Editor's note
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In his first speech before the U.N. General Assembly yesterday, President Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal – all while asserting that America remains a model for the rest of the world to emulate, writes Simon Reich of Rutgers University, Newark. Was this speech better suited to 1917 than 2017?
Lots of people are hoping autonomous cars will make driving safer, but even after seven decades of research, fully self-driving vehicles are still many years away. Looking at the past, technology historian Lee Vinsel and professor of engineering Costa Samaras warn that focusing too much on that long-term goal could cause people to miss key safety innovations that are already here.
And religion scholar Jeffery D. Long explains what’s so wrong with an advertisement from the meat industry in Australia that shows the Hindu God Ganesha and deities from other religions seated around a table where lamb is being served.
Finally, with health care reform back in the news, Simon Haeder from West Virginia University examines how the latest Republican proposal differs – and doesn’t – from previous bills and Gerald Friedman from UMass Amherst describes a simpler, and maybe even politically possible, way to get comprehensive health care.
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Emily Costello
Senior Editor, Politics + Society
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Top story
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Trump talks tough at the U.N. General Assembly.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson
Simon Reich, Rutgers University Newark
The president threatened North Korea and decried the decimation of the American middle class – but didn’t have much praise for the work of the United Nations.
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Science + Technology
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Lee Vinsel, Virginia Tech; Constantine Samaras, Carnegie Mellon University
Consumers with high hopes of driverless vehicles improving safety might be looking past the boring near-term advances that could make a real difference. It happened before – more than 60 years ago.
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John C. Besley, Michigan State University; Anthony Dudo, University of Texas at Austin; Shupei Yuan, Northern Illinois University
Scientists who engage with the public may have goals about influencing policy or behavior. But they also need to think about the short-term objectives that will help get them there.
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Economy + Business
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Robert W. Klein, Georgia State University
The bills now pending in Congress won't do what it will take.
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Gerald Friedman, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Bernie Sanders' single-payer health care plan is bound to be expensive and politically impossible. A simple expansion of Medicare offers a cheaper and more passable path to universal care.
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Environment + Energy
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Brittany A. Mosher, Colorado State University; Brian Gerber, University of Rhode Island; Larissa Bailey, Colorado State University
Frogs and toads are declining around the world, with many species on the brink of extinction. Acting in time means trying strategies without complete information about how likely they are to work.
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Trending on site
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Carrie L. Partch, University of California, Santa Cruz
Whether you're a night owl or a morning lark, circadian rhythms control just about every aspect of your health.
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Alex Reilly, University of Adelaide; Kevin Johnson, University of California, Davis; Mireille Paquet, Concordia University
As Congress takes up the issue of immigration, we turned to our global network of scholars to get their perspective on how points systems work.
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Dariush Mozaffarian, Tufts University
Poor diet kills hundreds of thousands per year. If we want to achieve meaningful health care reform, we need to address our nation's nutrition crisis.
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