How much does a criminal’s age matter in sentencing?

How the Soviets stole nuclear secrets and targeted Oppenheimer, the ‘father of the atomic bomb’

Calder Walton, Harvard Kennedy School

Spying was a concern from the dawn of the nuclear age, but charges that J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the first nuclear weapons, was a Soviet spy have been proved wrong.

The Taylor Swift Official State Sandwich: Politicians understand that Swifties are a key demographic

Matt Harris, Park University

Pittsburgh’s mayor renamed the city ‘Swiftsburgh’ when the singer’s tour hit town. He’s not the only politician publicly fawning over the star.

I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they’re serving in the US military – and it’s not primarily to gain citizenship

Sofya Aptekar, City University of New York

Though many immigrants join the US military to gain citizenship, other factors such as poverty and sense of belonging also contribute to their decisions.

DeSantis’ ‘war on woke’ looks a lot like attempts by other countries to deny and rewrite history

Rochelle Anne Davis, Georgetown University; Eileen Kane, Connecticut College

Tactics used to censor the teaching of American history in Florida schools bear much in common with those seen in the illiberal democracies of Israel, Turkey, Russia and Poland.

Massachusetts is updating its sex education guidelines for the first time in 24 years

Emily Rothman, Boston University

Twelve states do not require sex education of any kind.

65 years of NASA – an astrophysicist reflects on the agency’s legacy

Stephen G. Alexander, Miami University

Both Stephen Alexander’s elementary teachers and televised NASA missions throughout the ‘60s influenced his journey into science. He recounts NASA’s legacy, 65 years after the agency’s inception.

Will I ever need math? A mathematician explains how math is everywhere – from soap bubbles to Pixar movies

Hortensia Soto, Colorado State University

Math is more than memorizing times tables and doing homework problems. It is woven into more aspects of your life than you might think.

Tony Bennett: the timeless visionary who, with a nod to America’s musical heritage, embraced the future

Jose Valentino Ruiz, University of Florida

The jazz singer saw renewed success late in life on the back of collaborations with an eclectic array of artists.

Here’s how China is responding to US sanctions – with blocking laws and other countermeasures

Bashar Malkawi, University of Arizona

China has responded to US sanctions with its own set of punitive measures. An expert on international trade explains the standoff and what it means for countries and companies caught in the middle.

Global shipping has a new climate strategy – it’s vague, obscure and almost noncommittal, but it may be pointing the industry in the right direction

Don Maier, University of Tennessee

International shipping is a big contributor to climate change, and it doesn’t change quickly, but it’s companies are starting to invest in cleaner fuels.

Why Russia pulled out of its grain deal with Ukraine – and what that means for the global food system

Asymptomatic COVID-19 is linked to a gene variant that boosts immune memory after exposure to prior seasonal cold viruses

How I learned to stop worrying and love the doll – a feminist philosopher’s journey back to Barbie