Nov 23 How advertising made turkey and cranberry sauce into Thanksgiving traditions By Samantha N. N. Cross, The Conversation At Thanksgiving, what makes turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie so special? This researcher and her colleagues studied 99 years of Thanksgiving ads in Good Housekeeping magazine to find out. Continue reading
Nov 21 Analysis: Why the FCC's proposed internet rules may spell trouble ahead By David Choffnes, The Conversation As the Federal Communications Commission takes up a formal proposal to reverse the Obama-era Open Internet Order, a key question consumers and policymakers alike are asking is: What difference do these rules make?… Continue reading
Nov 20 Let these globe-trotting lessons in potty training flush your parental worries away By Alma Gottlieb, The Conversation An anthropologist explores why there’s no one-size-fits-all model of child-rearing advice for all the world’s parents. Continue reading
Nov 19 Millions, billions, trillions: How to make sense of numbers in the news By Andrew Hwang, The Conversation Use school arithmetic, common knowledge and a little imagination to train your emotional sense for the large numbers shaping our daily lives. Continue reading
Nov 11 Answering the question that won me the Ig Nobel prize: Are cats liquid? By Marc-Antoine Fardin, The Conversation A liquid is traditionally defined as a material that adapts its shape to fit a container. Under certain conditions, cats seem to fit this definition. Continue reading
Nov 10 How the tax code overhaul could slam higher ed By Ted Afield, The Conversation The tax code overhaul pending in Congress is littered with provisions that would make it a lot harder for most Americans to go to college or grad school, writes Ted Afield, director of the Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic… Continue reading
Nov 05 What draws 'lone wolves' to the Islamic State? By James L. Gelvin, The Conversation Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the Manhattan bike path attack, wasn't a devout Muslim. He cursed and came late to prayers. A terrorism expert explains why such a man may want to be a martyr. Continue reading
Nov 04 Is daylight saving time worth the trouble? Research says no By Laura Gant, The Conversation Advocates say daylight saving time saves energy and wins wars. But studies show that injuries and illnesses rise when the clocks change. Continue reading
Oct 29 Why we'll always be obsessed with – and afraid of – monsters By Leo Braudy, The Conversation All the popular monsters you'll see out trick-or-treating, from Frankenstein to Dracula, were born out of fear and anxiety about change and technology. Continue reading
Oct 28 The science of fright: Why we love to be scared By Arash Javanbakht, Linda Saab, The Conversation We may pretend that we do not like fear, but Halloween proves otherwise. Many of us enjoy being scared. But why?… Continue reading