Menu Close

Articles on Speed reads

Displaying 101 - 120 of 183 articles

Conspiracy theories have been popular in the U.S. for decades. Motortion Films/Shutterstock.com

Are conspiracy theories on the rise in the US?

With the rise of internet groups for conspiracy theorists, it may feel like Americans live in a unique time. But conspiracy theories have been common for decades.
Extreme flooding during Hurricane Maria in 2017 was hazardous for the Puerto Rican people. But a new study finds that it helped native fish populations rebound after years of drought. AP Photo/Alvin Baez

Caribbean fish love catastrophic hurricanes

Big storms with lots of flooding, like hurricanes Dorian and Maria, actually restore the Caribbean’s delicate balance between native and nonnative fish species, new research finds.
Voodoo believers walk during the annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede at Cite Soleil Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

What is Haitian Voodoo?

Voodoo is often seen as a practice involving magic. In Haiti, Voodoo is a religion born out of the struggle of slaves. And today, it is used as a form of healing and protection.
Scratching is a natural behavior for cats. noreefly/Shutterstock.com

How are cats declawed, and is it painful?

Have a cat who just loves to scratch? Declawing is a major surgery that comes with serious long-term side effects – and it might not solve the problem anyway.
This term ‘jihad’ can include various forms of nonviolent struggles: for instance, the struggle to become a better person. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

So, what really is jihad?

Violent radicals are often described as jihadists. A scholar explains what the word means and why those using the word to justify terrorism are often misrepresenting their sources.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order requiring colleges to certify that their policies support free speech as a condition of receiving federal research grants. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

What President Trump’s executive order on campus free speech is really meant to do

Though largely political and symbolic, the campus free speech order that President Trump issued matters because it ties millions of federal research dollars to how well colleges protect free speech.
A billboard built by sex education advocates outside Mexico’s National Population Council office, in Mexico City, warns that ‘being a mother is not child’s play.’ (May 29, 2014) AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Abortions rise worldwide when US cuts funding to women’s health clinics, study finds

The White House will expand a law that cuts funding to abortion providers abroad. When the Bush-era ‘global gag rule’ was last in effect, abortion rates tripled in Latin America and doubled in Africa.
Missionary nuns in a Congolese military camp in 1960. AP Photo/Horst Faas

What is the Great Commission and why is it so controversial?

The term refers to passages in the Christian gospels, in which Jesus urges his apostles to make ‘disciples of all nations.’ Later, it became a prime motivator of missionary efforts.

Top contributors

More