Infrastructure law: High-speed internet is as essential as water and electricity

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act designates broadband internet access as an essential service and targets billions of dollars to close the digital divide.

Hernán Galperin, Associate Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism • conversation
Nov. 17, 2021 ~9 min

Doctor draws on cartoons for persuasive public health messaging

Wrestling with a health care conundrum: how to get people to listen?

Alvin Powell • harvard
Oct. 29, 2021 ~7 min


A quick guide to climate change jargon – what experts mean by mitigation, carbon neutral and 6 other key terms

The language around climate change can feel overwhelming. A psychology and public policy expert breaks it down in plain English.

Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology and Behavioral Science, USC Price School of Public Policy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences • conversation
Oct. 26, 2021 ~10 min

Making data visualizations more accessible

Researchers find blind and sighted readers have sharply different takes on what content is most useful to include in a chart caption.

Adam Zewe | MIT News Office • mit
Oct. 12, 2021 ~7 min

To save forests, researchers are hooking trees up to Twitter

Hooking trees up to internet-connected sensors provides a new way to study how they interact with the environment - and how the public interacts with their tweets.

Kathy Steppe, Professor of Applied Plant Ecophysiology, Ghent University • conversation
Oct. 11, 2021 ~8 min

Adults who stutter don’t do it if they think no one’s listening

A new study finds evidence for the "talk-alone-effect" in adults who stutter. When they're alone and think no one's listening, they don't stutter at all.

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
Oct. 7, 2021 ~5 min

Online students ask more questions in ‘HyFlex’ lectures

Online students actually asked more questions during large "HyFlex" lectures than in-person students did, research finds.

Ida Eriksen-U. Copenhagen • futurity
Sept. 27, 2021 ~6 min

Ancient beads are the earliest sign of communication with fashion

The beads are some of the earliest evidence of people expressing identity with clothing. "They're the tip of the iceberg for that kind of human trait."

Kyle Mittan-U. Arizona • futurity
Sept. 23, 2021 ~6 min


Forceful vaccine messages backfire with holdouts – how can it be done better?

Subtly shifting the crafting and delivery of public health messaging on COVID-19 vaccines could go a long way toward persuading many of the unvaccinated to get the shot.

S. Shyam Sundar, James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects & Co-Director, Media Effects Research Laboratory, Penn State • conversation
Sept. 14, 2021 ~9 min

Alexa and Siri won’t make your kids bossy

Kids have gotten used to telling Alexa or Siri to call Grandma or play their favorite song. But will doing so make them bossy? Probably not.

Sarah McQuate-Washington • futurity
Sept. 14, 2021 ~10 min

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