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The rhythms that broke Bashir: how Sudan’s music shaped a revolution
Music created the networks, identities and spaces of trust that made collective political action possible in Sudan’s 2019 revolution.
OSI archive
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When ‘man’ didn’t mean humanity: How language excluded women for centuries
Language that fails to explicitly name women has historically excluded them. And that exclusion is an active, reversible mechanism that’s now resurfacing.
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Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs, yet its presence is ubiquitous in social settings and celebrations
Despite growing evidence of alcohol’s harms, it remains deeply embedded in social norms and cultural rituals, both in the US and abroad.
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From Augustine to Jefferson, the idea of separating church and state has deep religious and secular roots
The Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission argues that religious freedom is under attack and blames the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state.
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How did it feel to be an American colonist in 1776? Probably itchy, achy and slightly nauseated
The medical tools of the Revolutionary period help flesh out the picture of what physical well-being felt like for people living in the American colonies 250 years ago.
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How health insurers get a free pass to deny coverage from a 52-year-old law meant to protect worker pensions
A little-known law called ERISA bars millions of patients from suing for damages when health insurers wrongly deny claims.
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Supreme Court bars states from protecting consumers if federal agencies won’t
A case involving the potential dangers of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, relates to broader efforts to protect consumers.
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Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail-in ballot decision
Mail-in voting was created during the Civil War so soldiers could vote. That legacy helped shape how the Supreme Court ruled more than 160 years later.
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As the US turns 250, a forgotten founding influence helps explain its current unease
Montesquieu shaped how Americans understood liberty, and his warning about a ‘tyranny of opinion’ speaks to today’s polarization.
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Why Denver stopped treating sidewalk repair as a DIY project – lessons for other cities and homeowners
New legislation in Denver created a program to build, repair and maintain sidewalks throughout the city.