January 20, 2026

Living slowly, aging fast: The prison paradox

The days can seem endless in Canadian prisons—and yet, inside, inmates actually age faster than on the outside. Why?

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Deep sea mining is the next geopolitical frontline—and the Pacific is in the crosshairs

When the United States recently escalated its confrontation with Venezuela—carrying out strikes in Caracas and capturing President Nicolás Maduro—the moves were framed as political intervention.This post was originally published on this site
Forget the big picture: The case for voting on just one issue

Most people assume that when an election comes down to two main parties, the logic of voting is straightforward: weigh up the options and choose the least bad one.This post was originally published on this [...]
New model maps social polarization as overlapping group opinions, not fixed sides

Researchers at TU Wien are developing a model that interprets opinions not as diametrically opposed poles, but as overlapping areas at the group level.This post was originally published on this site
One cure for sour feelings about politics: Getting people to love their hometowns

Eileen Higgins won a historic victory in December. She became the first woman ever elected mayor of Miami, as well as its first Democratic mayor since 1997.This post was originally published on this site
Living together with differences: Mathematical model shows how to reduce social friction without forcing consensus

Opinion polarization is often considered as the primary driver of social friction, leading to exhaustive efforts to force a consensus. However, new research suggests a more pragmatic goal: reducing the friction of disagreement without necessarily [...]
Nationwide racial bias shapes media reporting on gun violence, study suggests

Mass shootings in white-majority neighborhoods received roughly twice the news coverage of mass shootings in neighborhoods where a majority of residents were people of color, while coverage of police-involved shootings was disproportionately high in majority-minority [...]
Iran: How the Islamic Republic uses internet shutdowns as a tool of repression

When a protest by angry traders about what they see as the Islamic Republic’s poor handling of the economy morphed into a national uprising across Iran, the authorities moved quickly to shut down the internet. [...]
Opinion: China’s new condom tax will prove no effective barrier to country’s declining fertility rate

Once the world’s most populous nation, China is now among the many Asian countries struggling with anemic fertility rates. In an attempt to double the country’s rate of 1.0 children per woman, Beijing is reaching [...]
Global power struggles over the ocean’s finite resources call for creative diplomacy

Oceans shape everyday life in powerful ways. They cover 70% of the planet, carry 90% of global trade, and support millions of jobs and the diets of billions of people. As global competition intensifies and [...]
Lack of coordination is leaving modern slavery victims and survivors vulnerable, say experts

Researchers at The University of Manchester are calling for stronger, coordinated partnerships to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking, warning that gaps between organizations risk leaving victims and survivors without consistent protection and support.This post [...]