In 2015, The Boston Globe famously reported that Donald Trump spoke at a fourth-grade level. The future president’s 2016 announcement speech scored a 4.1 on linguistic tests, meaning a fourth-grade student could understand his speech. By contrast, Hillary Clin... More »
On January 13, 2021, Lisa Montgomery was the first woman executed in 68 years by the federal government, for what the Department of Justice called an “especially heinous murder.” She was the twelfth individual killed since July 2020, when the former administra... More »
COVID-19 has transformed the way we work — and the way we learn. In response to the pandemic, many higher education institutions have sought to transition to remote learning. As a result, companies offering technological solutions to problems posed by the pand... More »
At their best, cities are places where people of all income levels take the same train and play with their kids in the same park, bridging the gap and fostering a sense of community. In reality, the “tale of two cities” often seen in the differences between gl... More »
Amid increasing social attention on sustainability, green investments are drawing interest. Green investments inject money into firms producing and supporting eco-friendly goods and services. For instance, the MSCI Global Environment Index, a stock price index... More »
Since 1986, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits unauthorized access to a computer, has been the primary legal proscription against hacking and computer fraud. However, several recent cases surrounding social media and publicly accessible informat... More »
Whether social media is good or bad for us remains a widely contested topic. Research shows that the same social media networks that can increase voter turnout can also leave us feeling lonely and depressed. So how do we really know if social media’s benefits ... More »
Basic economic theory says that public health lockdowns, such as the ones being imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to raise food prices and aggravate food insecurities in vulnerable communities. The resulting decline in market activity and the in... More »
What happens when a welfare program shifts from distributing benefits on the first of the month to a staggered schedule? Research shows that while this change can reduce theft and allow families to minimize food scarcity at the end of the month, there is risk ... More »
Demographic and economic trends like suburbanization, deindustrialization, white flight, and foreclosures have resulted in an increase in vacant properties in cities like Chicago. High vacancy rates pose many challenges for cities and residents, including decr... More »
The racial wealth gap in the United States is a legacy of nefarious actions and policies such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and redlining. Based on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances in 2016, the median white family had a net worth of $188,200, nearly eigh... More »
The 2018 elections were not only the largest in Mexico’s history, but also the most violent. From September 2017 to June 2018, 48 political candidates were killed during their campaigns. Was this violence politically motivated? A consequence of the criminal ac... More »