The NDP is MIA on bold labour proposals

By Adam D.K. King

Many social democrats, progressives and others on the left have been approaching Canadas federal election campaign with considerable apprehension. According to the latest polls, the federal New Democratic Party is in a...

Another stolen generation looms unless Indigenous women fleeing violence can find safe housing

By Kyllie Cripps Et Al

In Western Australia more than half the children placed in state care are Aboriginal. The state government committed this month to reducing this over-representation, in a move that parallels the Closing the Gap Refresh...

Your brain has 'landmarks' that drive neural traffic and help you make hard decisions

By Caio Seguin Et Al

Brain regions exchange information by sending and receiving signals through a network of nerve connections. This exchange is crucial to all aspects of the brains functioning, including how we experience the world, form...

Vital Signs: NBN's new price plans are too little, too late

By Richard Holden

This week NBN Co announced pricing changes for the National Broadband Network. It includes a new plan boasting a download speed of 1 gigabit per second and an upload speed of 50 megabits per second for $80 a...

What the government is really saying with its 'Get Ready for Brexit' campaign

By John Preston

The UK government is running a public information campaign urging the country to get ready for Brexit on October 31. It includes information on travel, exporting and legal requirements. The campaign is primarily built...

Xenophobia puts South Africa’s moral authority in Africa at risk

By Mashupye Herbert Maserumule

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was heckled during the recent funeral service of Zimbabwes erstwhile leader Robert Mugabe. It was easy to guess why. When he stood to speak, Ramaphosa apologised for weeks of...

From smoking to vaping: Why do we abuse our lungs?

By Richard Gunderman

Todays growing toll of deaths and serious illnesses associated with vaping represents just the latest variation on an age-old theme: our propensity to willfully inhale substances that damage our lungs. Just as flavoring...

'Chernobyl' shows how mass mobilizations saved Europe and doomed the Soviet Union

By Gregory R. Witkowski

The HBO miniseries Chernobyl about the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster has won over viewers and critics. Despite taking some dramatic licenses, the show accurately portrays everyday life under communism in the Soviet...

Fed’s rate cut signals a recession may be ahead – and it may not have enough ammunition to fight it

By Michael Klein

The Federal Reserve seems a lot more concerned about the state of the economy than its been letting on. The Fed lowered its target interest rate by a quarter point on Sept. 18, the second such cut since July and the...

We're increasingly bombarded with choices – and it's stressing us out

By Thomas Saltsman

Log onto Netflix, and youll be presented with a menu of nearly 6,000 titles. Create an OkCupid account, and youll have the chance to connect with 5 million other active users. Search for a new toothbrush on Amazon, and...

Moscow’s municipal elections illustrate the growing political crisis in Russia

By Regina Smyth

Russian President Vladimir Putins ruling party, United Russia, eked out a majority in the Moscow municipal legislature in elections on Sept. 8. While Putins regime touted the outcome as a victory, the election posed a...

How rising temperatures affect our health

By Liz Hanna

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Global warming is accelerating, driven by the continuing rise in greenhouse...

Chinese takeout, tacos or curry? Our multicultural marketplace turns cultures into fetishized objects

By Ela Veresiu

Does your weekly dinner routine revolve around ethnic cuisines? Have you tried taco Tuesdays, pho Fridays or spaghetti Saturdays? When eating out or ordering in, do you choose ethnic restaurants that offer delicious dishes...

Affordable housing lessons from Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore: 3 keys to getting the policy mix right

By Youqing Fan Et Al

Affordable housing is a critical problem for Australias biggest housing markets. Five Australian cities are in the top 25 with severely unaffordable housing in a 2019 Demographia survey of 91 major metropolitan markets....

Video games can bring history back to life

By Bob De Schutter

It is one thing to learn about history in a classroom. But as any visitor to a living museum or historic site can tell you, a fantastic way to learn is to make a personal connection. In early 2019, media entrepreneur...

Something is killing galaxies, and scientists are on the case

By Toby Brown

In the most extreme regions of the universe, galaxies are being killed. Their star formation is being shut down and astronomers want to know why. The first ever Canadian-led large project on one of the worlds leading...

