By Sarah Trott, Senior Lecturer in American Studies and History, York St John University
The story of the US is, in many ways, remarkable. It achieved independence against the odds, its constitution has lasted more than two centuries and its democracy has weathered war, economic depression, social upheaval and political change. But reflection on American history rarely settles into simple celebration.
From the beginning, the US was an experiment rather than an inheritance.…
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By Aleida Borges, Lecturer in Politics & Inequality, King's College London
For decades, the west African island nation of Cape Verde was perhaps best known for the music of late singer Cesária Évora. This summer, however, the Atlantic archipelago has gained fame for a different reason: football. As one of the surprise stories of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, Cape Verde has captured the imagination of fans worldwide.
The team has qualified for the knockout…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Microphones and receivers on a mixing desk. © 2018 Rich T Photo/Shutterstock Last week, Mali’s media regulator silenced one of the country’s few remaining public forums, the popular radio phone-in show, Allô Klédu.On June 25, the High Authority for Communication ordered the suspension of the show, broadcast on the private station Radio Klédu, for two months. The media regulator said the program had become “a platform for listeners to vent against the government,” and sought to justify the suspension by citing broadcasts in which callers accused the authorities…
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By Civic Media Observatory
In this edition, we explore a narrative shared by Grupo Xcaret and the Gran Consejo Maya de Quintana Roo that presents Mayan symbols and identities as a trademark.
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By Haojin Zhou, Doctoral Researcher in Sport Policy and Governance, Loughborough University
Mathew Dowling, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Loughborough University
FIFA can pause the match and sell the spectacle, but the 2026 World Cup shows the limits of its control over global football.
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By Ravindra Jayaratne, Reader in Coastal Engineering, University of East London
Earthquakes still arrive without warning. That is the hard truth scientists have been forced to accept, despite a decade of advances in artificial intelligence, satellite monitoring and dense seismic networks.
We are getting better at detecting earthquakes once they start. We are now better at estimating the damage they may cause. But we still can’t predict the exact time, place and size of a future earthquake.
That…
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By Steven Howard, Senior Academic Research Leader in Child Development and Education, University of Oxford
There are ways to help children better self-regulate their own digital activity and prepare for the digital demands in their future.
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By Christopher Lynch, Head of the Finney Music Library, University of Pittsburgh
A late-19th century campaign spearheaded by Foster’s brother sought to elevate him into the pantheon of American cultural heroes, even as his sympathies tended to lie with the pro-slavery South.
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By Catherine Simpson Bueker, Professor of Sociology, Emmanuel College
Twenty-five years ago, I attended a Fourth of July parade in Boston that has stuck with me.
The head drummer of the colonial fife and drum band was a Black man in a Revolutionary War costume, his dreadlocks peeking from under a powdered wig. As the parade stopped to lay a wreath at the Granary Burying Ground where founding fathers John Hancock and Samuel Adams are buried, a man placed a small stone on the memorial, a Jewish tradition of remembrance. A woman in a colorful sari marched alongside the…
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By Lauren Mullenbach, Assistant Research Scientist in Environmental Justice, University of Michigan
Data center projects continue to generate controversy around the country. In part, that’s because a variety of different groups have competing interests – some in favor of them, some opposed and others with no direct view on data centers themselves, but with concerns that relate to aspects of data center operations and effects.
As a scholar of environmental justice and urban land use, I’ve seen these various conflicting forces at work in Michigan. More…
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