NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

The Conversation

There’s an intensifying kind of threat to academic freedom – watchful students serving as informants

  • Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageApproximately 58% of faculty interviewed in a national survey in 2024 reported self-censoring. PM Images/iStock/Getty Images

Texas A&M University told philosophy professor Martin Peterson in early January 2026 that he could not teach some of Greek philosopher Plato’s writings that touch on “race and gender ideology.”

The...

Read more: There’s an intensifying kind of threat to academic freedom – watchful students serving as informants

Building ‘beloved community’: Remembering the friendship between Martin Luther King Jr. and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh

  • Written by Jeremy David Engels, Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication, Penn State
imageThe Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., left, appears at a Chicago news conference with Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh on May 31, 1966.AP Photo/Edward Kitch, File

Before Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, he asked several of his friends to continue his life’s work building what he called “beloved community.” One of the people he invited...

Read more: Building ‘beloved community’: Remembering the friendship between Martin Luther King Jr. and...

US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army base built into the ice

  • Written by Paul Bierman, Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Vermont
imageRusting fuel drums and vehicles remain at an abandoned U.S. World War II base in Greenland. Posnov/Moment via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s insistence that the U.S. will acquire Greenland “whether they like it or not” is just the latest chapter in a co-dependent and often complicated relationship between America and the...

Read more: US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army...

Could ChatGPT convince you to buy something? Threat of manipulation looms as AI companies gear up to sell ads

  • Written by Bruce Schneier, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
imageAI advertising could be hard to resist – or even recognize.showcake/iStock via Getty Images

Eighteen months ago, it was plausible that artificial intelligence might take a different path than social media. Back then, AI’s development hadn’t consolidated under a small number of big tech firms. Nor had it capitalized on consumer...

Read more: Could ChatGPT convince you to buy something? Threat of manipulation looms as AI companies gear up...

From a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition – will make 2026 an exciting year for space

  • Written by Grant Tremblay, Federal Astrophysicist and External Relations Lead at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution
imageThe U.S. is planning a crewed flight around the Moon in 2026. AP Photo

In 2026, astronauts will travel around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, powerful new space telescopes will prepare to survey billions of galaxies, and multiple nations will launch missions aimed at finding habitable worlds, water on the Moon and clues to how our...

Read more: From a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition –...

The ‘drug threat’ that justified the US ouster of Maduro won’t be fixed by his arrest

  • Written by Eduardo Gamarra, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University
imageThis isn't going to stop in the U.S. just because Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested.Floris Leeuwenberg, Corbis Documentary/Getty Images

Donald Trump has flagged Venezuelan drug trafficking as a key reason for the U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, that captured President Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to New York...

Read more: The ‘drug threat’ that justified the US ouster of Maduro won’t be fixed by his arrest

South Florida’s Brightline has highlighted an old problem – every year for the past decade, 900 pedestrians were killed by trains

  • Written by Ian Savage, Professor of Economics, Northwestern University
imageHigh-speed passenger trains like Florida's Brightline travel through dense neighborhoods, increasing the likelihood of accidents involving pedestrians.Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to...

Read more: South Florida’s Brightline has highlighted an old problem – every year for the past decade, 900...

Iran’s protests have spread across provinces, despite skepticism and concern among ethnic groups

  • Written by Shukriya Bradost, Ph.D. Researcher, International Security and Foreign Policy, Virginia Tech
imageProtester in Punak, Tehran on Jan. 10, 2026.Author-obtained image., CC BY

When Iran’s ongoing protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Dec. 28 2025, the government initially treated them as manageable and temporary.

Bazaar merchants have historically been among the most conservative social groups in Iran, deeply embedded in the...

Read more: Iran’s protests have spread across provinces, despite skepticism and concern among ethnic groups

Why unlocking Venezuelan oil won’t mean much for US energy prices

  • Written by Amy Myers Jaffe, Director, Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and Research Professor, New York University; Tufts University
imageA sculpture of a hand holding an oil rig stands outside the headquarters of Venezuela's national oil company. Pedro Mattey/AFP via Getty Images

In the wake of U.S. forces’ arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is taking over Venezuelan oil production.

In addition, the U.S. has...

Read more: Why unlocking Venezuelan oil won’t mean much for US energy prices

Martin Luther King Jr. was ahead of his time in pushing for universal basic income

  • Written by Tarah Williams, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Allegheny College
imageMartin Luther King Jr. became involved not just in fights over racial equality but also economic hardship.Ted S. Warren/AP

Each year on the holiday that bears his name, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his immense contributions to the struggle for racial equality. What is less often remembered but equally important is that King saw the...

