A new law went into effect in Germany on Wednesday. The so-called "Facebook Act" is intended to curb the rise of online hate speech in that country. But it's not only a German problem. Today in The Conversation Canada, Nadia Naffi of Concordia University writes about disturbing new evidence that shows there was a six-fold increase in hate speech terms in social media postings by Canadians in the year preceding Donald Trump’s election.

Have you ever heard of a “grocerant”? Chances are you’ve been in one without knowing the term. Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University not only explains the word – “a grocery store that sells prepared meals, to either eat on site or take home” – but also gives insight into why this hybrid phenomenon is taking off.

Most discussions about foster care rightly focus on the well being of children. But Elizabeth Wall-Wieler of the University of Manitoba has done research on the detrimental impact on mothers forced to give up their children to foster care. It's an important issue that doesn't get enough attention by policy makers and the media.

And finally…we’ve all seen pictures of crop circles. But why do they hold such a fascination for some people? Paul Kingsbury of Simon Fraser University has studied crop circles and reports they are “central to a shift in culture with investigative approaches that mimic science and increasingly make the paranormal mainstream.” Incidentally, for those of you in the Vancouver area, Prof. Kingsbury presents some of his research on crop circles today at a public event at SFU. We’ve provided a link in the story with more information.

Regards,