All Else

Foreign accents can have a big impact on the way we interpret meaning. In our increasingly globalised world, foreign accents are an inevitable part of communication, but studies suggest they can create barriers, not just in comprehension but also in perception of the speaker and social interaction.

Across the United States, many universities are dismantling DEI initiatives – closing and rebranding offices, eliminating positions, revising training programs and sanitizing diversity statements – while professors are preemptively self-censoring. While some universities may believe that compliance with the administration will protect their funding and independence, a few historical parallels suggest otherwise.

There is a broad fetishisation of manufacturing in many countries. One theory is that it is potentially ingrained in human thinking by pre-historic experiences of finding food, fuel and shelter dominating all other activities. But for Trump, the thinking is likely related to a combination of nostalgia for a bygone (somewhat imagined) age of manufacturing, and concern over the loss of quality jobs that provide a solid standard of living for blue collar workers – a core part of his political base.

Place names are more than just labels on a map. They influence how people learn about the world around them and perceive their place in it. Names can send messages and suggest what is and isn’t valued in society. And the way that they are changed over time can signal cultural shifts.

Thirty years ago in Israel, advocating for genocide could land you in prison. Not anymore. Israeli clerics and officials are openly calling for the systematic massacre of Palestinians–genocide–in Gaza. The Israeli legal system is ignoring the rhetoric.

The Democrats have been under intense pressure to find an effective way to challenge US President Donald Trump without control of either chamber of Congress or a de facto opposition leader. They may have just found one in New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

Of course, history is contested. There will always be a variety of views about what should be included and excluded from America’s story. But most recent debates center on how much attention should be given to the history of the nation’s accomplishments over its darker chapters. The Smithsonian, as a national institution that receives most of its funds from the federal government, has sometimes found itself in the crosshairs.