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Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?

  • Written by Helen Norton, Rothgerber Chair in Constitutional Law, University of Colorado Boulder
The old joke says you can tell a politician is lying if his lips are moving.Alexander_P/Shutterstock.com

When regular people lie, sometimes their lies are detected, sometimes they’re not. Legally speaking, sometimes they’re protected by the First Amendment – and sometimes not, like when they commit fraud or perjury.

But what about...

Read more: Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?

The secret origins of presidential polling

  • Written by Edwin Amenta, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
Senator Huey Long at the Capitol in 1935.Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com

In the run-up to its January 14 debate in Des Moines, Iowa, the Democratic National Committee called on private polling firms to conduct more polls.

To make it to the debate stage in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 14, candidates needed 5% support in four qualifying national...

Read more: The secret origins of presidential polling

What US election officials could learn from Australia about boosting voter turnout

  • Written by Steven Mulroy, Law Professor in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Election Law, University of Memphis
Australian voters check in and cast their ballots in a September 2019 federal election.Australian Electoral Commission

Not every country is plagued by rules that limit voters’ participation in elections, as is common in the United States.

In the past five years, restrictions on voting and voter registration purges have limited the number of...

Read more: What US election officials could learn from Australia about boosting voter turnout

High-priced specialty drugs: Exposing the flaws in the system

  • Written by Sharona Hoffman, Professor of Health Law and Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University
Speciality drug prices are so high priced that many patients skip or ration them.Ravital/Shutterstock.com

My husband, Andy, has Parkinson’s disease. A year ago, his neurologist recommended a new pill that he was to take at bedtime. We quickly learned that the medication would cost US$1,300 for a one-month supply of 30 pills. In addition, Andy...

Read more: High-priced specialty drugs: Exposing the flaws in the system

Pope ends a secrecy rule for Catholic sexual abuse cases, but for victims many barriers to justice remain

  • Written by Christine P. Bartholomew, Associate Professor of Law, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Pope Francis recently removed a secrecy rule to increase transparency for sexual abuse casesAP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Pope Francis recently removed one of the barriers facing sex abuse victims looking for justice – the “Rule of Pontifical Secrecy.”

The rule is an obligation under the church’s laws to keep sensitive...

Read more: Pope ends a secrecy rule for Catholic sexual abuse cases, but for victims many barriers to justice...

Restricting trade in endangered species can backfire, triggering market booms

  • Written by Annah Lake Zhu, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley
Rosewood, the name for several endangered tree species that make beautiful furniture, being loaded in Madagascar. Pierre-Yves Babelon/Shutterstock

Every year humans buy and sell hundreds of millions of wild animals and plants around the world. Much of this commerce is legal, but illegal trade and over-harvesting have driven many species toward...

Read more: Restricting trade in endangered species can backfire, triggering market booms

Why hip-hop belongs in today's classrooms

  • Written by Nolan Jones, Associate Adjunct Professor, Mills College
Hip-hop officially became the most popular music genre in 2018 and continued its reign in 2019, according to Nielsen Music. Lev Radin/Shutterstock.com

When Cassie Crim, a high school math teacher in Joliet, Illinois, introduced herself to her advanced algebra students in 2017, she did it through a rap video.

Using a rendition of Cardi B’s...

Read more: Why hip-hop belongs in today's classrooms

Brexit could spell the end of globalization, and the global prosperity that came with it

  • Written by William Hauk, Associate Professor of Economics, University of South Carolina
Many fear the U.K. will be worse off economically outside the EU.AP Photo/Matt Dunham

The U.K. House of Commons has finally voted for Brexit. If the plan passes the House of Lords without much delay, the U.K. will leave the European Union several years after a 2016 referendum set it down this path.

More than merely tossing aside the EU, this vote...

