By Emma Schroeder, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas Christian University
Fiona Rodger, PhD student, American Politics, University of Notre Dame
Samantha Chapa, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Arlington
Women are less ambitious for local office than men, mirroring an ambition gap that exists at the state and federal level, too. A group of scholars documented this gap and investigated why it exists.
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By Mimi Hanaoka, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Richmond
Whenever I drive amid the mazelike bustle of Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway, where approximately 1 million vehicles transit daily, I see billboard advertisements for all manner of businesses: dentists, hotels, car and tire companies, and affordable funerals. Lots and lots of funerals.
For generations, Japan’s funeral system rested on family…
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By Arun Brahmbhatt, Assistant Professor of Religion, Syracuse University
Hostility toward Hindu worship practices draws on a long history of prejudice portraying the faith’s followers as idolaters, argues a scholar of Hindu studies.
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By Wesleigh Gates, Ph.D. Candidate in Culture and Performance, University of California, Los Angeles
Queer horror is having a moment. The recent film “Leviticus” (2026), a harrowing allegory for conversion therapy, was a critical hit. Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy’s undeniably gay “American Horror Story” returned to TV this fall, offering a campier approach to the genre.
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By Meridith LaVelle, Research Fellow in Political Science, University of Mannheim
Mary Lind, Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science, Binghamton University, State University of New York
The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime is the first international treaty aimed at combating criminal acts committed online and at supporting victims of those crimes. At the initial signing ceremony on Oct. 25, 2025, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said the convention was “a promise that fundamental human rights…
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By Gary Griggs, Distinguished Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
The destructive 1982-83 El Niño, then the strongest on record, eroded cliffs, leaving homes hanging precariously over the edges. A coastal scientist explains the escalating risks.
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By Kenneth Greene, Professor of Government, The University of Texas at Austin
Politics is about the distribution of power and money. So it comes as little surprise that many politicians campaign on the material benefits that citizens can expect if those candidates win.
President Donald Trump has been no different in this respect. He has promised voters, among other things, a “DOGE dividend” using money saved by cutting federal jobs, rebates from tariff revenues, and a…
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By Anat Lior, Assistant Professor of Law, Drexel University
An anonymous tip arrived on PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com, a website run by the Philadelphia Police Department, on July 18, 2026.
“I may have information regarding this case,” it stated, and claimed the writer had seen someone matching the suspect’s description near the scene of a crime.
The tip was false. The page described no suspect, and the informer was, in fact, Claude Haiku 4.5, an AI model made by San Francisco-based Anthropic.
The tip was flagged as spam and never reached detectives. Anthropic found it in late September while reviewing its own test records.…
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By Amnesty International
Abu Suleiman is the Head of the Local Council from Zanuta, a village in the South Hebron Hills in the southern occupied West Bank. He, along with all 250 Zanuta residents, has been forcibly displaced from the village for three years as a result of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities […] The post “Zanuta Never leaves my thoughts”: Abu Suleiman’s story of displacement and struggle appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Sarah Hellewell, Senior Research Fellow, The Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, and Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University
Transverse myelitis is a neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord. Here’s how it affects those with the condition.
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