‘NotPetya’ ransomware attack shows corporate social responsibility should include cybersecurity
When companies neglect cybersecurity, customers – and society as a whole – suffer. It’s time customers demanded better of corporations.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Immigration ban
The Petya ransomware attack shows how many people still don’t install software updates
People don't want to endure the interruptions and inconveniences of keeping their computer software up to date. Research tells us why, and how we might fix the problem – and protect ourselves.
Analysis and Comment
New legislation may make free speech on campus less free
New laws pending in Wisconsin and North Carolina would require public universities to punish students who disrupt campus speakers. But these laws would do more to hinder free speech than protect it.
Why it’s important to understand social media’s dark history
Facebook has been used at times for antisocial behavior. However, such behaviors are neither unique nor new.
Why Congress should let everyone deduct charitable gifts from their taxes
Trump's proposed tax changes would reduce charitable giving, research suggests. But letting everyone use a tax break mostly enjoyed by the rich might prevent that.
Why a ‘cashless’ society would hurt the poor: A lesson from India
India's recent move toward a cash-free society helped reveal just how important physical currency is to the informal economies that the poorest families depend upon.
Is energy ‘dominance’ the right goal for US policy?
The Trump administration has set a new national policy: energy dominance. But can the US really dominate other countries through fossil fuel exports?
How flu changes within the human body may hint at future global trends
New genetic technologies are letting us look at flu evolution right where it starts: within individual people, while they're sick.
4 ways the Supreme Court could rule on Trump’s travel ban
A professor of constitutional law gives a preview of what to expect when the travel ban cases reach the highest court this fall.
Behind Modi: The growing influence of the India lobby
A small, but wealthy, population of Indian-Americans is playing a role in transforming US foreign policy toward India.
A dangerous mix: Bullied youth report access to loaded guns more than other youth
Youth who are bullied may be at even higher risk than other youth for gun violence. These bullied youngsters were three times more likely to have access to a loaded gun, a recent study states.
GOP health care bill would make rural America’s distress much worse
Health outcomes for rural Americans have steadily deteriorated in recent decades even as they've improved elsewhere. The GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will worsen the problem.
The iPhone turns 10 – and it’s isolated us, not united us
How has the first generation of kids to grow up with the iPhone been affected?
Could a tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire happen in the U.S.?
There are physical, cultural and legal reasons why fire prevention measures didn't avert the tragedy at the Grenfell Tower – and other buildings are still at risk.
Is Putin’s Russia the critical threat Americans believe it to be?
A historian takes us beyond the noise in Washington and examines how US and Russian power and interests compare.
Is Nancy Pelosi worth the trouble?
It's hard to call yourself the party of change when your leadership has been in place for 16 years, and Republicans are taking advantage of that fact.
Elite public schools that rely on entry exams fail the diversity test
Elite exam schools are some of the least diverse public schools in the US. Here's how colleges like Harvard could teach high schools like Stuyvesant to improve their admissions process.
Urban nature: What kinds of plants and wildlife flourish in cities?
In an urbanizing world, people increasingly are seeking out nature in cities. Research shows that diverse species of animals, plants and insects can thrive in areas that humans have altered.
Cash is falling out of fashion – will it disappear forever?
You can now pay your way with apps, cryptocurrencies and other digital alternatives. Physical money might one day look like a relic of the past.
A pair of decades-old policies may change the way rural America gets local news
Federal rules governing television stations were meant to keep them connected to the communities they serve. The Trump administration wants to weaken those rules, and those civic links.
What do protests about Harry Potter books teach us?
As Harry Potter turns 20, a scholar says protesters who try to censor books do not trust young readers to discern the difference between fantasy and reality. But why?
On Eid 2017, a peek into the lives of Puerto Rican Muslims
There are an estimated 3,500 to 5,000 Muslims in Puerto Rico. Who are they and what is their history?
Philanthropy
What Jeff Bezos gets wrong (and right) with his populist philanthropy
Amazon's founder turned to Twitter to crowdsource ideas for his charitable giving. This populist approach and his preference for short-term results set Jeff Bezos apart from other mega-donors.
