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politics + society

Ted Turner didn’t just revolutionize television − he changed the way we see our world

Ted Turner didn’t just revolutionize television − he changed the way we see our world

Ted Turner, who died on April 6, 2026, was bright, shrewd and, most of all, lucky. The cable TV visionary proved to be in the right place, at the right time, to change television and video news forever. Most of his big gambles, on things such as the MGM studio

Online hate groups sustain their messages by repeating powerful stories or routinely adding new allegations

Online hate groups sustain their messages by repeating powerful stories or routinely adding new allegations

(PITTSBURGH) Hate communities often flourish online for years, raising the question of how they persist. My research team has found that powerful stories keep members of a hate group galvanized, either by repeating the story over and over or by constantly adding fresh accusations and interpretations to it. I’m

US violent crime is at its lowest in more than a century – but the funding that helped reduce it is disappearing

US violent crime is at its lowest in more than a century – but the funding that helped reduce it is disappearing

The United States is experiencing one of the steepest declines in violent crime in modern history, including a murder rate at its lowest point in more than a century. Homicides across 35 major American cities fell 21% in 2025, amounting to 922 fewer people killed. Robberies dropped 23%. Gun assaults

A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

As the nation observes its 250th birthday, historians can help settle one present-day dispute: Is the United States a democracy or a republic? For years, advocates have argued the point. Yet the question itself is misleading. It assumes that the categories constructed by political theorists neatly describe actual practice.

Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents

Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents

May 1, 2026, marks the 60th day of Operation Epic Fury in Iran – a symbolically significant date designating when a president who has mounted unilateral military operations must receive Congressional approval or wind it down. However, the complex history of the War Powers Resolution clock demonstrates it is a toothless

When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases

When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases

The phrase “concentration camp” is freighted with dark historical meaning. Most people hear it and instinctively think of concentration camps used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews and other minority populations during the Holocaust. But the use and name of concentration camps originated far earlier. In the late 1800s, Spanish

What Trump’s post as a Jesus-like figure tells us about political messianism

What Trump’s post as a Jesus-like figure tells us about political messianism

(AMHERST, MASS.) President Donald Trump sparked immediate outcry on April 12, 2026, when he posted an image of himself as a Jesus-like figure. The post, which Trump later said was supposed to depict him as a doctor, came shortly after the president criticized Pope Leo XIV as “weak” and