On Super Bowl Sunday, Beyoncé released two country songs – “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” – that elicited a mix of admiration and indignation. This is not her first foray into the genre, but it is her most successful and controversial entry. As of last week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to have a No. 1 song on the country charts. At the same time, country music stations like KYKC in Oklahoma initially refused to play the record because it was “not country.”
The Conversation
Tucker Carlson, Propaganda and Journalism
Tucker Carlson’s work provides an opportunity for public education in distinguishing between propaganda and journalism. Some Americans, primarily Carlson’s fans, will view the videos as accurate reportage. Others, primarily Carlson’s detractors, will reject them as mendacious propaganda.
Behind the Astonishing Rise in LGBTQ+ Romance Literature
Once upon a time, romance novels from major U.S. publishers featured only heterosexual couples. Today, the five biggest publishers regularly release same-sex love stories. From May 2022 to May 2023, sales of LGBTQ+ romance grew by 40%, with the next biggest jump in this period occurring for general adult fiction, which grew just 17%.
Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf Stream Nearing Tipping Point of Climate Extremes Within Decades
The circulation of the Gulf Stream could fully shut down within a century of hitting the tipping point, and it’s headed in that direction. If that happened, average temperatures would drop by several degrees in North America, parts of Asia and Europe, and people would see severe and cascading consequences around the world.
Are Children Bad for the Environment?
Procreation is often viewed as a personal or private choice that should not be scrutinized. However, it is a choice that affects others: the parents, the children themselves and the people who will inhabit the world alongside those children in the future. Thus, it is an appropriate topic for moral reflection.
Mexico is Suing American Gun Makers for Arming Its Gangs
The lawsuit seeks US$10 billion in damages and a court order to force the companies named in the lawsuit – including Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, Beretta and Ruger – to change the way they do business. In January, a federal appeals court in Boston decided that the industry’s immunity shield, which so far has protected gun-makers from civil liability, does not apply to Mexico’s lawsuit.
Trump Faces Half a Billion Dollars of Debt and Several More Court Cases. It Won’t Stop Him from Becoming President.
Trump’s ability to tap into a particularly American form of racial revanchism – his political acumen in marrying conspiracy, racism, and political grievance in an increasingly unequal society – is what brought him to power. It is what sustains him still.
Dearborn, Michigan: A Brief History of the 1st Arab-American Majority City in the US
Dearborn, Michigan, is a center of Arab American cultural, economic, and political life. It’s home to several of the country’s oldest and most influential mosques, the Arab American National Museum, dozens of now-iconic Arab bakeries and restaurants, and a vibrant and essential mix of Arab American service and cultural organizations.
Navalny’s Death Leaves a Blueprint for Anti-Putin Activism
While Navalny languished in prison camps following his arrest on charges of violating parole during his recovery in Germany, many of these activists in exile continued to operate outside of Russia. This new generation of Russian activists – whether those in exile advocating for change or those risking their well-being in Russia to support anti-war candidates – is Navalny’s legacy.
Five Signs that You Might Be Rightwing
The United States has the greatest gap between left and right for 50 years. Europe is anticipated to take a sharp right turn in this year’s European parliament elections. The past decade has already seen a rightward shift in India. In light of these global trends, it’s crucial to understand what being “rightwing” actually means, rather than simply using the term as an insult.
Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’: Jazz, Race, and That Problematic Melting Pot
Programming “Rhapsody” for concerts today has become somewhat of a double-edged sword. A century after it premiered, it remains a crowd favorite – and almost always guarantees a sold-out show. But more and more scholars are starting to see the work as a whitewashed version of Harlem’s vibrant Black music scene.
The Myth of Men’s Full-Time Employment
Men’s labor force participation has been steadily declining since the 1970s, and workers are experiencing greater labor market precarity – that is, shorter job spells, greater job insecurity and more long-term unemployment. Only 41% of late baby boomer men – those who were between 14 and 21 years old in 1979 – worked steadily and continuously, which we defined as working almost every week of the year between ages 27 and 49.
