How the Pilgrims differed from the Puritans

Cinnamon, spice and ‘everything nice’ – why lead-tainted cinnamon products have turned up on shelves, and what questions consumers should ask

Katarzyna Kordas, University at Buffalo

Lead can end up in cinnamon in a number of ways, but how much it contributes to blood lead levels in consumers depends on the amount of lead, as well as the frequency and amount of spice consumption.

Awkwardness can hit in any social situation – here are a philosopher’s 5 strategies to navigate it with grace

Alexandra Plakias, Hamilton College

Awkwardness is what happens in social interactions when you suddenly find yourself without a script to guide you through.

Gen Z heads home: How to navigate the evolving parent-child relationship as kids become adults

Amy Root, West Virginia University

Parenting’s ultimate goal is raising healthy, happy, successful children. Figuring out how to keep parenting once the kids are adults is just another transition.

No need to overload your cranberry sauce with sugar this holiday season − a food scientist explains how to cook with fewer added sweeteners

Rosemary Trout, Drexel University

With a few science-backed culinary tricks, you can make a delicious cranberry dish that’s friendly to Type 1 diabetics.

Meat has a distinct taste, texture and aroma − a biochemist explains how plant-based alternatives mimic the real thing

Julie Pollock, University of Richmond

Whether your holiday table has turkey or Tofurky this year, you’re consuming a combination of proteins, fats and water.

Talking turkey! How the Thanksgiving bird got its name (and then lent it to film flops)

Jack Lynch, Rutgers University - Newark

From ‘turkey trot’ to ‘going cold turkey,’ the centerpiece to many Thanksgiving dinners has lent its name to many things. But it also borrowed its name from elsewhere.

As Amazon workers prepare to strike on Black Friday, the story of one warehouse in the UK that pushed to unionize

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Sociologist Tom Vickers tells what happened – and how Amazon reacted – when workers won a vote on official recognition in Coventry in the UK. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Taxpayers spend 22% more per patient to support Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to Medicare that promised to cost less

Is it possible to dig all the way through the Earth to the other side?

What is a tariff? An economist explains