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Black and white headshot of author Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.

Police officer directing traffic behind a Do Not Cross line
Politics & Government

Do Police Deter Crime?

Is there a connection between larger police forces and lower crime rates?
Young girl's hand touches and holds an old woman's wrinkled hands.
Education & Society

Medically Assisted Suicide, Christianity, and Confucius

The debate on medically assisted suicide often pits Christian and secular liberal values against each other.
Confederate flag
Politics & History

The Psychological Power of the Confederate Flag

An experiment in Political Psychology points to just how powerful the confederate flag continues to be in stirring up racist attitudes among whites.
A college student with book in hand
Education

The Value of Women’s Colleges: A View from the 1930s

Sweet Briar College's decision to shut its doors has put a spotlight on the decline of women's colleges.
A suspect handcuffed in an office
Business

Why Do White-Collar Criminals Do It?

Former Tyco CEO and infamous white-collar criminal L. Dennis Kozlowski recently ended his parole
A couple with a baby look over their bills
Business & Economics

What Happens to Kids When You Give Families a Universal Basic Income?

A town in Cherokee, North Carolina is an experiment on how a universal basic income affects kids.
Black and white close-up of torn shoes
Education & Society

Poor Kids, Social Mobility, and Their Contexts

A different angle on the issue of poor kids in America and abroad in an issue of Ethos
Hands on a computer keyboard
Politics & History

Obscenity and Unintended Consequences

In the Journal of American Studies, Amanda Frisken investigated how an earlier set of standards around obscenity emerged in the 1870s.
A dishwasher at work
Business

Why Higher Pay Can Be Good for Business

Higher pay for workers can be a good move for firms even beyond PR.
A teacher helping a student in a classroom
Education

Teaching Facts and Values in Public Schools

For most of the country's history, teaching "moral facts" was the main duty of the public schools.
Newspaper from 1851, titled Exhibition Supplement to the Illustrated London News
Politics & History

Anonymity and Public Debate—in the 1800s

But 150 years ago in Great Britain, the question of what role anonymity should play in public discourse looked completely different than today.
Two students look on while holding drinks
Education

Fraternities, Sororities, and Racism

Complex racial dynamics affect members of non-white fraternities even when they didn't involve explicit racism.
A stethoscope monitoring the pulse of a stack of twenty dollar bills
Politics & Government

How Subtle Subsidies Shaped U.S. Health Care

Melissa A. Thomasson looked into how federal money created the U.S. health care landscape as we know it.
Changing the channel with a television remote
Business

Why Bias Helps News Channels—and Maybe Viewers Too

According to a 2005 paper about bias in newspapers, reporting that tries to play things straight down the middle isn't necessarily a winning move.
American flag in front of a chalkboard
Education

Patriotism and History Class

The question of what, exactly, history class is for and what that has to do with patriotism goes back more than a century.
Rows of marijuana plants
Politics & Government

Legalizing Marijuana: Lessons from the Post-prohibition Era

The country's experience regulating alcohol after Prohibition may provide lessons regarding marijuana.
Close-up of "Just Married" sign attached on convertible car's trunk. Horizontal shot.
Politics & History

A Threat to “Traditional Marriage” in the 1920s

The view of "traditional marriage" has been under attack since long before anyone imagined state-sanctioned gay and lesbian unions
A field of wheat
Business & Economics

GMOs, Inequality and World Hunger

In a 2008 paper for the British Journal of Criminology, Reese Walters looked at GMO crops from an entirely different perspective.
Sold sign on a mailbox post
Business & Economics

How Real Estate Became a Global Commodity

A New York Times investigation is looking at the purchase of New York real estate by wealthy buyers from other countries.
Chalkboard drawing of man's evolution
Education

Democracy vs. Scientists: The Case of Evolution in Schools

Scientific expertise sometimes clashes with policy-making when it comes to teaching evolution in schools
A daycare teacher plays with a group of children
Business

Day Care: When School’s Snowed Out, Who Watches the Kids?

For a lot of dual-earner and single-parent families, there's no good solution for day care on a busy workday
Photo of an A test grade.
Education

What’s a Test Score Worth?

Are any standardized tests really useful?
Line of prefabricated homes
Business

The Stigma of Prefab Homes

The Wall Street Journal reports that million-dollar prefab homes are a growing trend in Europe
Rows of elementary students working diligently on their assignment
Education

Challenges Beyond the Classroom: Poverty, Race and Educational Achievement

Levels of educational achievement in the U.S. are deeply connected with race & income levels.
A student puts her head in her hands as she looks down at the assignment in front of h
Education

Is Common Core Doomed?

Is there still hope for Common Core Standards? And what will make them effective?

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