A note from...
Jeff Inglis
Science + Technology Editor
As word spread of Facebook’s impending announcement of a new digital currency, social media scholar Jennifer Grygiel contacted me with a big concern: The company has a long history of behaving in questionable, untrustworthy ways, so why should people trust it to protect the public interest now?
Revealed yesterday was Libra, a cryptocurrency designed and backed by Facebook and its partners that, many observers say, has the potential to remake the entire global financial system. Grygiel explains what it might mean, and why there has already been outcry from the public, governments and international financial regulators.
While Boston University economist Jay Zagorsky admits there are benefits to Libra, he has his own concerns, especially that it will speed up the transition to a cashless society. There are two important downsides to going cash-free, he warns, including one that puts the whole economy at risk.
With the launch of the Libra cryptocurrency, Mark Zuckerberg reveals his dreams of building a new virtual country, perhaps inspired by the Roman Empire.
Facebook claims its new cryptocurrency will bring financial inclusion and opportunity to billions, pushing cash further to the fringes. Is that a good thing?
Just as with so many other criminal justice policies, pretrial detention disproportionately affects African-American men and women, destabilizing black families in the process.
Although far fewer Americans took the charitable deduction on their tax returns, giving stayed fairly steady, according to the annual Giving USA report.
Iran's leaders are threatening to breach a 2015 agreement that froze their country's nuclear program. What is uranium enrichment, and what would it mean for Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons?
Megan Jones, Colorado State University; Jennifer Solomon, Colorado State University
Major US environmental organizations have promised to diversify their staffs and boards for more than 20 years, but moved slowly. Will workplace scandals make a difference?
Joslyn Brenton, Ithaca College; Sarah Bowen, North Carolina State University; Sinikka Elliott, University of British Columbia
Celebrity chefs often preach about the ease of home cooking and meal planning. But for most mothers juggling a job, child care, housework and meal prep, this is virtually impossible.
