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.

Our impoverished vocabulary of scent (NPR)
by Angus Chen
English and other Western languages have a real gap when it comes to describing smells. Hunter-gathers, on the other hand, have a rich vocabulary of abstract words for scents.

The iPhone as birth control (Wired)
by Arielle Pardes
Research finds that mobile apps can prevent pregnancy as effectively as some standard forms of standard birth control. But they’re not a simple solution.

The economics of government shutdowns (The Conversation)
by Scott R. Baker
The effects of shutting down the federal government are economic as well as political. Looking at the 2013 shutdown, researchers found some serious impacts—and some ways to mitigate them.

Can you make someone get help? (Slate)
by Carl Erik Fisher
Courts often demand that people with substance abuse problems get treatment. Does it work? The answer is more complicated than you might think.

What Roe v. Wade could have meant (The Washington Post)
by Mary Ziegler
The Roe v. Wade case, decided 45 years ago, hinged on the idea of a right to privacy. In the early years after the decision, mental health activists, gay rights campaigners, and many others thought the precedent could support their causes too.

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