How China is ramping up its climate ambitions

How Christmas became an American holiday tradition, with a Santa Claus, gifts and a tree

Thomas Adam, University of Arkansas

Christmas was popularized in the United States during the American Civil War, when Harper’s Weekly featured the image of Santa Claus visiting the Union Army on its front page.

California’s water supplies are in trouble as climate change worsens natural dry spells, especially in the Sierra Nevada

Roger Bales, University of California, Merced

The State Water Project cut its initial allocations for water agencies to 0% for 2022. A California water expert explains why.

Grammy winner explains why Adele is right – album tracks should not be shuffled

Jose V Ruiz-Resto, University of Florida

Clicking ‘random’ on album tracks does the artist a disservice. It can also mean the listener is missing out, too.

Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Assassins’ lays bare the bizarre role of guns in American culture

Jennifer Tucker, Wesleyan University; Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University

To the famous composer, the gun serves not as a tool of self-defense, but as an instrument of self-expression and self-realization.

Diversity helps nonprofits accomplish more when staff from different backgrounds can connect

Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University

When staff members learn how to acknowledge and talk about their social differences, nonprofits can get better at developing strategies, forming alliances and mobilizing people, a recent study found.

Making a difference without millions – how Americans give

Thalia Plata, The Conversation

Stanford researcher Lucy Bernholz is re-imagining what philanthropy looks like and is trying to understand how average people create, fund and distribute shared social goods in the digital age.

Quotes from Frantz Fanon’s 'Wretched of the Earth' that resonate 60 years later

Nigel Gibson, Emerson College

Fanon was brutally honest in his criticism of militants and Africa’s post-independence elites.

Less snow, more rain in store for the Arctic, study finds

Michelle McCrystall, University of Manitoba

New climate simulations show that there will be more rain and less snow falling in the Arctic by the end of the century, particularly in the fall and winter.

How China’s ‘leftover women’ are using their financial power to fight the stigma of being single

Chih-Ling Liu, Lancaster University; Robert Kozinets, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

An economic approach to emancipation.

Today’s graphic

From the story, Is your state ready to handle the influx of federal funds for expanding broadband?