation to heal

  • Written by Stefan Schmitt, Project Lead for International Technical Forensic Services Global Forensic Justice Center, Florida International University

Shortly after the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria in December 2024, reports emerged of mass graves being uncovered in liberated areas.

Grim as such discoveries are, they should come as little surprise. The scale of the regime’s torture and killings in its detention facilities became evident years earlier, when in January 2014 a forensic...

Read more: Syria’s mass graves: Accounting for the dead and disappeared is crucial for the nation to heal

Trump and Maduro refresh a complex relationship governed by self-interest and tainted by Venezuela election fraud

  • Written by Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer and Interim Director of Latin American Studies, Boston University
imageVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump's special envoy, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 31, 2025. Venezuela's presidential press office, via AP

In 2019, President Donald Trump recognized then-Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s interim leader over Nicolás Maduro, who...

Read more: Trump and Maduro refresh a complex relationship governed by self-interest and tainted by Venezuela...

Inflation is heating up again, putting pressure on Trump to cool it on tariffs

  • Written by Jason Reed, Associate Teaching Professor of Finance, University of Notre Dame
imageInflation is building again; but the housing industry may find it harder to do so as a result of Trump tariffs. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Inflation figures released on Feb. 12, 2025, will come as a disappointment to Americans who hoped President Donald Trump would be true to his word on bringing down prices “on Day One.” It will also put...

Read more: Inflation is heating up again, putting pressure on Trump to cool it on tariffs

How Valentine’s Day was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and ‘manufactured intimacy’

  • Written by Christopher Ferguson, Associate Professor of History, Auburn University
imageA popular Victorian-era Valentine Day's card.Valentine Card by Jonathan King,1860-1880, London Museum., CC BY

When we think of Valentine’s Day, chubby Cupids, hearts and roses generally come to mind, not industrial processes like mass production and the division of labor. Yet the latter were essential to the holiday’s history.

As a...

Read more: How Valentine’s Day was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and ‘manufactured intimacy’

Why federal courts are unlikely to save democracy from Trump’s and Musk’s attacks

  • Written by Maya Sen, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
imageMany people may look to federal courts as a bulwark of the U.S. Constitution.Jose Luis Pelaez/Stone via Getty Images

State governments, community groups, advocacy nonprofits and regular Americans have filed a large and growing number of federal lawsuits opposing President Donald Trump’s barrage of executive orders and policy statements. Some...

Read more: Why federal courts are unlikely to save democracy from Trump’s and Musk’s attacks

How much does scientific progress cost? Without government dollars for research infrastructure, breakthroughs become improbable

  • Written by Aliasger K. Salem, Bighley Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iowa
imageAmerica may not maintain its position as a global leader in biomedical research without federal support.Sean Gladwell/Moment via Getty Images

Biomedical research in the U.S. is world-class in part because of a long-standing partnership between universities and the federal government.

On Feb. 7, 2025, the U.S. National Institutes of Health issued a...

Read more: How much does scientific progress cost? Without government dollars for research infrastructure,...

In spite of anti-DEI pressures, top corporations continued to diversify in 2024: new research

  • Written by Richie Zweigenhaft, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Guilford College

Despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning affirmative action in college admissions, and mounting pressure on corporations to eliminate their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the top 50 Fortune 500 companies continued to diversify their boards in 2024.

As a social psychologist, I’ve been tracking diversity on...

Read more: In spite of anti-DEI pressures, top corporations continued to diversify in 2024: new research

More Articles ...

  1. China flexes its media muscle in Africa – encouraging positive headlines as part of a soft power agenda
  2. Repatriation to Indigenous groups is more than law, it’s human rights − an archaeologist describes the day that lesson hit home
  3. Teenagers turning to AI companions are redefining love as easy, unconditional and always there
  4. Address science misinformation not by repeating the facts, but by building conversation and community
  5. Helping teachers learn what works in the classroom − and what doesn’t − will get a lot harder without the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences
  6. Even as polarization surges, Americans believe they live in a compassionate country
  7. The New Yorker turns 100 − how a poker game pipe dream became a publishing powerhouse
  8. Decluttering can be stressful − a clinical psychologist explains how personal values can make it easier
  9. Why are migrants dying trying to cross into the US? These are the 3 main risks they face
  10. NOAA’s vast public weather data powers the local forecasts on your phone and TV – a private company alone couldn’t match it
  11. Legal fight against AI-generated child pornography is complicated – a legal scholar explains why, and how the law could catch up
  12. Mirror life is a scientific fantasy leading to a dangerous reality − a synthetic biologist explains how mirror bacteria could conquer life on Earth
  13. Rural Americans don’t live as long as those in cities − new research
  14. Whether Christians should prioritize care for migrants as much as for fellow citizens has been debated for centuries
  15. How opioid deaths tripled in Philly over a decade − and what may be behind a recent downturn
  16. Art and science illuminate the same subtle proportions in tree branches
  17. If FEMA didn’t exist, could states handle the disaster response alone?
  18. Here’s how researchers are helping AIs get their facts straight
  19. Poor sleep and addiction go hand in hand − understanding how could lead to new treatments for opioid use disorder
  20. A boycott campaign fuels tension between Black shoppers and Black-owned brands – evoking the long struggle for ‘consumer citizenship’
  21. Why the price of your favorite chocolate will continue to rise
  22. Teen girls are facing an increased risk of suicide − and stress related to sexual identity might be contributing to it
  23. Are animals smart? From dolphin language to toolmaking crows, lots of species have obvious intelligence
  24. How the human neck became a locus of power, beauty and frailty
  25. Russia’s shrinking world: The war in Ukraine and Moscow’s global reach
  26. 5 premium online research tools all Philly students can use for free
  27. Gut-wrenching love: What a fresh look at the ‘Good Samaritan’ story says for ethics today
  28. US sovereign wealth fund: A feasible idea to invest strategically, or a giant opportunity for waste?
  29. Efficiency − or empire? How Elon Musk’s hostile takeover could end government as we know it
  30. Seed oils are toxic, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – but it’s not so simple
  31. Map wars in the Middle East: How cartographers charted and helped shape a regional conflict
  32. Why does Trump want to abolish the Education Department? An anthropologist who studies MAGA explains 4 reasons
  33. How AI can help in the creative design process
  34. Why Americans need well-informed national security decisions – not politicized intelligence analysis
  35. The illusion of equal opportunity for minority NFL coaches
  36. California wildfires force students to think about the connections between STEM and society
  37. Is DOGE a cybersecurity threat? A security expert explains the dangers of violating protocols and regulations that protect government computer systems
  38. Kendrick Lamar’s big Super Bowl moment
  39. Anti-LGBTQ+ policies harm the health of not only LGBTQ+ people, but all Americans
  40. How populist leaders like Trump use ‘common sense’ as an ideological weapon to undermine facts
  41. AI datasets have human values blind spots − new research
  42. US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?
  43. Trump’s offshore wind energy freeze: What states lose if the executive order remains in place
  44. What Los Angeles-area schools can learn from other districts devastated by natural disasters
  45. 5 Super Bowl commercials that deserve places in the advertising hall of shame
  46. The Eagles and Chiefs have already made Philadelphia and Kansas City economic winners
  47. Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news
  48. Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change that
  49. After he reached the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s racial justice protests helped expose US views toward sports activism
  50. This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation