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Populism can degrade democracy but is on the rise − here’s what causes this political movement and how it can be weakened

  • Written by: Gábor Scheiring, Professor of comparitive politics, Georgetown University
imageThe rise of populist leaders and movements is sometimes the partial result of people's economic insecurities and worries about the future.Getty Images

There’s a widespread view that populism is on the rise, from the United Statesand Turkeyto Indiaand Hungary.

What is fueling this movement?

Populism is a political ideology that positions...

Read more: Populism can degrade democracy but is on the rise − here’s what causes this political movement and...

FDA authorized the sale of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes – a health policy expert explains how the benefits may outweigh the risks

  • Written by: Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Policy, UMass Amherst, UMass Amherst
imagePrior to the FDA's authorization of the four new products, the agency had denied applications for menthol-flavored vapes.Liudmila Chernetska/iStock via Getty Images

On June 21, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of the first electronic cigarette products in flavors other than tobacco in the U.S. Of the four new...

Read more: FDA authorized the sale of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes – a health policy expert explains how the...

Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis

  • Written by: Matthew Powers, Associate Professor of Communication, University of Washington
imageJournalist Barbara Walters works at her desk at her home in New York in 1966.Rowland Scherman/Getty Images

This year has been a grim one for journalism, with layoffs at the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, NBC News, Forbes, National Geographic, Business Insider and Sports Illustrated. Further cuts loom in newsrooms across the U.S.

Growing numbers...

Read more: Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis

Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as some cities are doing − carries hidden costs

  • Written by: Rajpreet Grewal, Water Policy Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
imagePlastic water pipes may be cheaper, but they also come with risksMark Bernard/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Flint, Michigan, made headlines in 2015 when tests revealed dangerously high lead levels in its drinking water. The city had switched its water supply to the Flint River a year earlier, and corrosive water had damaged aging lead pipes, exposing...

Read more: Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as...

When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are animal welfare deserts

  • Written by: Laura A. Reese, Professor Emeritus of Urban and Regional Planning, Michigan State University

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households have at least one pet. More than ever before, companion animals are a part of life – particularly in cities, where the majority of Americans live.

Cities offer access to many resources, but often it’s not distributed evenly. Some scholars describe parts of U.S. cities with few or no grocery stores...

Read more: When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are...

Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away − a bioethicist explains why

  • Written by: Ana S. Iltis, Professor of Philosophy; Carlson Professor of University Studies; and Director, Center for Bioethics, Health and Society, Wake Forest University
imageCorey Mayes at his New York home on Feb. 10, 2023, after receiving a kidney transplant.Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images

As one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., kidney disease is a serious public health problem. The disease is particularly severe among Black Americans, who are three times more likely than white Americans to develop...

Read more: Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away − a bioethicist explains why

Genetic testing cannot reveal the gender of your baby − two genetic counselors explain the complexities of sex and gender

  • Written by: Maggie Ruderman, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University
imageGender and sex are more complicated than X and Y chromosomes.I Like That One/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Gender reveal parties are best known as celebrations involving pink and blue, cake and confetti, and the occasional wildfire. Along with being social media hits, gender reveals are a testament to how society is squeezing children into one of...

Read more: Genetic testing cannot reveal the gender of your baby − two genetic counselors explain the...

US charitable giving dipped to $557B in 2023, but outlook is getting brighter

  • Written by: Anna Pruitt, Associate Director of Research, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and Managing Editor, Giving USA, Indiana University
imageDonors give more to social service groups, including homeless shelters, than to any other kind of charity besides religious institutions.AP Photo/Morgan Lee

U.S. charitable giving declined by 2.1% to US$557 billion in 2023, but the flow of funds began to stabilize following several years of volatility.

The annual report from the Giving USA Foundation...

Read more: US charitable giving dipped to $557B in 2023, but outlook is getting brighter

Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with Iran

  • Written by: Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
imageA plane uses a fire retardant to extinguish a fire near the border between Israel and Lebanon.AP Photo/Leo Corre

Months of relentless exchanges between Israel and Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah have seen mass civilian evacuations and widespread death, injury and destruction.

The violence has worsened since early June, accompanied by increas...

Read more: Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with...

‘I love this work, but it’s killing me’: The unique toll of being a spiritual leader today

  • Written by: Laura Captari, Clinical and Research Psychologist, The Danielsen Institute, Boston University
imageThe past few years have put even more stress on many clergy.Martine Severin/E+

Clergy, chaplains and other spiritual leaders play vital roles in their communities, from celebrating life’s most joyous moments to offering comfort and guidance in the face of tragedy.

However, the personal toll of this work on spiritual leaders can be immense,...

