Darryl Morin: The Presidential debate, an act of hate, and my four minutes with Joe Biden
Like many Americans, I watched the Presidential Debate both shocked and saddened as I heard from both candidates. For the first time in history, a current and former president were on the stage tasked with defining and debating their policy positions, defending their...
AI interference: Chatbots are invading online groups where people try to make human connections
By Casey Fiesler, Associate Professor of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder A parent asked a question in a private Facebook group in April 2024: Does anyone with a child who is both gifted and disabled have any experience with New York City public...
Business politics: Corruption of U.S. Supreme Court was a corporate strategy 53 years in the making
The series of devastating rulings at the end of June and beginning of July are the consequence of a corporate strategy launched 53 years ago. For years, conservatives have railed against what they call the “administrative state” and denounced regulations. But we...
Donald J. Trump v. United States: SCOTUS ruling overthrows central premise of American democracy
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one — no one — is above the law, not even the president of the United States.” – President Joe Biden The United States Supreme Court on July 1,...
Keeping the republic: Why the Founding Fathers were unsure if the experiment of democracy could survive
By Thomas Coens, Research Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee From the time of the founding era to the present day, one of the more common things said about American democracy is that it is an “experiment.” Most people can readily intuit what the...
Not unknown anymore: Black Union soldiers finally honored by name at Civil War battlefield in Vicksburg
Thelma Sims Dukes grew up during the 1940s and 1950s in a segregated Mississippi town steeped in Civil War history. As a small Black girl, she would walk to school through Vicksburg National Military Park — the hilly battlefield where Union and Confederate soldiers...
Survivors of October 7 music festival massacre unite in Tel Aviv to build a healing community
In the months since Hamas’ surprise attack sent them scattering across fields or hiding in desert brush, thousands of survivors of a massacre at a trance festival in Israel have come together as a community to heal. They have found solace in massage therapy, ice...
A failed Bolivian Coup: Reflections on how political violence impacts the lives of ordinary people
Bolivia’s Presidential Palace and main plaza in La Paz were under siege by its top military general and a group of soldiers on June 26. After an intense three-hour standoff that escalated with an armored vehicle and soldiers attempting to break down the palace doors...
Democrats stick with President Biden as he concedes debate fumbles but vows to defend democracy
President Joe Biden worked forcefully on June 28 to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with the criminally convicted ex-president Donald Trump, as elected members of his party closed ranks around him in an effort to shut down talk of...
Trump tries convincing GOP voters that mail balloting is good after falsely blaming it for his 2020 loss
Marta Moehring voted the way she prefers in Nebraska’s Republican primary, in person at her West Omaha polling place. She did not even consider taking advantage of the state’s no-excuse mail-in ballot process. In fact, she would prefer to do away with...
Transgressive jokes: How Trump promotes the use of abusive humor to make hate acceptable
By Nick Butler, Associate Professor, Stockholm University Fox News anchor Sean Hannity interviewed Donald Trump in front of a studio audience in Iowa in December 2023. Hannity asked Trump to guarantee he would not abuse his power or seek retribution if he was...
The little people: Preying on White fears worked for Lester Maddox in the 1960s and for Trump today
By David Cason, Associate Professor in Honors, University of North Dakota In January 1967, after a gubernatorial election that saw neither candidate gain enough votes to win, the Georgia Legislature was faced with a vital decision: the selection of the state’s 75th...
