Sophia McClennen, author of Trump Was a Joke

Laughing Matters

Sophia McClennen, author of Trump Was a Joke, discusses how political satire decoded the chaos of the forty-fifth presidency.
Margaret Chase Smith being sworn into the House of Representatives on June 10, 1940

Declaration of Conscience: Annotated

In June 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith criticized Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaigns. She was the first of his colleagues to challenge his Red Scare rhetoric.
From left to right: Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Strong, Rupert Murdoch, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk

The Media’s Bottom-Line Problem

The health of our democracy depends on a free press. What happens when the thirst for profits, eyeballs, and clicks drives political coverage?
Illustration of two people trying to communicate through tin-can phones with a disconnected string

How Media Stifles Deliberative Democracy

As outlets that welcome rational exchanges of ideas dwindle those that serve as echo chambers are exploding. What does that mean for free speech and the health of the US?
Phillip Vance Smith, II surrounded by covers of Nash News

What’s It Like to Be an Editor of a Prison Newspaper?

The incarcerated editor of The Nash News in North Carolina shares about the power of higher ed and his work at the prison newspaper.
President Joe Biden poses with the Biden family dogs Champ and Major Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in the Oval Office

Dogs of the Bidenverse

Dogs have long played a big role in the White House.
A town hall event in Iowa.

Just How Unrepresentative Are the Iowa Caucuses?

There's no denying the whiteness of the state. But scholars cite other qualities that make Iowa more like the rest of the country.
A group of babies with various emotions

The Science of Baby-Name Trends

What makes a name suddenly pop—and then die? Social scientists and historians have been puzzling over this for decades.
A person typing on a computer

How to Use Zotero and Scrivener for Research-Driven Writing

This month, I’m doing something a little different with my column: I’m sharing the system I use to write it, so that you can use or adapt my system.
Prince Andrew

Who Survives a Political Scandal?

For a public figure, a scandal is a predictable hazard of the trade. What's less predictable, however, is who survives one.