Israeli election has no clear winner – what political deadlock means for the Middle East

By Martin Beck

With no clear winner in Septembers Israeli elections, both the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his only serious contender, Benny Gantz, will now set about trying to form a governing coalition. Both are...

Are conspiracy theories on the rise in the US?

By Liberty Vittert

Have the internet and social media created a climate where Americans believe anything is possible? With headlines citing now as the age of conspiracy, is it really true? In a word, no. While it may be true that the...

PayID data breaches show Australia's banks need to be more vigilant to hacking

By Paul Haskell-Dowland

When we think of a bank robbery, we might imagine a safe with the door blown open. But nowadays it might be more accurate to picture criminals accessing our bank account online from another country. Bank robbers dont need...

Robo-debt is only one way government stigmatises claimants. There's only so much a class action can do

By Helen Hodgson

The robo-debt recovery programme has been criticised as badly designed and unfair ever since it began in mid 2016. A year later the Senate Committee on Community Affairs recommended it be put on hold until its design...

Wall Street is ignoring the omens of recession – here's why

By Jay L. Zagorsky

The world is on the brink of a recession, if all the breathless headlines are to be believed. So why are U.S. stocks near all-time highs? Thats a question my MBA students have been asking me lately. Even the Federal...

New technology isn't the cause of inequality - it's the solution

By Wim Naudé Et Al

Technology has been blamed for a lot recently. Automation and artificial intelligence have supposedly led to substantial job losses, reduced bargaining power for workers and increased discrimination. It is even blamed for...

A quarter of US parents are unmarried – and that changes how much they invest in their kids

By Orestes 'Pat' Hastings Et Al

Family structure in America is sharply divided by class and race. While 84% of children whose mothers have a bachelors degree or higher-level education live with married parents, only 58% of children whose mothers have...

Expanding direct democracy won't make Americans feel better about politics

By Joshua J. Dyck Et Al

As Americans watch the Brexit-related political turmoil in the United Kingdom, it is important to remember that the chaos there began in a form of direct democracy. When U.K. voters set in motion their exit from the...

Brexit: France and UK have long and troubled history – but pragmatism offers a bright future

By Karine Varley

The UK and France are in the process of redefining their relationship for a post-Brexit future. The two countries have been close partners within the EU, and 12m Britons visit France each year. Meanwhile, hundreds of...

'An insult' – politicians sing the praises of the cashless welfare card, but those forced to use it disagree

By Eve Vincent

This is a bit controversial, we know that, deputy prime minister Michael McCormick told the National Partys federal council, which on the weekend voted for a national roll-out of cashless debit cards for anyone younger...

Civilization: The Way We Live Now – powerful, troubling photographs of a crowded planet and uncertain future

By Sasha Grishin

In 1955, an enormous photographic exhibition, The Family of Man, challenged the world as to what it meant to be human. The curator, Edward Steichen, assembled 503 photographs by 273 photographers from 68 countries, while...

Keeping the city cool isn't just about tree cover – it calls for a commons-based climate response

By Abby Mellick Lopes Et Al

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. A recent report by the Greater Sydney Commission singles out urban heat as...

Suddenly, the world's biggest trade agreement won't allow corporations to sue governments

By Pat Ranald

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has been touted as the best hope for keeping world trade flowing after the attacks on the World Trade Organisation. The WTO isnt dead yet, but in a two-pronged attack, US...

Using technology to support caregivers of older people with dementia

By Janet Fast

In June, the government of Canada released its long-awaited Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire. As a family caregiving researcher for more than two decades and a former family caregiver to my Dad, who had...

Israel elections: who women vote for and how it's shifting

By Einat Gedalya-Lavy

Israelis are about to head to the polls in a unique election. The vote on September 17 is the first time Israelis will vote in two elections in the same year, after the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin...

Midlevel workers: Africa's unsung health heroes need more support

By Ian Couper

Midlevel health workers can play an important role in addressing shortages of health professionals and improving access to care. This is especially true in low and middle-income countries. These workers fill a niche...

