By Anne Bardsley, Civic Engagement Lead, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Cathrine Dyer, Lecturer in Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Citizens’ assemblies are emerging as a response to sinking trust in government. They bring ordinary people into policy decisions earlier, and on more equal terms.
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By Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Assistant Professor, School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University
Smoky summers are now the norm in Canada. Over the past summer, wildfires burned approximately 4.5 million hectares, more than 33,750 people were evacuated and millions were exposed to hazardous air pollutants, which even exacerbated…
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By Civic Media Observatory
In our October edition of Undertones, we examine a movement calling for accountability and coordinated online action to challenge Meta’s problematic content moderation policies and governance practices in Brazil.
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By Jenny Tang, Ph.D. Student in Societal Computing, Carnegie Mellon University
Xiaoyuan (Owen) Wu, Ph.D. Student in Societal Computing, Carnegie Mellon University
Handing your heirs a list of passwords is only the first step in ensuring they can access and manage your digital affairs after you die.
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By Edwin Alexani, Ph.D. Student in Astrophysical Sciences and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
Michael Zemcov, Professor of Physics, Director of Astrophysical Sciences and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.
Why do galaxies spin or rotate? – Swara Dhat, age 13, Thane, India
Spinning is fun, and you can find many ways to do it. From carousels to an office chair, spinning is everywhere – even in outer space.
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By James Malm, Professor of Finance and Director of the Global Business Resource Center, College of Charleston
But before you buy gifts long before you plan to give them away, be sure to read vendors’ fine print and get familiar with their return policies.
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By Charles Bleiker, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Florida International University
Adam Winsler, Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology, George Mason University
Kaitlyn Mumma, Researcher, Applied Developmental Psychology, George Mason University
A new longitudinal study followed kids from pre-K through grade 12 and found that those who attended public school pre-K programs had an academic advantage.
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By Daniel P. Aldrich, Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University
Four tornadoes tore across southwest Michigan in early March 2026, killing four people. They were the state’s deadliest natural hazards in decades.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance to cover uninsured and underinsured losses. FEMA said no. She appealed. FEMA said no…
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By Mark Hibbett, Head of Research Information Systems, University of the Arts London
Doctor Doom, Marvel comics’ greatest supervillain, is finally coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) later this year in Avengers: Doomsday. As moviegoers will soon discover, he’s a megalomaniac dictator who believes his genius is the only way to save the world – and the evidence suggests he might be right.
Doom is going to be played by Robert Downey Jr, who previously helped launch the MCU as Iron Man. Fans have spent the past two years speculating how he can be both characters, with all…
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By Andrea Loux Jarman, Senior Lecturer in Law, Bournemouth University
In advance of the midterm elections, US states have been engaged in what US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has called, a “race to bottom” with an exercise known as “gerrymandering”.
What a gerrymander effectively does is move the boundaries of voting districts to concentrate groups of people who are likely to vote…
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