Editorial Staff

Sarah Weiser

@sarahwweiser
Image from Teaching Teens About Sex: The Decades-Old Debate over Abstinence-Only
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Teaching Teens About Sex: The Decades-Old Debate over Abstinence-Only

A decades-old battle is re-emerging over abstinence-only sex education.

Image from How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote
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How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote

African American women played a significant and sometimes overlooked role in the struggle to gain the vote.

Image from Life After Welfare
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Life After Welfare

Twenty years ago, welfare reform was signed into law, promising needy families a path out of poverty. This is the story of Tianna Gaines-Turner, a former welfare recipient, who still struggles to make ends meet.

Image from A Mother, a Dingo and an Australian Media Frenzy
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A Mother, a Dingo and an Australian Media Frenzy

In 1982, an Australian mother was convicted of murdering her baby daughter. She was later exonerated, but soon fell victim to a joke that distracted the world from the real story.

Image from Forced into Federal Boarding Schools as Children, Native Americans Confront the Past
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Forced into Federal Boarding Schools as Children, Native Americans Confront the Past

Native Americans demand accountability for a federal policy that aimed to erase Indigenous culture.

Image from Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago
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Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago

As deportations of unauthorized immigrants rose under President Donald Trump, some churches and cities declared themselves sanctuaries and shielded migrants from immigration enforcement.

Image from Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat
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Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat

In the 1960s, fears of overpopulation sparked talk of population control. So what happened?

Image from Could a Simple Intervention Fight a Suicide Crisis?
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Could a Simple Intervention Fight a Suicide Crisis?

A simple intervention to reduce suicides – “caring letters,” messages of compassion and empathy – showed promise in the 1960s, but has been overlooked until now.

Image from Welfare and the Politics of Poverty
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Welfare and the Politics of Poverty

Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform was supposed to move needy families off government handouts and onto a path out of poverty. Twenty years later, how has it turned out?

Image from Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers
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Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers

For care in pregnancy and childbirth, Black parents are turning to a traditional practice.

Image from Suing the President: The Students Who Challenged the Travel Ban
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Suing the President: The Students Who Challenged the Travel Ban

With the release of Donald Trump’s new travel ban, a brief look at a Yale group that fought the original ban.

Image from For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business
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For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business

An inmate population surge in the 1980s led to the growth of for-profit prisons. Today, despite their mixed record, private prison companies are overseeing the vast majority of undocumented migrants.

Image from Rachel Carson’s Warning on D.D.T. Ignited an Environmental Movement
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Rachel Carson’s Warning on D.D.T. Ignited an Environmental Movement

Author Rachel Carson’s strike against the pesticide DDT turned her into both an environmental hero and a foil for those who believe regulation has gone too far. That fight is more relevant than ever.

Image from Send In the Special Ops Forces
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Send In the Special Ops Forces

The rise of special operations units today can be traced to two historic military missions: one a legendary success, the other a spectacular failure.

Image from Could We Geoengineer Ourselves Out of Climate Change?
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Could We Geoengineer Ourselves Out of Climate Change?

Is geo-engineering the climate an answer to global warming? Cold War science has some lessons.

Image from Forever Prison
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Forever Prison

Guantanamo Bay has become a symbol of the war on terror, but its story actually begins a decade before, when it was first used to detain thousands of Haitians outside the reach of U.S. law. This story was created in collaboration with NPR and PBS, FRONTLINE.

Image from The Preschool Sex Abuse Case that Changed How Molestation is Investigated
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The Preschool Sex Abuse Case that Changed How Molestation is Investigated

The nightmare began in 1983 when a 39-year-old mother called the police department in Manhattan Beach, California and accused a teacher at the McMartin Preschool, Raymond Buckey, of molesting her two and a half-year old son.

Image from From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA, a Century-Long Push for Equality
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From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA, a Century-Long Push for Equality

The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed nearly 100 years ago, sparked debate from its very beginning, even among many of the women who had worked together for suffrage.

Image from Surviving Heroin
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Surviving Heroin

After surviving four heroin overdoses, Heather Wetzel hopes she can stay clean for her daughter.

Image from How Heroin Addiction's Rural Spread Changed the War on Drugs
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How Heroin Addiction's Rural Spread Changed the War on Drugs

From time to time over the past 40 years, efforts were made to treat heroin addiction as a public health instead of a crime problem. But they were not successful.

Image from From Crack Babies to Oxytots: Lessons Not Learned
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From Crack Babies to Oxytots: Lessons Not Learned

In the 1980s, many government officials, scientists, and journalists warned that the country would be plagued by a generation of “crack babies.” They were wrong. More than 25 years later, the media is sounding a similar alarm.

Image from A Barge Full of Garbage Helped to Fuel a Recycling Movement
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A Barge Full of Garbage Helped to Fuel a Recycling Movement

In the 1980s, rising public awareness about waste was fueled by a bizarre news story about a meandering New York City garbage barge.

Image from Shamed by Sex, Survivors of the Purity Movement Confront the Past
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Shamed by Sex, Survivors of the Purity Movement Confront the Past

A “purity” movement in the 90s led by evangelical Christians promoted a strict view of abstinence before marriage. Today, followers are grappling with unforeseen aftershocks.

Image from This Snake Is Eating the Everglades
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This Snake Is Eating the Everglades

Burmese pythons released into the wild by well-meaning pet owners have created a reptilian nightmare in the Everglades.

Image from Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children
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Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children

Migrant children in federal custody have tested positive for Covid-19, reopening a legal battle over the rights of children in custody.

Image from Princess Diana Brought Attention to Land Mines, but Their Danger Lingers
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Princess Diana Brought Attention to Land Mines, but Their Danger Lingers

In the late 1990s, Princess Diana brought public attention to land mine victims. But, more than two decades after her death, how much progress has been made in the worldwide fight against leftover munitions?

Image from History is Repeating Itself
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History is Repeating Itself

A law school professor is challenging Trump’s travel ban 25 years after he challenged the government as a student. For more, watch our collaboration with FRONTLINE, “Forever Prison.”

Image from Forced into Federal Boarding Schools as Children, Native Americans Confront the Past
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Forced into Federal Boarding Schools as Children, Native Americans Confront the Past

Native Americans demand accountability for a federal policy that aimed to erase Indigenous culture.

Image from Is Multiple Personality Disorder Real? One Woman's Story
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Is Multiple Personality Disorder Real? One Woman's Story

In the 1970s, the TV movie “Sybil” introduced much of the nation to multiple personality disorder and launched a controversy that continues to resonate.

Image from Covid Deaths Left Orphans. The Stress of That Loss May Carry Lifelong Risks.
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Covid Deaths Left Orphans. The Stress of That Loss May Carry Lifelong Risks.

Avion Simon and his siblings, C.J., and Momo, lost their mother to Covid-19. Science has some ideas about the health hurdles that Covid orphans could face in the future.

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