Health care debate
What happens when the federal government eliminates health coverage? Lessons from the past
Cutting back or cutting out social safety net programs, as the Senate and House health care proposals would do, is rare. Here's a look at how such actions have fared.
Not just for the poor: The crucial role of Medicaid in America’s health care system
As Republicans seek to repeal Obamacare, they have added an overhaul of Medicaid to their plans. Here's a look at the program and the surprising number of people who would be affected by cuts.
Why America needs a ‘do-over’ on Medicaid reform
The health care bill recently passed by the House imposes big cuts to the underfunded Medicaid program. A new approach is needed, starting with the best ideas of both parties.
How Obamacare may morph into Medicaid
How to make sense of the Senate health care bill: 4 essential reads
Beyond the CBO score: How Trump Budget and the AHCA are dismantling America’s safety net
How pre-existing conditions became front and center in health care vote
Not just for the poor: The crucial role of Medicaid in America’s health care system
Gay Pride
From gay Nazis to ‘we’re here, we’re queer’: A century of arguing about gay pride
Gay pride has many exuberant advocates. It also has critics in unexpected places.
Media and leaks
From the Pentagon Papers to Trump: How the government gained the upper hand against leakers
American citizens have long favored government openness over secrecy. But with heightened anti-leak and anti-press rhetoric, do some now want strengthened government control of information?
50th anniversary of ATM
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Energy wonks have a meltdown over the US going 100 percent renewable. Why?
How fast can the US transition to clean energy and with what energy sources? Here's why an impassioned debate among energy wonks matters to the rest of us.
American slavery: Separating fact from myth
On Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the ending of slavery in the US, a historian dispels myths about the 'peculiar institution' of slavery.
Can yoga be Christian?
Wednesday, June 21, is International Yoga Day. A scholar explains how yoga is being Christianized in different parts of the world. So, what then is real yoga?
In Tupac’s life, the struggles and triumphs of a generation
Tupac's sensitivity, intelligence and creativity confronted the hostile forces that antagonized black youth across the country in the 1970s and 1980s.
Do poor people eat more junk food than wealthier Americans?
There's an assumption that the poor eat more unhealthy fast food because it's relatively cheap, leading some governments to try limit their access. Two researchers tested that assumption.
What went wrong with the F-35, Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter?
The most expensive defense program in world history has yielded a multi-role fighter plane that is an inelegant jack-of-all-trades, but master of none.
Loving v. Virginia: Exploring biracial identity and reality in America 50 years after a landmark civil rights milestone
In 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving were arrested in Virginia for the crime of being married. The couple helped spark an effort to strike down laws against interracial marriage in the United States.
The decline in foreign students hurts America’s future
International student integration can (and should) be fostered on college campuses for the sake of national security and professional readiness.
Working memory: How you keep things ‘in mind’ over the short term
Both psychologists and neuroscientists are interested in how working memory holds on to items over brief intervals – and are investigating from different angles.
Research transparency: 5 questions about open science answered
Partly in response to the so-called 'reproducibility crisis' in science, researchers are embracing a set of practices that aim to make the whole endeavor more transparent, more reliable – and better.
Is there structural racism on the internet?
The physical world is racially segregated as a result of structural racism. A researcher examines whether similar problems exist online.
What rural, coastal Puerto Ricans can teach us about thriving in times of crisis
At society's margins, people without access to the mainstream job economy are able to carve out lives rich in other resources and community.
The demographics of the #resistance
Who are those people out there marching on Washington, DC? Researchers at the University of Maryland did a survey to find out.
New public database reveals striking differences in how guns are regulated from state to state
How have state firearm laws changed over time? Over the past 27 years, some states have loosened the rules for gun owners and the gun industry, while others are getting stricter.
The rising homegrown terror threat on the right
The United States is seeing an uptick in far-right extremist violence. It's time to pay more attention to this scourge and its causes.
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