Republicans and Democrats Consider Each Other Immoral No Matter What
Both Republicans and Democrats regarded people with opposing political views as less moral than people in their own party, even when their political opposites acted fairly or kindly toward them, according to experiments. Even participants who self-identified as only moderately conservative or liberal made the same harsh moral judgments about those on the other side of the political divide.
Why Florida Is Wrong to Have Downgraded Sociology in College
The American Sociological Association’s current president and a professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst explains why Florida’s decision to reduce the number of students enrolled in sociology courses is both disturbing and an opportunity to help the public better understand the academic discipline.
The Two-State Solution Is Dead
The simple fact is the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) – now about 700,000, who live alongside three million Palestinians – means there is not much space left for a Palestinian state. The only way space could be made for another state would be if the government were to dismantle the settlements. That’s not going to happen.
Trump’s Control of the GOP Is Bad for Democracy
As former President Donald Trump edges closer to clinching the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, research has shown that a second Trump presidency is likely to damage American democracy even more than his first term did. The reason has less to do with Trump and his ambitions than with how power dynamics have shifted within the Republican Party.
Race Is a Theme of the 2024 Election. But It’s An American Tradition.
The centrality of race to our politics is clear in the current presidential campaign. The U.S. is not now “post racial,” free from racial prejudices or discrimination, nor has it ever been. Nor is it easy to argue seriously that white people are more discriminated against than Black Americans.
‘Look for a Reversal in a Fairly Short Period of Time’: Trump Will Stay on Ballot
To get the rare perspective of a former federal judge on the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, The Conversation U.S. spoke with John E. Jones III. He is the president of Dickinson College and a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2002. The case is about former President Donald Trump’s claim that he should be allowed on the presidential ballot in Colorado – and other states – because the language of the 14th Amendment does not apply to him.
Nonwhite People Are Drastically Underrepresented in Local Government
Across cities in the U.S., one commonality stands out: Nearly universally, the percentage of elected officials who are white is higher than the white share of the population. This overrepresentation persists from the early 1990s to more recent years among mayors.
Trump Does Not Have the ‘Divine Right of Kings To Evade Criminal Accountability’
Trump can be criminally prosecuted for the actions he took to overturn the 2020 election. Whether the case makes it to trial or results in a conviction, what happens to all the other pending cases involving Trump, and whether the former president is returned to the White House, are unanswered questions so far. The Supreme Court will surely be asked to provide some of those answers.
Biden Against the Poison of the Latest Lost Cause
Biden’s Mother Emanuel speech should rank with some of the most important speeches in our history. Biden acknowledged that he is not only running against the GOP front-runner Donald Trump but also against a “second lost cause” myth.
Do Plastic Bag Bans and Fines Actually Reduce Waste?
Most people don’t set out to use more plastic. So the best solutions help consumers achieve their goals and make access to reusable bags easier. The key is to determine the biggest impediment to shoppers bringing reusable bags.
Black Journalists Have Always Known What These Confederate Monuments Really Stood For
Defenders of Confederate monuments like Donald Trump have argued that the statues should be left standing to educate future generations. But since the end of the Civil War, journalists at Black newspapers have told a different story. The statues were never designed to tell the truth about the Civil War. Instead, the monuments were built to enshrine the myth of the “Lost Cause,” the false claim that white Southerners nobly fought for states’ rights – and not to preserve slavery.
What If He Stood Down?
Practically, the odds of Biden changing course now look small. The two main reasons for pressing ahead haven’t changed since Biden announced his reelection bid last April. First, Biden is the only candidate who’s proven that he can beat Trump. Second, there’s no obvious heir apparent.
Why Taylor Swift Is an Anti-Hero to the GOP
Public opinion data suggests that most Americans think Taylor Swift is good for the NFL. But with her beau Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs heading to a fourth Super Bowl in five years, and with Swift herself reportedly preparing for a journey across the globe to cheer him on in the big game, the right-wing talk machine has gone into overdrive.
Challenging Medieval Art’s Dark, Gloomy Reputation
The Middle Ages as typically imagined in cinema, television, literature and Romantic paintings are dark and sinister, plagued by the diseases that ravaged Europe, with filthy, unhealthy cities and buildings. Research by Medieval scholars in recent decades – combined with new digital reconstruction techniques – has shattered these myths, presenting us with a wholly different picture.
