Wisconsin voters had to wait in line in April, wearing masks, because they could not vote by mail.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
Steven Mulroy, University of Memphis
In many states, any voter can ask for an absentee ballot and mail it in – but in others, there are stricter rules about who can vote by mail.
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Politics + Society
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Isabel Solange Muñoz, University of Tennessee
Even as Americans are all told to remain at home, millions are now unemployed and must scramble to figure out how to pay for that home.
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Martha Hurley, University of Dayton
Half of incarcerated individuals have either a chronic medical or a mental health condition. But social distancing and rigorous hygiene are unattainable for many US jails and prisons.
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Mark Munn, Pennsylvania State University
A historian of ancient Greece looks past a plague and explains how a massive government spending plan went badly awry 2,500 years ago.
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Ethics + Religion
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David Smilde, Tulane University; Hugo Pérez Hernáiz, Universidad Central de Venezuela
If anyone can convince the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition to come together to fight COVID-19, it's the Pope. But the Church's power to negotiate an emergency deal is limited.
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Science + Technology
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Maura Chhun, Metropolitan State University
When the 1918 influenza pandemic struck India, the death toll was highest among the poor.
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Environment + Energy
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Maria Ivanova, University of Massachusetts Boston
April 22, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which catalyzed action to protect the environment not just in the US but internationally.
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Kevin Van den Wymelenberg, University of Oregon; Leslie Dietz, University of Oregon; Mark Fretz, University of Oregon
We spend 90% of our lives indoors, and every building has its own indoor microbiome. Can we learn to manage them in ways that support helpful microbes and suppress harmful ones?
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Arts + Culture
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Chunjie Zhang, University of California, Davis
With dreaded, invisible germs lurking on surfaces and in people, our surroundings are seen as a minefield – and we end up dulling one of our most valuable senses.
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Economy + Business
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Mohamed Hassan Awad, California State University, Los Angeles
Nonprofits and concerned residents are teaming up with the local government to solve a daunting problem in a city with the nation's highest per-capita rate of homelessnesss.
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Leslie Hammer, Oregon Health & Science University; Lindsey Alley, Oregon Health & Science University
The coronavirus pandemic is a stressful time for everyone. Here are some ways employers can help their employees through this crisis.
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From our international editions
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Charlie Watts, University of Portsmouth
With no in-studio audiences, the Laff Box should be used more by comedy shows.
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Lakshmi Priya Rajendran, Anglia Ruskin University
Public spaces are an integral part of everyday life for most Indians. The lockdown could make people appreciate them even more.
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Dr Fabri Blacklock, UNSW
Pressure is mounting on fashion producers to stop using skins from Australian native animals. But Indigenous people are reviving traditions and there are ethical ways for trade to continue.
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