Why Russia isn't coordinating its bombs and hacks

Lessons in realpolitik from Nixon and Kissinger: Ideals go only so far in ending conflict in places like Ukraine

Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The US frequently chooses to put its own interest ahead of its professed values. That approach to foreign policy is called ‘realpolitik’ and it may lead to an unsatisfying peace deal in Ukraine.

Ketanji Brown Jackson set for historic Supreme Court confirmation vote: 3 essential reads

Matt Williams, The Conversation

Scholars discuss the meaning of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s potential elevation to the highest court in the land.

What countries have nuclear weapons, and where are they?

Miles A. Pomper, Middlebury; Vasilii Tuganov, Middlebury

Both the Russian and US arsenals boast thousands of nuclear weapons, located in various places around their own countries and, for the US, in Europe as well.

Reliable death tolls from the Ukraine war are hard to come by – the result of undercounts and manipulation

Neta C. Crawford, Boston University

Estimates of casualties from the war in Ukraine have varied widely. Some of this is due to genuine difficulty counting the dead, but there are also strategic reasons to put out misleading death tolls.

Amazon, Starbucks and the sparking of a new American union movement

John Logan, San Francisco State University

Successful union drives at two of America’s biggest companies were led by committed individuals, rather than established unions.

Humanitarian aid workers need security, rights and better pay

Lauren Carruth, American University School of International Service

Nearly all of the 129 aid workers killed on the job in 2021 were from the countries where they lost their lives.

These energy innovations could transform how we mitigate climate change, and save money in the process – 5 essential reads

Stacy Morford, The Conversation

From pulling carbon dioxide out of the air to turning water into fuel, innovators are developing new technologies and pairing existing ones to help slow global warming.

Pope Francis' visit to Malta highlights the role of St. George Preca, an advocate for teaching the gospel

Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross

Malta's St. George Preca was canonized in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. As Pope Francis visits Malta, renewed attention is coming to how his life and work can provide guidance for welfare of refugees.

Nuclear fusion hit a milestone thanks to better reactor walls – this engineering advance is building toward reactors of the future

David Donovan, University of Tennessee; Livia Casali, University of Tennessee

In January 2022, the JET fusion experiment produced more power over a longer period of time than any past attempt. Two physicists explain the engineering advancements that made the result possible.

What is a dwarf planet?

Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The dwarf planets in our Solar System are cold, dark, far away and full of surprises.

I no longer grade my students’ work – and I wish I had stopped sooner

A large solar storm could knock out the power grid and the internet – an electrical engineer explains how

What is aphasia? An expert explains the condition forcing Bruce Willis to retire from acting