|
Welcome to Sunday and the best of The Conversation.
As the winter solstice approaches, sunlight is in short supply here in New England where I’m based. The sun is usually just peeking over the horizon when I wake up – and it’s dark long before I close my laptop for the evening.
These shorter days can bring on winter blues, which trigger effects like daytime sleepiness and a craving for sweets, explains Lina Begdache, an associate professor of health and wellness at Binghamton University. In one of this week’s reader picks, Begdache offers some tips for getting through winter physically and mentally strong.
In editors’ picks, Sharyn Graham Davies of Monash University in Australia writes about the history of transgender people in Indonesia, a country where faith and queer identities are often seen as incompatible.
This piece was part of a series produced by The Conversation, Religion News Service and the AP that examines the inclusion of LGBTQ people in religious denominations around the world. All nine stories from the three news organizations are available here.
This week we’ll bring you stories about the steep drop in America’s personal savings rate, the future of snow days and why people fear the disappearance of regional accents.
|
General Grant stands in front of his campaign tent at his headquarters in Virginia in 1865.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Anne Marshall, Mississippi State University
Known as the military leader who saved America, Ulysses S. Grant left a legacy of fighting for the rights of enslaved people during and after the Civil War.
|
|
|
-
Lina Begdache, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Research shows that young adults and women are particularly susceptible to seasonal affective disorder.
-
Shane Coffield, NASA; James Randerson, University of California, Irvine
Millions of dollars have gone into California’s forest carbon offset program – with little new carbon storage to show for it, a new study suggests.
-
Marie Helweg-Larsen, Dickinson College
Denmark, despite its cold and gloomy winters, is full of people who consistently rank among the happiest in the world.
-
April M. Zeoli, University of Michigan; Shannon Frattaroli, Johns Hopkins University
Research shows that removing guns from violent abusers saves lives. But laws doing just that are at risk of being ruled unconstitutional, following a landmark Supreme Court guns case.
|
|
A man walks amid buildings damaged by Russian missiles in Ukraine on Nov. 28, 2022.
Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Liam Collins, United States Military Academy West Point
Given their numbers advantage, Russian troops were expected to quickly capture Ukraine. That didn’t happen, and with winter approaching, more Russian military defeats are expected.
|
|
|
-
Sharyn Graham Davies, Monash University
Indonesia has criminalized same-sex sexuality, but trans people are finding support in some trans-inclusive mosques and churches.
-
Blake Alexander Simmons, Colorado State University; Rebecca Ray, Boston University
China’s international lending projects have big potential impacts on oceans and coasts. By cooperating more closely with host countries, Beijing can make those projects more sustainable.
-
Mark Satta, Wayne State University
The Supreme Court’s initial questions during the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis opening arguments focused on whether the case might be premature, and what kind of discrimination is at play
-
Joshua D. Ambrosius, University of Dayton
Spacecraft are just a small part of what it takes for humans to become an interplanetary species. A political science professor explains how there is much more to creating a spacefaring society.
|
|
|
|