Read more: Brexit could spell the end of globalization, and the global prosperity that came with it

Cyberspace is the next front in Iran-US conflict – and private companies may bear the brunt

  • Written by Bryan Cunningham, Executive Director of the Cyber Security Policy & Research Institute, University of California, Irvine
In the wake of U.S. killings, Iran's supreme leader vowed 'harsh revenge' – which could come in the form of cyber attacks.Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP

Iran and other nations have waged a stealth cyberwar against the United States for at least the past decade, largely targeting not the government itself but, rather, critical...

Read more: Cyberspace is the next front in Iran-US conflict – and private companies may bear the brunt

Why are there seven days in a week?

  • Written by Kristin Heineman, Instructor in History, Colorado State University
Your calendar dates back to Babylonian times. Aleksandra Pikalova/Shutterstock.com

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why are there seven days in a week? – Henry E., age 8, Somerville, Massachusetts

Waiting for the weekend...

Read more: Why are there seven days in a week?

More Articles ...

  1. Weinstein jurors must differentiate between consent and compliance – which research shows isn't easy
  2. Large turnouts for Soleimani’s funeral in Iran carry powerful collective emotions – just as Americans saw during the colonial era
  3. Killing of Soleimani evokes dark history of political assassinations in the formative days of Shiite Islam
  4. Why some public universities get to keep their donors secret
  5. The made-up crisis behind the state takeover of Houston's public schools
  6. We're living in the bizarre world that Flaubert envisioned
  7. Your blood type may influence your vulnerability to norovirus, the winter vomiting virus
  8. Why we are hard-wired to worry, and what we can do to calm down
  9. 3D printing of body parts is coming fast – but regulations are not ready
  10. Matching Vietnamese brides with Chinese men, marriage brokers find good business – and sometimes love
  11. Rotting feral pig carcasses teach scientists what happens when tons of animals die all at once, as in Australia's bushfires
  12. Trump, like Obama, tests the limits of presidential war powers
  13. The US-Iran conflict and the consequences of international law-breaking
  14. School closures can hit rural communities hard
  15. What Trump's tweet threatening Iran's cultural sites could mean for Shiite Muslims
  16. Tweets about cannabis' health benefits are full of mistruths
  17. How countries in conflict, like Iran and the US, still talk to each other
  18. Children of color already make up the majority of kids in many US states
  19. Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?
  20. Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working from home?
  21. Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved
  22. Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance
  23. What happens when community college is made free
  24. For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun
  25. Moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado won't be good for public lands
  26. What did the Romans do in the year 0? A fake theologian explains
  27. I'm an OB/GYN who attended thousands of deliveries before wondering why Americans give birth in bed
  28. AI can now read emotions – should it?
  29. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends whom you ask
  30. Coyotes are poised to enter South America for the first time
  31. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends who you ask
  32. Congressional Republicans abandon constitutional heritage and Watergate precedents in defense of Trump
  33. How a Chilean dog ended up as a face of the New York City subway protests
  34. Could Iran-US tensions mean troubled waters ahead in the Strait of Hormuz?
  35. If Democrats nominate a woman for president, don't try to make predictions about how she'll do
  36. EPA's proposed 'secret science' rule directly threatens children's health
  37. Universal coverage, single-payer, 'Medicare for All': What does it all mean for you?
  38. The dark side of supportive relationships
  39. Unemployment pushes more men to take on female-dominated jobs
  40. Trump's Twitter threat to destroy Iran's cultural sites is a historic mistake
  41. An Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of a nearby star
  42. In Iran showdown, conflict could explode quickly – and disastrously
  43. China can still salvage 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong – here's how
  44. Asians are good at math? Why dressing up racism as a compliment just doesn't add up
  45. The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it
  46. A new way to identify a rare type of earthquake in time to issue lifesaving tsunami warnings
  47. How to write better pet adoption ads
  48. Building a digital archive for decaying paper documents, preserving centuries of records about enslaved people
  49. With the US and Iran on the brink of war, the dangers of Trump's policy of going it alone become clear
  50. Why there's a separate World Chess Championship for women