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Top headlines
Lead story
It’s the most wonderful time of year for the Christmas tree trade.
The industry, which sustains thousands of tree farms across the U.S. and at least two national lobbying groups, rakes in billions of dollars every year. That it’s lucrative should come as no surprise: A live evergreen can easily set a shopper back $100 or more.
Why are many Americans shelling out so much green for their trees? In search of answers, Boston University business professors Jay Zagorsky and Patrick Abouchalache dove into the data to understand how market forces shape the country’s Christmas-tree-acquiring habits.
The results are as illuminating as an LED tree-topper.
(Here’s a personal-finance tip courtesy of my dad, a legendary procrastinator: You can get a steep discount if you show up at the tree stand at 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Whether you should is an entirely different matter.)
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Peace, joy and profit margins: Retailers sell Christmas trees at a markup of up to 500%.
Iuliia Bondar/Getty Images Plus
Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University; Patrick Abouchalache, Boston University
The spirit of the season is free, but that tree is going to cost you.
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Politics + Society
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John Joseph Chin, Carnegie Mellon University; Haleigh Bartos, Carnegie Mellon University
Recent media coverage mostly confirms the role of faulty threat assessments, Hamas’ improved operational security, and confirmation bias.
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Matt Harris, Park University
Pittsburgh’s mayor renamed the city ‘Swiftsburgh’ when the singer’s tour hit town. He’s not the only politician who has publicly fawned over the star.
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George B. Cunningham, University of Florida; Kelsey Garrison, University of Florida
Sports researchers learned that conservative political leanings among state legislators lead to biases against transgender athletes among voters.
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Arts + Culture
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Max Chapnick, Northeastern University
By disguising her name, Alcott could publish in less prestigious venues without worrying about tarnishing her literary reputation.
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Environment + Energy
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Jared Del Rosso, University of Denver
What’s in a name? A lot, if you’re an Audubon’s Oriole or a Townsend’s Solitaire.
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Shannon Gibson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The agreement still leaves many unanswered questions, as well as concerns from vulnerable countries about who will qualify, who pays and who is in charge.
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Health + Medicine
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Lauren Butler, Texas State University
Research shows that focusing strictly on weight loss is not only ineffective in the long term, it can even be harmful and counterproductive.
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Science + Technology
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H. Colleen Sinclair, Louisiana State University
Disinformation campaigns often use a set of rhetorical devices that you can learn to spot, like conspiracy narratives, good versus evil framing, and revealed secrets.
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Shichun Huang, University of Tennessee; Wenzhong Wang, University of Science and Technology of China
Scientists analyzing isotope ratios have found that many of the elements that make up life could be left over from Earth’s formation.
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Sonia Colina, University of Arizona
Translation involves more than just transferring words from one language to another. Better translations of study materials can improve both the diversity of study participants and research results.
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