Depending where you live, maybe you follow your local transportation department on Twitter for construction updates. Or maybe you watch Periscope videos of city council sessions, or read live blogs of public school board meetings.

Around the world, governments and citizens are engaging on social media. For instance, the town government in Jun,...

Editor’s note: This article is part of our collaboration with Point Taken, a new program from WGBH that will next air on Tuesday, May 17 on PBS and online at pbs.org. The show features fact-based debate on major issues of the day, without the shouting.

With fresh reports that the Islamic State (IS) group has bombed Baghdad to produce the...

Growing up in China, I started playing piano when I was nine years old and learning English when I was 12. Later, when I was a college student, it struck me how similar language and music are to each other.

Language and music both require rhythm; otherwise they don’t make any sense....

Last year the Institute of Museum and Library Services offered a catchy statistic: the United States has more museums than all the Starbucks and McDonald’s combined.

It’s easy to understand why cities will leap at the opportunity to invest in...

A recent New York Times article highlighted the growing integration of technologies and textiles, displaying a photograph of a delicate golden nest of optical fiber. The article reported that this new “functional fabric” has...

Most Americans believe in the exceptionalism of our nation. However, when it comes to electing a female president, the U.S. is not exceptional. Rather it is an exception to the rule.

The U.S. ranks 97th in global ranking of women in government. Women hold only 19 percent of elected government offices here.

While many countries, including Germany,...

Hello, my name is Michael, and I’m a Ring Addict.

No, not the one ring from “Lord of the Rings”; not the cheap costume jewelry you get at the local...

Whether you are a parent who has occasionally spanked your child, an adult with recollections of childhood spanking or even an observer who has witnessed spanking in a public place, you likely have personal experience with the spanking of children for...

There is considerable debate and disagreement among scientists over what to call a canid inhabiting the northeastern United States. In the course of this creature’s less than 100-year history, it has been variously called coyote, eastern coyote, coydog, Tweed wolf, brush wolf, new wolf, northeastern coyote and now coywolf, with nature...

To almost no one’s surprise, Puerto Rico missed a US$422 million debt payment earlier this month, triggering fears among investors that additional defaults are on the way and increasing pressure on Congress to act.

The warnings that this would happen could hardly have been louder. The major credit rating agencies long ago cut Puerto...