Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.

How colleges use black athletes (Pacific Standard)
by James McWilliams
Black men are greatly underrepresented at U.S. universities, and overrepresented on their football and basketball teams. And while black athletes make a lot of money for colleges, they often don’t end up with a degree.

Can computers understand chaos? (Quanta Magazine)
by Natalie Wolchover
For decades, the phrase “chaos theory” has suggested the virtual impossibility of predicting complicated systems like the weather or the economy. But new machine learning techniques, and sheer computer power, are changing that.

Barbara Bush’s legacy (The Washington Post)
by Barbara A. Perry
Barbara Bush’s life spanned decades of change in women’s roles in the corridors of power. Her political influence came from the traditional role of matriarch, even as she became known for her own tart voice.

The trouble with DNA evidence (Wired)
by Katie Worth
Forensic scientists are better than ever at finding DNA at crime scenes. They’re so good, they now often find stray material from people who were never there, implicating innocent people in terrible crimes.

The Spice Girls’ political philosophy (Lit Hub)
by Emily Temple
Back in 1997, experimental feminist writer Kathy Acker interviewed the Spice Girls and found they were more interesting than her peers assumed.

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