The Conversation

In the vast majority of cases, polygamy takes the form of one husband and multiple wives – more precisely referred to as polygyny. Leading political scientist Rose McDermott described polygyny as evil. Other researchers, such as anthropologist Joseph Henrich, even go as far as to credit Christianity’s derision of polygyny as a driving force of Western prosperity. A trio of new studies, all relying on the highest standards of data analysis, contend that these arguments are misguided.

AI agents can generate varied, credible content at a large scale. The swarms can send people messages tailored to their individual preferences and to the context of their online conversations. The swarms can tailor tone, style and content to respond dynamically to human interaction and platform signals such as numbers of likes or views. An AI-controlled bot swarm could create the false impression of widespread, bipartisan opposition to a political candidate.

Two-thirds of Americans are very worried about their ability to pay for healthcare – whether it’s their medications, a doctor’s visit, health insurance or an unpredictably costly medical emergency.

In 2016, The Guardian’s Brian Moylan asserted that the “The West Wing” was appealing because it portrayed “a world where the political system works.” Audiences have been comfort-streaming the “The West Wing” since Trump’s first term. Interest in the series spiked after Trump’s election in 2016, and it served as an escape from the contentious 2020 campaign.

When it comes to national politics, Americans are fiercely divided across a range of issues, including gun control, election security and vaccines. It’s not new for Republicans and Democrats to be at odds over issues, but things have reached a point where even the idea of compromising appears to be anathema, making it more difficult to solve thorny problems. But things are much less heated at the local level. A survey of more than 1,400 local officials by the Carnegie Corporation and CivicPulse found that local governments are “largely insulated from the harshest effects of polarization.”

Donald Trump entered the Iran war with historically low public support. Americans traditionally favor restraint over forced regime change, but the administration failed to prepare the public or the cabinet for significant economic sacrifices as oil price hikes are fueling domestic resentment and influential conservative voices and young male supporters feel betrayed.

The Trump administration’s assault on Iran features inconsistent justifications, ranging from nuclear destruction to divine plans. Although the executive branch often sidesteps traditional declarations of war, Congress retains significant constitutional checks. By utilizing the War Powers Resolution, public oversight hearings, and the power of the purse, lawmakers can challenge presidential authority. Mounting fiscal deficits and declining public support may eventually force congressional action.

The joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran provides significant indirect support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rising global oil prices, triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, bolster Russian federal revenues. Additionally, the diversion of American munitions and diplomatic attention leaves Ukraine vulnerable. However, Ukraine’s superior drone warfare capabilities offer a unique bargaining chip for maintaining critical U.S. support during this period.

While the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power to declare war, modern presidents have increasingly used Article 2 to bypass legislative approval. Historical precedents like the 1973 War Powers Resolution show a once-defiant Congress, but contemporary lawmakers appear less willing to challenge executive authority. As conflicts in Iran and Venezuela escalate, the legislative branch faces a critical choice: reassert its authority or remain compliant.

At the 2026 Detroit Auto Show, the spotlight quietly shifted. Electric vehicles, once framed as the inevitable future of the industry, were no longer the centerpiece. Instead, automakers emphasized hybrids, updated gasoline models and incremental efficiency improvements. The message from Detroit was unmistakable: The United States is pulling back from a transition that much of the world is accelerating.

While global attention remains on Gaza, Israel has rapidly accelerated its creeping annexation of the West Bank through legislative bills, security measures, and settlement expansion. Despite President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to annexation, the Israeli government continues establishing irreversible facts on the ground. To preserve any possibility of a future independent Palestinian state and to maintain regional stability, the United States must intervene decisively now.

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) for 2025-2030 have caused significant controversy, with polarised opinions between their supporters and detractors. They are disruptive, to say the least, both in how they are presented and the recommendations they make. Little has been said about the fact that, for the first time since 1980, after nine editions in 45 years, the standard scientific procedure for preparing them has been completely bypassed.

High-speed rail systems are found all over the globe. Japan’s bullet train began operating in 1964. China will have 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) of high-speed track by the end of 2025. The fastest train in Europe goes almost 200 mph (320 kph). Yet high-speed rail remains absent from most of the U.S.

Each year on the holiday that bears his name, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his immense contributions to the struggle for racial equality. What is less often remembered but equally important is that King saw the fight for racial equality as deeply intertwined with economic justice. To address inequality – and out of growing concern for how automation might displace workers – King became an early advocate for universal basic income. Under universal basic income, the government provides direct cash payments to all citizens to help them afford life’s expenses.

Highly educated, accomplished professionals worry whether there will be a place for them in an economy where generative AI can quickly – and relativity cheaply – complete a growing list of tasks that an extremely large number of people currently get paid to do.