Smart cities could give the visually impaired a new outlook on urban life

By Drishty Sobnath Et Al

Travelling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these seemingly simple things can be a serious...

There's a way for modern medicine to cure diseases even when the treatments aren't profitable

By James Leahy

Strides in medicine have contributed to a dramatic increase in life expectancy over the last century. Diseases like HIV and cervical cancer that were essentially death sentences as recently as 30 years ago can now be...

3 countries where Trump is popular

By Monti Datta

President Donald Trump is one of the most controversial world leaders in modern times, igniting the ire of Americas staunchest allies. Whether its the proposed Muslim ban, the U.S. border wall and immigration, or his...

How Congress turns citizens' voices into data points

By Samantha McDonald

Big technology companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google arent the only ones facing huge political concerns about using citizen data: So is Congress. Reports by congressional researchers over the last decade describe an...

Flavored e-cigarettes not only lure kids with sweet taste but lead them to dismiss danger, studies suggest

By Leah Ranney

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Sept. 15, 2019 that he plans to pursue emergency regulations to quickly ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, making New York the second state to consider such a ban. Cuomos action...

Why more companies are going dog friendly

By Holly Patrick

Bringing pet dogs into the workplace is becoming increasingly common. Large companies like Google, Ticketmaster and challenger bank Monzo are just a few that have joined companies in the pet sector (like Pets at Home) that...

What neuroscientists are learning about our brains in space by launching themselves into zero gravity flight

By Elisa Raffaella Ferrè

More than 500 people have travelled into space to date and, while we know a little about how life without gravity affects our physical health, we know almost nothing about how it affects our minds. So, my colleagues and...

Reality slippages and narcissistic stereotyping - watching Content, a TV show made for smart phones

By Emma Maguire

Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has left her broke. To top...

Apple's iPhone 11 Pro wants to take your laptop's job (and price tag)

By Andrew Maxwell

What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly the new iPhone 11 range....

Vaping: As an imaging scientist I fear the deadly impact on people’s lungs

By Grace Parraga PhD

Vaping causes severe illness in otherwise healthy young adults and teenagers. It causes a life-threatening, life-shortening and sometimes deadly lung toxicity and injury with apparently irreversible damage that cannot be...

New copyright law will benefit South Africans with disabilities

By Denise Rosemary Nicholson

South Africas current copyright law was enacted 41 years ago. The Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 had no provisions for people with disabilities and that hasnt changed in more than four decades. This means that every time...

Superblocks: Barcelona's car-free zones could extend lives and boost mental health

By Anupam Nanda

The worlds biggest cities have larger populations and higher economic outputs than some countries. But as they grow in size and complexity, cities are also facing thorny challenges that threaten the health and happiness of...

The next battles against tobacco must be fought in the world’s major cities

By Steven J. Hoffman Et Al

Global cities like New York and London were among the first to pioneer effective tobacco control policies like smoke-free workplaces, public cessation services and higher tobacco taxes. These life-saving policies were...

All this overinflated talk about an index-fund bubble is very passive-aggressive

By Richard Holden

If youve seen the movie The Big Short you will remember Christian Bales quirky character Michael Burry the manager of the Scion Capital hedge fund who realises the US mortgage-backed security market is a massive bubble....

Most innovation originates from customers, not companies

By Tim Schweisfurth

The mountain bike wouldnt exist if it wasnt for disgruntled customers. In the 1970s, some cyclists wanted to ride off-road but were let down by existing bikes that werent suited to rugged terrain. They adapted road bikes,...

How bankruptcy works for companies and creditors

By Lindsey Simon

More than 20,000 companies file for bankruptcy every year. Although companies follow many different paths to bankruptcy, each one encounters a process that is carefully designed to balance the rights of debtors and...

Hotels play vital role in relief efforts when disaster strikes

By Rick Lagiewski

Hotels are more than a place to stay while on vacation. They are also critical for destination disaster relief and recovery. When major hurricanes strike, relief organizations like FEMA and the Red Cross are usually...

The problem with the push for more college degrees

By Johann N. Neem

In a 2009 speech, President Barack Obama proclaimed that by 2020, the United States will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. As we near 2020, it is worth asking how close are we to...