
Bill and Melinda Gates: philanthropy caught in the crosshairs of society's obsession with celebrity
May 16, 2021 12:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views
When does an extremely normal event become global headline news, and when does a historic achievement for humanity fail to create much of a ripple in the news cycle? When the key players in both stories are high-profile...

Cancel culture looks a lot like old-fashioned church discipline
May 09, 2021 10:10 am UTC| Insights & Views
Blink and you may have missed one of the more recent controversies over cancel culture. On March 23, 2021, columnist Hemal Jhaveri published an opinion piece at For The Win, a sports commentary website operated by USA...

Male voices dominate the news. Here's how journalists and female experts can turn this around
May 09, 2021 09:02 am UTC| Insights & Views
Last week, the ABC announced it had achieved a milestone it had been trying to reach for more than two years. For the first time, in the previous month of March, it had equal numbers of women and men appearing in its news...

Do people become more religious in times of crisis?
May 09, 2021 09:01 am UTC| Insights & Views
Organized religion has been on the decline for decades in the United States. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that online searches for the word prayer soared to their highest level ever in over 90...

Taste alone won't persuade Americans to swap out beef for plant-based burgers
May 09, 2021 09:00 am UTC| Insights & Views
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Consumers are more likely to choose a plant-based meat substitute when the restaurants advertising highlights the social benefits of...

IQ tests: are humans getting smarter?
May 09, 2021 08:58 am UTC| Insights & Views
From the algorithms that make our social media accounts function to the sleep-tracking technology in our smartwatches, the world has never seemed so technologically advanced and developed. Which is why it would be easy to...

Unblocking the passage from India
May 09, 2021 08:51 am UTC| Insights & Views
It became clear this week repatriation flights for Australians stranded in India would have to resume ASAP after May 15, whatever the COVID situation in that country. By going too far in its effort to stop individuals...