In 2025, 1 in 4 new automotive vehicle sales globally are expected to be an electric vehicle – either fully electric or a plug-in hybrid. In the U.S., however, EV sales have lagged, only reaching 1 in 10 in 2024. By contrast, in China, the world’s largest car market, more than half of all new vehicle sales are electric. The International Energy Agency has reported that two-thirds of fully electric cars in China are now cheaper to buy than their gasoline equivalents. With operating and maintenance costs already cheaper than gasoline models, EVs are attractive purchases.

In the aftermath of violent tragedies like the recent mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., a common panic-fueled and grief-stricken reaction is to rush to simple, tidy explanations. Mental illness, for example, is often used to make sense of what appears to be senseless. The explanation is appealing because mass shootings feel shocking and sudden, and mental illness offers a way to wrestle with them and try to understand. But the reality is that although mental illness sometimes plays a role in violence, it’s rarely the most important factor.

Thousands of people were killed by Iranian security forces in days of protests in January 2026. Meanwhile, in the same month, the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis shone a light on the use of fatal force by American law enforcement — a phenomenon that in 2025 saw the deaths of more than 1,300 people in the U.S., according to data tracking such incidents. But should one of those two sets of killings be classified as a government-involved “atrocity” and the other not? The answer may not be as simple as you think, and it revolves around how you classify atrocities.

The Moon is getting 1½ inches (3.8 centimeters) farther away from the Earth every year. The motions of the Earth and Moon have many interesting consequences, and studying how they move over time can help researchers better understand how each has changed over the 4½ billion years since the Earth and Moon formed.

Introduced by Gary Chapman, an American Baptist pastor, author and marriage counsellor, in his 1992 book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts, the idea is now a dominant framework in modern relationship advice. While incredibly popular and often used as a “go-to” tool on first dates, recent research suggests that the idea lacks strong scientific evidence for its central claims. Love languages function like a culturally appealing system that individualizes relational strain, obscures power and substitutes a checklist for the harder work of understanding how relationships actually function over time.

When Czech political dissident, playwright and poet Václav Havel wrote The Power of the Powerless in October 1978, he set out to analyse a distinctive form of domination that did not rely primarily on terror, spectacle or charismatic authority, but on routine compliance and the internalisation of untruth. His central claim was disarmingly simple. Systems of coercive power endure not only because of police power or elite control, but because ordinary people participate in them by acting as if they believe what they know to be false. They live, as Havel put it, “within a lie”.

A technology mixes small amounts of recycled plastic with asphalt – the black, sticky material used to make roads and parking lots. The result is a stronger road that lasts longer and keeps some used plastic out of the environment. This process is like adding rebar to concrete: The plastic adds flexibility and strength. Roads with this mix can better handle extreme temperatures and heavy traffic. In hot places, that means fewer cracks and potholes.

From coast to coast, groups of people are springing up to protect members of their communities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents threaten them with violent enforcement. The resistance mirrors nonviolent movements in war zones from Colombia to the Philippines to Syria, which teach lessons about surviving in the midst of danger that Americans have been discovering instinctively over the past year.

The penny’s days are numbered. The U.S. Mint pressed the last 1-cent coin on Nov. 12, 2025, following a directive from the White House. While pennies will remain legal tender, old ones will gradually be taken out of circulation. The impact of this change will reach beyond coin jars. Its ripples will be felt as small, cash-reliant Main Street merchants face another test of adaptability in a system that increasingly favors scale, technology and plastic. It will also be felt by people who rely on cash – often people without bank accounts who have the least room to absorb even tiny shifts in price.

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents continued to use aggressive and sometimes violent methods to make arrests in its mass deportation campaign, including breaking down doors in Minneapolis homes, a bombshell report from the Associated Press on Jan. 21 said that an internal ICE memo – acquired via a whistleblower – asserted that immigration officers could enter a home without a judge’s warrant. That policy, the report said, constituted “a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches.”

It is recognised in US law that the government may not take away a naturalized person’s citizenship except in cases of fraud or error on a naturalization application. The Supreme Court has clearly established that unless citizenship was unlawfully procured, denaturalization is unconstitutional. However, a memo issued by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in June attempts to broaden the grounds for denaturalization, potentially putting over 24.5 million naturalized US citizens at risk.

Powder and ready-to-drink protein sales have exploded, reaching over US$32 billion globally from 2024 to 2025. Increasingly, consumers are using these protein sources daily. A new study by Consumer Reports, published on Oct. 14, 2025, claims that some such protein products contain dangerously high levels of lead, as well as other heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic. At high levels, these substances have serious, well-documented health risks.

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy who is an asylum seeker, in Minneapolis on Jan. 20, 2026, the photos quickly became a flash point in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement activity. Exposure to severe immigration enforcement experiences during childhood carries long-term, significant consequences: These children are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety in young adulthood.