Editor's note

How did you pay for your last purchase? Maybe you scrounged up some dollar bills – but you also could have swiped a credit card, shot off a payment through Venmo, or even exchanged a couple of Bitcoin. With the 50th anniversary of the first ATM machine tomorrow, Bhaskar Chakravorti at Tufts University explores the declining – though still vital – role of cash throughout the world, from Sweden to Somaliland.

For decades, federal rules about television and radio stations have been aimed at ensuring that local newscasts reflect, represent and connect with the communities they serve. But, as media scholar Christopher Ali explains, those rules may be about to change – and with them, how rural Americans get their news.

And as we mark the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book today, USC Dornsife’s Trisha Tucker revisits the burning of these books by fundamentalist Christians, to ask a question: Why would people take such “drastic measures” to keep some books out of the reach of young readers?

Aviva Rutkin

Big Data and Applied Mathematics Editor

Top story

An Indian man displays new currency notes of 2,000 Indian rupee. AP Photo/Ajit Solanki

Cash is falling out of fashion – will it disappear forever?

Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University

You can now pay your way with apps, cryptocurrencies and other digital alternatives. Physical money might one day look like a relic of the past.

Science + Technology

Ethics + Religion

Education

  • Textbooks in the digital world

    Kui Xie, The Ohio State University; Nicole Luthy, The Ohio State University

    Textbooks were once a major piece of educational infrastructure. But as digital content expands, a new kind of 'textbook' is improving the quality of K-12 instruction.

  • 30 years after Edwards v. Aguillard: Why creationism lingers in public schools

    John E. Taylor, West Virginia University

    Thirty years after the Supreme Court ruled that creationism cannot be required in schools, 'creation science' is still taught in some schools. What are the implications for climate education?

Economy + Business

  • The Trump team's poor arguments for slashing SNAP

    Patricia Smith, University of Michigan

    Cutting the program formerly known as food stamps would hurt low-income Americans and the whole economy. As research indicates that it's working well, this drive to defund is baffling experts.

Health + Medicine

Arts + Culture

  • Women in horror: Victims no more

    Beth Younger, Drake University

    According to a recent study, horror is the only film genre where women appear and speak as often as men.

Politics + Society

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Today’s Interesting Fact

Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Georgia is believed to have been the first church to install two ATMs in the church lobby, in 2005. In the first year, the cash machines resulted in donations of $100,000.

 

Why cash remains sacred in American churches

James Hudnut-Beumler

Vanderbilt University

James Hudnut-Beumler