Read more: ‘I love this work, but it’s killing me’: The unique toll of being a spiritual leader today

More Articles …

  1. Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island
  2. Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits
  3. Boost your immune system with this centuries-old health hack: Vaccines
  4. Paying reparations for slavery is possible – based on a study of federal compensation to farmers, fishermen, coal miners, radiation victims and 70 other groups
  5. Philly has highest STI rates in the country – improving sex ed in schools and access to at-home testing could lower rates
  6. Southern Baptists may have rejected a constitutional amendment opposing female pastors, but that does not mean they are changing their views on women’s leadership in church
  7. Elder fraud has reached epidemic proportions – a geriatrician explains what older Americans need to know
  8. Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive? A scientist explains extreme heat and the role of climate change
  9. What Frederick Douglass learned from an Irish antislavery activist: ‘Agitate, agitate, agitate’
  10. Central banks face threats to their independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
  11. Calls to US poison centers spiked after ‘magic mushrooms’ were decriminalized
  12. From glowing corals to vomiting shrimp, animals have used bioluminescence to communicate for millions of years – here’s what scientists still don’t know about it
  13. Supreme Court unanimously concludes that anti-abortion groups have no standing to challenge access to mifepristone – but the drug likely faces more court challenges
  14. Supreme Court sides with Starbucks in labor case that could hinder government’s ability to intervene in some unionization disputes
  15. An homage to the dad joke, one of the great traditions of fatherhood
  16. The US is losing wetlands at an accelerating rate − here’s how the private sector can help protect these valuable resources
  17. Supreme Court justices secretly recorded – the legal issues and what they mean for the rest of us
  18. Space weather forecasting needs an upgrade to protect future Artemis astronauts
  19. Ukraine’s draft woes leave the West facing pressure to make up for the troop shortfall
  20. People ambivalent about political issues support violence more than those with clear opinions
  21. Civil rights leader James Lawson, who learned from Gandhi, used nonviolent resistance and the ‘power of love’ to challenge injustice
  22. Philadelphia’s 200-year-old disability records show welfare reform movement’s early shift toward rationing care and punishing poor people
  23. Cities with empty commercial space and housing shortages are converting office buildings into apartments – here’s what they’re learning
  24. Spikes, seat dividers, even ‘Baby Shark’ − camping bans like the one under review at SCOTUS are part of broader strategies that push out homeless people
  25. Inflation is cooling, but not fast enough for the Fed: Policymakers now expect only one rate cut in 2024
  26. Microrobots made of algae carry chemo directly to lung tumors, improving cancer treatment
  27. Columbia Law Review article critical of Israel sparks battle between student editors and their board − highlighting fragility of academic freedom
  28. American womanhood is not what it used to be − understanding the backlash to Dobbs v. Jackson
  29. There’s a strange history of white journalists trying to better understand the Black experience by ‘becoming’ Black
  30. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ may be many Americans’ image of Judaism – but American Jews’ heritage is stunningly diverse
  31. Politics is still both local and personal – but only for independents, not for Democrats or Republicans
  32. Wastewater surveillance reveals pathogens in Detroit’s population, helping monitor and predict disease outbreaks since 2017
  33. Paris 2024 Olympics to debut high-level breakdancing – and physics in action
  34. Food has a climate problem: Nitrous oxide emissions are accelerating with growing demand for fertilizer and meat – but there are solutions
  35. African elephants address one another with name-like calls − similar to humans
  36. 8 fun questions about The Conversation
  37. How reciting the Pledge of Allegiance became a sacred, patriotic ritual
  38. PFAS are toxic ‘forever chemicals’ that linger in our air, water, soil and bodies – here’s how to keep them out of your drinking water
  39. Summertime can be germy: A microbiologist explains how to avoid getting sick at the barbecue, in the pool or on the trail
  40. Independent voters are few in number, influential in close elections – and hard for campaigns to reach
  41. Losing winter ice is changing the Great Lakes food web – here’s how light is shaping life underwater
  42. Are older adults more vulnerable to scams? What psychologists have learned about who’s most susceptible, and when
  43. Complaints are different when customers think a company cares
  44. Coral reef recovery could get a boost from an unlikely source: Sea cucumbers, the janitors of the seafloor
  45. Biden and Trump may forget names or personal details, but here is what really matters in assessing whether they’re cognitively up for the job
  46. The warming ocean is leaving coastal economies in hot water
  47. How DEI rollbacks at colleges and universities set back learning
  48. American slavery wasn’t just a white man’s business − new research shows how white women profited, too
  49. NASA’s asteroid sample mission gave scientists around the world the rare opportunity to study an artificial meteor
  50. How do you build tunnels and bridges underwater? A geotechnical engineer explains the construction tricks