Editor's note
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Yesterday, Taliban and Islamic State insurgents killed 15 people in Afghanistan, including eight police officers. A series of major attacks earlier in the spring reportedly killed more than 150. Retired Army Col. Robert Cassidy, who served four tours in Afghanistan before becoming a teaching fellow at Wesleyan University, writes that nearly 17 years of “violence, loss, sacrifice and significant investment, without victory, is alarming” – but he also argues there’s reason to hope that the stalemate in Afghanistan may soon be over.
On the homefront, Amazon is introducing a new smart-home device aimed at children. Marie-Helen Maras, who studies digital security, discusses the ways many internet-connected toys have already put kids’ safety and privacy at risk.
Who wouldn’t like a little more self-control? Psychologist Sabine Doebel revisited the famous “marshmallow test” that tempts children with a sweet treat. She found the social influence of others who value and demonstrate self-control shored up young kids’ own ability to hold out – potentially a key insight to enhancing adult willpower as well.
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Emily Costello
Deputy Editor/Politics + Society Editor
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Top stories
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Afghan Northern Alliance fighters in 2001. Almost two decades later, the war continues.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder
Robert M. Cassidy, Wesleyan University
A strategy to shut down Taliban safe havens in Pakistan could bring the war to an end.
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Are toys sharing too much information on the internet?
mhong84/Shutterstock.com
Marie-Helen Maras, City University of New York
As Amazon introduces a new smart-home device aimed at children, it's important to know many internet-connected toys are not secure, putting kids' security and privacy at risk.
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If everyone else sticks with salad, maybe you will too.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
Sabine Doebel, University of Colorado
Everybody wants more self-control, but it's proven difficult to beef up through training. New research suggests that what your social group does might be key to enhancing your own self-control skills.
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Politics + Society
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Robert A. Sedler, Wayne State University
Most people know that the First Amendment protects free speech. But two upcoming Supreme Court cases reveal how it also gives people in the US the right not to speak.
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Ignacio González Bozzolasco, Universidad Católica de Asunción
Paraguay's conservative president-elect Mario Abdo narrowly won the April 22 election. His father was the private secretary for dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who brutally ruled Paraguay for 35 years. Leer en español.
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Trending on site
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Yunfeng Lu, University of California, Los Angeles
A new pill may lower blood alcohol levels, helping a hangover and preventing alcohol overdose deaths.
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Jeremy P. Shapiro, Case Western Reserve University
Why do some people reject scientifically accepted ideas? A psychotherapist points to black-and-white thinking as part of the explanation.
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William Moomaw, Tufts University
Deriving fuel from trees costs more than wind and solar power and it emits more carbon than coal. There are many heated debates about this kind of energy, known as forest or woody biomass.
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