Assistive technologies are making video games more and more accessible to players with disabilities. There’s even a professional esports player with quadriplegia who controls his computer with his mouth.

But the history of people with disabilities playing arcade games – some even using mouth controllers – goes back decades. University of North Dakota esports researcher Matt Knutson uncovers the story of disabled players competing in pinball and arcade tournaments, complete with media coverage and appearances by sports celebrities in the early 1980s.

This week we also liked articles about public transit’s decline in the U.S., steps states are taking to encourage voting, and a college class about cats.

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Eric Smalley

Science + Technology Editor
Many of today’s disabled esports players, like Rocky “RockyNoHands” Stoutenburgh, use mouth controllers, which were first used in gaming over 40 years ago. Rocky "RockyNoHands" Stoutenburgh

How people with disabilities got game − the surprisingly long history of access to arcade and video sports

Matt Knutson, University of North Dakota

A pioneering effort that allowed a teenager with a neck injury to play pinball sheds light on today’s vibrant community of esports players with disabilities.
Groundbreaking advances in the right to vote have been made over the past two years in the U.S. LPETTET/Getty Images

Grassroots efforts to increase voting are gaining momentum in these states, even as other states make voting harder

Tova Wang, Harvard Kennedy School

Americans have been hearing for years that democracy is being eroded and is literally at stake in the upcoming presidential election. But there is good news on the voting front as well.
Workers on a trolley at 5 p.m. in Baltimore, April 1943. Marjory Collins/Library of Congress

A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit

Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Hunter College

When US cities offered low-cost, high-quality public transit during World War II, buses and trains were full. Some cities are trying to revive that formula, after decades of disinvestment.

The Conversation News Quiz 🧠

  • The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz

    Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation

    Here’s the first question of this week’s edition:

    Democrat Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for 2024. Walz has been a congressman, a teacher and a command sergeant major in the National Guard. What other job has he also held?

    1. A. Puppeteer
    2. B. Smoke jumper
    3. C. HVAC installer
    4. D. Football coach

    Test your knowledge