Could Russia pull off a false flag attack?

Rising costs of climate change threaten to make skiing a less diverse, even more exclusive sport

Brian P. McCullough, Texas A&M University; Lance Warwick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

As temperatures warm, ski and snowboard resorts are investing more in snowmaking and seeing their seasons shrink. Those costs roll down to customers in an already expensive sport.

The Cold War, modern Ukraine and the spread of democracy in the former Soviet bloc countries

Michael De Groot, Indiana University

During World War II, the US and USSR fought together to defeat the Nazis. When the war ended, the two superpowers began fighting each other.

The US doesn’t need to wait for an invasion to impose sanctions on Russia – it could invoke the Magnitsky Act now

Keith Brown, Arizona State University

Named after a tax expert who died in police custody after uncovering fraud by Russian officials, Magnitsky sanctions target individuals accused of human rights violations.

Calling the coronavirus the ‘Chinese virus’ matters – research connects the label with racist bias

Brad Bushman, The Ohio State University

Social scientists find that using geography-related names or racialized framing around the coronavirus in even one news story can trigger racist stereotypes and biases.

Tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees made it to the US – here’s how the resettlement process works

Kathryn Libal, University of Connecticut; Scott Harding, University of Connecticut

Nine agencies, most of them faith-based, are resettling Afghan evacuees in the US. But the system is under strain.

What’s the IOC – and why doesn’t it do more about human rights issues related to the Olympics?

Yannick Kluch, Virginia Commonwealth University; Eli Wolff, University of Connecticut

The International Olympic Committee oversees several humanitarian initiatives. But it avoids letting human rights concerns interfere with the Games, even in countries with rampant violations.

1 in 4 Americans are covered by Medicaid or CHIP – a program that insures low-income kids

Heather Bednarek, Saint Louis University; Ellen Barnidge, Saint Louis University

Most states have taken advantage of the opportunity to expand access to Medicaid since 2014 through the Affordable Care Act. That’s helping reduce the number of uninsured people.

What’s insider trading and why it’s a big problem

Alexander Kurov, West Virginia University; Marketa Wolfe, Skidmore College

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is pushing for a ban on active trading by members of Congress following accusations that some of their colleagues may have engaged in insider trading.

Sahel security: what a wave of military coups means for the fight against jihadi groups in West Africa

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation

Plus, why do people with a foreign accent get a hard time – and how to prevent it. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Prince Andrew: a legal expert explains the settlement with Virginia Giuffre

Black and Indigenous protesters are treated differently than the ‘convoy’ because of Canada’s ongoing racism

Africa’s relations with the EU: a reset is possible if Europe changes its attitude