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A note from...
Bryan Keogh
Economics + Business Editor
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The growth of the gig economy has raised concerns that work is becoming less stable, with few benefits and no job security. But the problem runs much deeper than the world of app-based drivers and handymen. Americans across the economy are finding themselves in increasingly precarious work situations, a challenge compounded by decades of stagnating wages.
David L. Blustein, who studies the psychological nature of work, interviewed dozens of people to better understand how these changes are affecting worker well-being and their relationships. What he found offers a worrying portrait of the psychological health of the U.S. workforce.
Also today: why the Volkswagen Beetle inspired artistic expression and how babies’ microbiomes are influenced by where they’re born – home or hospital.
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Top story
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Work isn’t as stable as it once was.
fizkes/Shutterstock.com
David L. Blustein, Boston College
A growing number of jobs are becoming less stable, with fewer benefits and stagnating wages. This is taking a significant toll on the psychological health of workers.
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Politics + Society
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Merritt McAlister, University of Florida
Former US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens passed away on July 16. One of his former law clerks recalls her most memorable assignment.
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Bethany Berger, University of Connecticut
President Trump hinted that he would defy a Supreme Court ruling recently, though he later yielded to its authority. Andrew Jackson – Trump's hero – likewise challenged the rule of law in the 1830s.
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Science + Technology
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Sara M. Langston, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
The new era of space exploration is characterized by an emphasis on diversity and international cooperation. But there's a lot of work to do before there's gender equality in STEM fields and at NASA.
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Richard Gunderman, Indiana University
Born on July 18, 1635, this polymath broke ground in fields ranging from pneumatics, microscopy, mechanics and astronomy to civil engineering and architecture.
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Edward Henry Steinfeld, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Each device is complex in its own right, and trying to use them together in many different settings makes things even more complicated.
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Most read on site
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Melissa Michaud Baese-Berk, University of Oregon
Armstrong always insisted that he said, 'That’s one small step for a man.' Yet everyone omits the 'a' when they repeat the quote. A linguist tries to get to the bottom of what happened.
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Frank J. Infurna, Arizona State University
What was once imagined as a time of exploration and reinvention has become marked by financial and emotional strain.
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Paola Banchero, University of Alaska Anchorage
How did Alaska, one of the richest states in the Union, end up with budget cuts that lawmakers on both sides say could wreck the state's future? One answer's found in three letters: PFD.
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