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Joe Biden, then president-elect, received his COVID-19 vaccination in December. Joshua Roberts via Getty Images

Can Biden fix the vaccine mess? An expert says yes

Margaret Riley, University of Virginia

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has fallen far short of President Trump's promises. President Biden says he can fix that. Can he?
A woman from one of the Mosuo farming communities in southwest China. The Mosuo were participants in a groundbreaking study examining gender-based health disparities. Siobhan Mattison

Women’s health is better when women have more control in their society

Siobhán Mattison, University of New Mexico; Adam Z. Reynolds, University of New Mexico, and Katherine Wander, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Living in societies with gender bias can harm women's health.
Women who work outside the home in Papua New Guinea often continue shouldering the same domestic and child care responsibilities as before. Rachel Gilbert and Gracie Rosenbach, IFPRI

Feeling relatively poor increases support for women in the workplace – but men still don’t want them making household decisions

Katrina Kosec, Johns Hopkins University and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, University of California, Berkeley

A new study explores how feelings of relative poverty can negatively affect gender dynamics among households.
The authors didn’t examine diners’ perceptions of polka-dot masks specifically. AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu

Yes, customers do like it when waiters and hairdressers wear a mask – especially if it’s black

Cihan Cobanoglu, University of South Florida; Faizan Ali, University of South Florida; Khuraman Shahtakhtinskaya, University of South Florida, and Luana Nanu, Auburn University

The positive reaction to service workers wearing masks varied by region, with those in the West on the high end and people in the Midwest at the low end.
‘Cancer Alley’ is an 80-mile stretch of chemical plants along the Mississippi River in Louisiana alongside many Black and poor communities. Giles Clarke/Getty Images

Biden has pledged to advance environmental justice – here’s how the EPA can start

David Konisky, Indiana University

The US environmental justice movement dates back to the early 1980s, but federal support for it has been weak and inconsistent. Here are four things Biden's EPA can do to improve that record.
The jet stream can have a big impact on how long a plane ride will last. Aeroprints via Wikimedia Commons

Why does it take longer to fly from east to west on an airplane?

Skip Bailey, University of Nebraska Omaha

When planes fly from east to west, they are flying against a river of air called a jet stream. These air currents can make your flight longer or shorter, depending on which way you are going.
Fringe groups have long understood that capturing the public’s attention is the best way to spread their views. Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images

Strange costumes of Capitol rioters echo the early days of the Ku Klux Klan - before the white sheets

Kenneth Ladenburg, Arizona State University

For many extremist groups, a primary goal is to spread their ideology. Costumes and uniforms – even ridiculous ones – are a form of spectacle that can garner attention and interest.

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Rioters clash with police as they try to enter the Capitol building. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

How history textbooks will deal with the US Capitol attack

Wendy Wall, Binghamton University, State University of New York; Christian K. Anderson, University of South Carolina, and Daisy Martin, University of California, Santa Cruz

The whole world saw the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. How will the textbooks read by America's students describe what took place?
Vice President Mike Pence says he ‘welcomes’ objections to Biden’s Electoral College win, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats reject any such effort. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

Donald Brand, College of the Holy Cross

The 1887 Electoral Count Act spells out the process for Congress to convene and review election results on Jan. 6, and it requires both the House and Senate to uphold any challenges to Biden's win.
Trump supporters face off against counterprotesters at the Million MAGA March in Washington on Nov. 14, 2020. Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Populism erupts when people feel disconnected and disrespected

Noam Gidron, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Peter A. Hall, Harvard University

Donald Trump has been a populist president. Understanding populism's roots in the US and elsewhere is essential for addressing its rise and threat to democracy.