Politics, not epidemiology or medicine, drives government responses to disease. Politicians are the ultimate decision-makers in public health, and they must respond to political forces.
The G20 meeting in Hangzhou is a chance for global leaders to push back against anti-globalization forces that threaten free trade.
ROLEX DELA PENA/EPA
A global movement of low-wage workers is improving conditions for fast food employees and others in the U.S. and around the world. A Dartmouth labor historian examines the movement’s origins.
A four-day workweek won’t guarantee you more days like this.
www.shutterstock.com
The idea of a four-day workweek sounds great, and many companies have tested or even implemented it, citing happier, healthier workers. But here’s why it may not be healthy.
Strikes don’t work as well as they used to.
Striking workers via www.shutterstock.com
The link between labor’s decline and stagnating worker pay has convinced some politicians that we need to rebuild unions. What we need are new labor policies for tomorrow’s workforce.
Seeking a peaceful handover of power between parties and political opponents.
Jim Young/Reuters
It’s true that sophisticated hackers may be able to tilt the presidential election. But the more likely threat to democracy comes from sore losers who sow doubt about voting integrity.
Human climate change has shifted vegetation and wildlife upslope in Yosemite National Park.
Patrick Gonzalez
The National Park Service’s principal climate scientist explains why the parks are important laboratories for climate change research, and how climate change is altering the parks.
A rally outside Baltimore City Hall, July 27, 2016.
REUTERS/Bryan Woolston
New tools help doctors and breast cancer patients decide whether chemotherapy is needed. A recent study suggested that many can forgo chemo. But the decision is complicated. Here’s why.
Believing in free will makes us feel more like ourselves.
Man walking via www.shutterstock.com.
Civic intelligence describes what happens when people work together to address problems efficiently and equitably. It could help address many societal challenges.
TPP is on the ropes, and now two EU trade deals – known by acronyms TTIP and CETA – may soon join the Pacific agreement.
Francois Lenoir/Reuteres
Robert Riener, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
People with disabilities are often disappointed with their devices’ performance, and choose not to use them. To encourage innovation, a new competition tests assistive technologies.
Medical experts are rarely quoted in TV news stories about contraception.
Image of TV studio via www.shutterstock.com.
TV news stories often frame contraception as a political or social issue, rather than a medical issue, depriving the public of vital health information.
Ethanol made from corn goes into our gas tanks. Now refiners who pay for the subsidy are complaining of rising costs.
armydre2008/flickr
Donald Trump gave a major speech on immigration this week. This roundup looks at some of his ideas for reform and explains what the experts have to say about this complex issue.
Why is America missing good-quality child care?
Philippe Put
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have called for improved child care. There is already a long history of child care policy initiatives in the U.S.; most of them have been unsuccessful.
The endangered Hawaiian monk seal is one of the 7,000 species that gained a measure of protection.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is huge win for preservation, but it also poses outsized management challenges for the National Park Service.
A new program seeks to divert Central Americans who are fleeing violence from crossing the U.S. border. An expert on Costa Rica explains why the tiny country was chosen and the challenges they face.
Encounters at an open day at a Paris mosque.
Charles Platiau/Reuters
How literary analysis led one scholar to develop a theory of how immigrants become connected to their host society – and therefore unlikely to attack it.
How much information is too much? And where should it go?
Heads-up display image from shutterstock.com
Unlike their counterparts in Europe, U.S. antitrust regulators and courts have tended to view ‘free’ products as outside their purview for enforcement.
Doctors are learning new ways to help patients.
From www.shuttertock.com
As health care providers seek ways to improve care and cut costs, providers and insurance companies have teamed up. A program in Michigan where providers share notes in real time appears to work.