Most of the debates on the usage of “Latinx” – pronounced “la-teen-ex” – have taken place in the U.S. But the word has begun to spread into Spanish-speaking countries – where it hasn’t exactly been embraced. In July 2022, Argentina and Spain released public statements banning the use of Latinx, or any gender-neutral variant. Both governments reasoned...
At the end of each summer, hordes of people flock to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to erect a makeshift city the size of the Italian town of Pisa. They call it Black Rock City. A few days later, they will burn it to the ground, leaving no trace. During their time together, they partake in...
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had an unfortunate Saturday routine. I would wake up in my studio apartment and immediately turn to my phone, telling myself that I would get breakfast after quickly checking Twitter. An hour or so later, I would look up and realize what time it was –...
A new analysis of voting data for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s World’s Best Male Football Player Award suggests that cultural similarity between voters and players biases results. Michael Johnson and Ian McCarthy of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, present these findings in PLOS ONE. Earlier studies have shown that industry-wide awards—such...
Overcoming impulses to enjoy here-and-now rewards in order to attain later benefits is fundamental to achieving goals. Such delaying of gratification is often measured by the well-known “marshmallow task” in which children must resist the urge to enjoy one treat now in order to get more treats later. Individual differences in this task predict important...
A new survey shows Americans’ view of the January 6 Capitol attack can be predicted by their opinions on social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, but not as much by someone’s race or whether they own a gun except when the two are looked at together. The new study, based on a long-running survey of...
Hip-hop culture is often recognized as being born on Aug. 11, 1973. That was about seven months after Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that protected the right to choose to have an abortion. Accordingly, reproductive rights have long been part of the discourse in rap music, which has always sought to hold a mirror...
The word “witches” makes many Americans think of women working in league with the devil. But that hasn’t always been the face of sorcery. Most of Catholic and Protestant Europe embraced the idea of magic as a satanic craft practiced by women, and strong, independent women were kept in line through such accusations. In Orthodox...
In September 2021, a 3-year-old was killed during an exorcism in a small Pentecostal church in San Jose, California. The child’s throat was allegedly squeezed and her head held down during the ceremony, which likely asphyxiated her. In May 2022, three members of the victim’s family were charged with felony child abuse. Several famous deaths...
In January of 2020, SARS-CoV-19 reached the United States. With it came an even faster-spreading virus—xenophobic rhetoric referring to the pandemic’s epicenter in Wuhan, China. Politicians flooded news outlets and social media with distrust of the Chinese government and labeled COVID-19 as the “Chinese flu,” “Wuhan flu,” “Kung flu” and more. The messaging that blamed...