The New York Times v. ChatGPT
On Dec. 27, 2023, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging that the company committed willful copyright infringement through its generative AI tool ChatGPT. The Times claimed both that ChatGPT was unlawfully trained on vast amounts of text from its articles and that ChatGPT’s output contained language directly taken from its articles.
Bad News About OCD: Much Higher Chance of Earlier Death
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD for short, are 82% more likely to die earlier – from natural or unnatural causes – than people without the condition, a new study reveals. OCD affects about 2% of the population. The disorder significantly impairs daily life, affecting relationships, social activities and the general ability to function.
How Much Influence Does Iran Have Over Its Proxy Armies?
In Middle Eastern geopolitics, Iran’s strategy of aligning with violent nonstate actors – notably Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – influences the regional balance of power. But to what extent?
Western Moral Credibility Is Dying Along With Thousands of Gaza’s Palestinians
The West claims it champions a liberal rules-based international order and human rights on the global stage. This rhetoric now appears completely disingenuous to most of the Global South. Even as Russia escalates its violence against civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine, most Global South states find the American condemnation of Russia grotesquely hypocritical as the United States supports Israel’s war in Gaza and attacks on civilians that are even more devastating than Russia’s.
Holocaust Memorial Day and the Unsung, Ordinary People Who Made a Difference
The theme for the 2024 Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place on January 27, is the “fragility of freedom”. This year is an especially poignant one, marking 80 years since the deportation and murder of Hungarian Jews, when the gas chambers of Auschwitz were working at full capacity, and also the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.
How AI Threatens Free Speech
A serious danger which gets surprisingly little media attention is the impact new artificial intelligence technologies are likely to have on freedom of expression. And, in particular, how they’re able to undermine some of the most foundational legal tenets that protect free speech.
Transgender Regret? Research Points to No Such Thing.
Evidence suggests that less than 1% of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery report regret. That proportion is even more striking when compared to the fact that 14.4% of the broader population reports regret after similar surgeries. For example, studies have found that between 5% and 14% of all women who receive mastectomies to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer say they regretted doing so.
Remember Me: More Pets Are Getting a Mention in Obituaries
By the mid-2000s, roughly one to four per cent of obituaries mentioned pets. Since 2015, this number has climbed as high as 15 per cent. As obituaries grow longer and more detailed, it only seems fair that animals get some attention. It has become more common to mention someone’s pet, or love of animals. Passages also grow more detailed. Beyond the pet’s name, we learn whether they were a “hoity-toity poodle,” a “loyal companion” or “the best dog ever.”
Israel Now Ranks Among the World’s Leading Jailers of Journalists
At the top of the list sits China with 44 in detention, followed by Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22), and Vietnam (19). Israel and Iran share sixth place with 17 each. The journalists Israel detained were all from the occupied West Bank, all Palestinian, and all arrested after Hamas’s horrific attacks from Gaza on October 7. But we know very little about why they were detained.
Misinformation: Fact-Checking Journalism’s Evolution and Impact
A series of studies published over recent years have shown that, while fact-checks will, of course, not alter an individual’s long-held worldview, they can and do have “significantly positive overall influence” on reader’s factual understanding and “reduce belief in misinformation, often durably so.” Two recent studies have shown that so-called “warning labels” attached to online content “effectively reduce belief and spread of misinformation” and do so “even for those most distrusting of fact-checkers.”
Is America Enduring a Slow Civil War? A Look at the ‘Undertow.’
Jeff Sharlet’s “The Undertow” tells how the cultural divisions in American society could allow such a thing as the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters to happen. (And how, despite everything that’s happened since, he remains the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential race.) Sharlet believes that event is part of a “slow civil war” that threatens the future of the American republic.
Why Extreme Cold Happens in a Warming World
Extreme cold-weather events often occur in association with changes to another river of air high above the jet stream: the stratospheric polar vortex, a great stream of air moving around the North Pole in the middle of the stratosphere. When this stratospheric vortex becomes disrupted or stretched in part due to warming, it can distort the jet stream as well, pushing it southward in some areas and causing cold air outbreaks.