Read more: Martin Luther King Jr. was ahead of his time in pushing for universal basic income

More Articles ...

  1. Rural areas have darker skies but fewer resources for students interested in astronomy – telescopes in schools can help
  2. Research institutions tout the value of scholarship that crosses disciplines – but academia pushes interdisciplinary researchers out
  3. From flammable neighborhoods to moral hazards, fire insurance maps capture early US cities and the landscape of discrimination
  4. Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how
  5. 3 ways US actions in Venezuela violated international law
  6. Nearly half of Detroit seniors spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs − even as real estate values fall
  7. Small businesses say they aren’t planning to hire many recent graduates for entry-level jobs – here’s why
  8. Wars without clear purpose erode presidential legacies, and Trump risks political consequences with further military action in Venezuela
  9. Colorado ranks among the highest states in the country for flu – an emergency room physician describes why the 2025-26 flu season is hitting hard
  10. DOJ criminal probe highlights risk of Fed losing independence – a central bank scholar explains what’s at stake
  11. How social media is channeling popular discontent in Iran during ongoing period of domestic unrest
  12. Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever get it back
  13. What is Christian Reconstructionism − and why it matters in US politics
  14. Eating less ultraprocessed food supports healthier aging, new research shows
  15. Saudi-UAE bust-up over Yemen was only a matter of time − and reflects wider rift over vision for the region
  16. Financial case for college remains strong, but universities need to add creative thinking to their curriculum
  17. What is below Earth, since space is present in every direction?
  18. Trump lawsuits seek to muzzle media, posing serious threat to free press
  19. Venezuela’s oil industry has flailed under government control – Mexico and Brazil have had more success with nationalizing
  20. CPR on TV is often inaccurate – but watching characters jump to the rescue can still save real lives
  21. NASA’s Pandora telescope will study stars in detail to learn about the exoplanets orbiting them
  22. Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty as he moves to dismantle America’s climate protections
  23. Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty in latest move to dismantle America’s climate protections
  24. George Washington’s foreign policy was built on respect for other nations and patient consideration of future burdens
  25. Why the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s closure exposes a growing threat to democracy
  26. The 6-7 craze offered a brief window into the hidden world of children
  27. Meth inflames and stimulates your brain through similar pathways – new research offers potential avenue to treat meth addiction
  28. ‘Shared decision-making’ for childhood vaccines sounds empowering – but it may mean less access for families already stretched thin
  29. Live healthier in 2026 by breathing cleaner air at home
  30. Americans have had their mail-in ballots counted after Election Day for generations − a Supreme Court ruling could end the practice
  31. The 17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule – long before the American Revolution
  32. Superheavy-lift rockets like SpaceX’s Starship could transform astronomy by making space telescopes cheaper
  33. ICE killing of driver in Minneapolis involved tactics many police departments warn against − but not ICE itself
  34. New US dietary guidelines recommend more protein and whole milk, less ultraprocessed foods
  35. Illness is more than just biological – medical sociology shows how social factors get under the skin and cause disease
  36. Seeking honor is a double-edged sword – from ancient Greece to samurai Japan, thinkers have wrestled with whether it’s the way to virtue
  37. Racial profiling by ICE agents mirrors the targeting of Japanese Americans during World War II
  38. The western US is in a snow drought, and storms have been making it worse
  39. Taming the moral menace at capitalism’s core
  40. Grok produces sexualized photos of women and minors for users on X – a legal scholar explains why it’s happening and what can be done
  41. Cuba’s leaders just lost an ally in Maduro − if starved of Venezuelan oil, they may also lose what remains of their public support
  42. Congress takes up health care again − and impatient voters shouldn’t hold their breath for a cure
  43. Risks young chimps take as they swing through the trees underscore role of protective parenting in humans
  44. Today Venezuela, tomorrow Iran: can the Islamic Republic survive a second Trump presidency?
  45. Viral outbreaks are always on the horizon – here are the viruses an infectious disease expert is watching in 2026
  46. New federal loan limits will worsen America’s nursing shortage and leave patients waiting longer for care
  47. How facial recognition for bears can help ecologists manage wildlife
  48. Why 2026 could see the end of the Farm Bill era of American agriculture policy
  49. How tourism, a booming wellness culture and social media are transforming the age-old Japanese tea ceremony
  50. Wearing a weighted vest can promote bone health and weight loss, but it’s not a cure-all