The missing Oscar nominee

Editor's note

During Sunday’s Academy Awards, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will be conspicuously absent. After President Trump issued his travel ban, the Best Foreign Language Film nominee decided to boycott the awards. Farhadi has good reason: In Trump’s hardline rhetoric, he sees similarities to the repressive theocracy back home.

Penn State’s Kevin Hagopian takes readers into Iran’s film industry, in which filmmakers must toe a fine line between creating resonant art and evading government censors. The fact that their films receive worldwide acclaim is a testament to the obstacles they’re able to overcome.

Nick Lehr

Editor, Arts and Culture

Top story

Director Asghar Farhadi wins the award for best screenplay at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Yves Herman/Reuters

How Iranian filmmakers like Asghar Farhadi defy the censors

Kevin Hagopian, Pennsylvania State University

Their critiques may be more gentle, their attacks more circumspect – but they are resonant nonetheless. And when filmmakers like Farhadi confront Trump, they're on familiar turf: They've seen his type back home.

Politics + Society

Where is 'rural America,' and what does it look like?

Kenneth Johnson, University of New Hampshire

'Rural America' is a deceptively simple term for a remarkably diverse collection of places. Understanding – and improving – these parts of the country is critical for all Americans.
How the 'guerrilla archivists' saved history – and are doing it again under Trump

Morgan Currie, University of California, Los Angeles; Britt S. Paris, University of California, Los Angeles

Activists today are racing to save climate records from the Trump administration. Secret archives were a powerful way to fight hostile political climates throughout history – from the Nazis to the Islamic State.
How social media stars are fighting for the Left

David Craig, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; Stuart Cunningham, Queensland University of Technology

Content creators with millions of fans are increasingly willing to voice their political views. Their influence on American politics may be in its infancy but it is growing fast.

Ethics + Religion

Hidden figures: How black women preachers spoke truth to power

Kenyatta R. Gilbert, Howard University

Since the 19th century, a long line of black women preachers set in motion a tradition that spoke against injustices and questioned patriarchal attitudes. Here's their story.
Who exactly are 'radical' Muslims?

Z. Fareen Parvez, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Muslims from the Salafist tradition can often be seen as 'radical.' There is not much understanding of Salafism, its history and its diversity. Here's what it means to be a Salafist.

Economy + Business

Puzder's failed nomination reminds us why the secretary of labor matters

Raymond Hogler, Colorado State University

The purpose of the Labor Department is to advocate on behalf of workers. As such, it deserves a qualified leader of competence and commitment.
Can Trump resist the power of behavioral science's dark side?

Jon M Jachimowicz, Columbia University

Dozens of governments have been using the insights from the burgeoning field to 'nudge' citizens in ways that improve their well-being. But some worry Trump might use it for less altruistic ends.

Science + Technology

Broadband internet can help rural communities connect – if they use it

Brian Whitacre, Oklahoma State University

Giving rural residents the option of using broadband access isn't enough to boost their community involvement. To really improve civic engagement, rural dwellers need to use the internet.
20 years after Dolly: Everything you always wanted to know about the cloned sheep and what came next

George Seidel, Colorado State University

In 1997, scientists announced they'd created a healthy sheep cloned from another ewe's mammary gland cell. Two decades on, the technique is being refined and applied to new challenges.
More lessons from Dolly the sheep: Is a clone really born at age zero?

José Cibelli, Michigan State University

It took years of attempts before scientists were able to clone a mammal from an adult cell. And with that success came plenty more questions.
How governments and companies can prevent the next insider attack

Matthew Bunn, Harvard University; Scott D. Sagan, Stanford University

Basic safeguards are not enough to protect against insider threats. It requires rethinking how to overcome the biases that cause us to dismiss the danger.

Arts + Culture
Is your smartphone making you shy? Joe Moran, Liverpool John Moores University Some have said that technology could lead to 'a new ice age' of social isolation. Not so fast, says the author of a new book about shyness.

Health + Medicine

Inmates are excluded from Medicaid – here's why it makes sense to change that

Tyler Winkelman, University of Michigan; Amy Young, University of Michigan; Megan Zakerski, University of Michigan

Repealing a legal provision that excludes people in prison or jail from Medicaid could improve access to treatment, save state and local governments money and reduce recidivism.
Decades into diabetes, insulin therapy still hard to manage

Israel Hodish, University of Michigan

Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in the US, and at some point, half of the 30 million people with diabetes will need insulin. That would be one thing if insulin were easy to dose, but it's not.