Your Laundry Is a Top Source of Microplastic Pollution
The most common microplastics in the environment are microfibers – plastic fragments shaped like tiny threads or filaments. Microfibers come from many sources, including cigarette butts, fishing nets and ropes, but the biggest source is synthetic fabrics, which constantly shed them.
Airstrikes in Yemen Risk Only Strengthening Houthis
The Houthis stand to gain politically from these U.S.-U.K. attacks as they support a narrative that the group has been cultivating: that they are freedom fighters fighting Western imperialism in the Muslim world.
70 Years After Brown vs. Board of Education, Deep Segregation Persists
In June 2023, the Supreme Court ended most race-conscious college admissions efforts. The decision followed the Covid pandemic, which exacerbated racial inequalities in the U.S.. Politicians and school boards have banned or removed books by authors of color from school libraries and restricted teaching about racism in U.S. history. These setbacks amid the current political climate make finally realizing the full promise of Brown more urgent.
Scattershot in 2016, Trump’s Iowa Campaign Was All Business This Time
Attention to organizing is a shift for the Trump campaign. Today, it looks nothing like the scattershot campaign from 2016, the only other time Trump has waged a nomination battle in the state. Trump’s nod to organizing is noteworthy and is at odds with his brand, which is more focused on stirring the pot and agitating, rather than painstakingly building an infrastructure.
Was Going to Space a Good Idea?
Nations are competing to exploit lunar and asteroid mineral resources. Private corporations and space billionaires are increasingly being touted as the way forward. After the Moon, Mars is the next world in line for “conquest”. The contemporary movement known as longtermism promotes living on other planets as insurance against existential risk, in a far future where humans (or some form of them) spread to fill the galaxies.
How Coca-Cola Took Africa
A new book called Bottled: How Coca-Cola Became African tells the story of how the world’s most famous carbonated drink conquered the continent. It’s a tale of marketing gumption and high politics and is the product of years of research by critical writing lecturer Sara Byala, who researches histories of heritage, sustainability and the ways in which capitalist systems intersect with social and cultural forces in Africa.
NRA Scandal and The Importance of ‘Designated Contrarians’ on Boards
Nonprofit boards should require their members to take turns serving as “designated contrarians.” When it’s their turn for this role, board members would be responsible for asking critical questions and pushing for deeper debate about organizational decisions.
Where the Humanities and Medicine Meet
While there is a long history of doctor-poets – one giant of mid-20th-century poetry, William Carlos Williams, was famously also a pediatrician – few people seem to know this or understand the power of combining the humanities and medicine. Literature has had a large role in helping the author define the kind of physician she strives to be – one who is not only empathetic and a good listener but also a fierce advocate for changing the sociopolitical forces that affect patients’ lives.
How Pundits Help, Hurt and Reflect Democracy
Pundits can play a productive role by focusing on issues rather than identities. They contribute to democratic backsliding when they cultivate dystopian views of politics. The best example is the relentless negativity that characterized commentary on presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016.
An American Invention, the Shopping Mall’s Evolution Is Now Owned By China
Many Chinese malls are being re-imagined by owners and users as palaces of experience – civic areas for communities to meet and interact, with new configurations of public and private space. These experiments could become models for new, creative uses of retail space in the U.S., where the mall was invented.
3 Months of Devastation in Gaza for This: Stalemate
Three months after the current conflict began, civilians have borne the brunt of the violence on both sides, with the deaths of more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,200 Israelis. Some 85% of Gazans have also been displaced and a quarter of the population is facing a famine, according to the United Nations. The conflict still has a long way to run and may be headed towards stalemate.
#JeSuisCharlie Went Viral 9 Years Ago. It Couldn’t Happen Today.
The immense popularity of #JeSuisCharlie is a prime example of how the technology available to us can shape our understanding of shared experiences. The hashtag #JeSuisCharlie capitalised on these. It was widely adopted by those defending free expression, but a flurry of counter-narratives quickly emerged providing alternative perspectives on the attack.