blog posts Kindt: Justice Department reversal on online gambling 'correct decision' Jan 17, 2019 12:00 pm Internet gambling won’t be legal for much longer after the Department of Justice reversed a controversial 2011 ruling, says professor John W. Kindt, a leading national gambling critic What can we learn from JFK about presidential speechmaking? Jan 24, 2019 9:00 am John F. Kennedy was known for his eloquence as a public speaker, perhaps more than any modern president. But what made him so effective? Future Environments: How drones, AI can help farmers grow more food Jan 31, 2019 10:30 am Naira Hovakimyan, a professor of mechanical science and engineering, discusses how technology will help farmers feed a growing population What might come of Venezuela’s political crisis? Feb 5, 2019 1:30 pm Illinois political scientist Damarys Canache discusses the history and politics behind the crisis of two presidents in Venezuela What do we really know about e-cigarettes and vaping? Feb 11, 2019 10:45 am E-cigarettes are relatively untested products with a lot of variability in the kinds of chemicals they contain. So right now, there isn’t a clear picture of the long-term health impacts, says Illinois' Cabral Bigman Are global warming, recent Midwest cold snap related? Feb 17, 2019 10:30 pm Last month, the Midwest experienced record-breaking cold. If the climate is experiencing unprecedented warming, how can we still have such frigid cold? Atmospheric sciences professor Don Wuebbles explains Will there ever be a cure for potholes? Feb 27, 2019 2:45 pm Industrial and enterprise systems engineering professor Henrique Reis proposes a solution. The Midwest has a new national park. How did that happen? Mar 8, 2019 10:00 am The newly designated Indiana Dunes National Park has beaches, but it also has the Great Marsh, a variety of habitats and amazing biodiversity, says Illinois professor Robert Pahre. Why do so few community college grads transfer to elite colleges? Mar 18, 2019 2:30 pm Community college transfer students are underrepresented at selective four-year institutions, even though they complete degrees at equal or higher rates than their peers, says researcher Eboni Zamani-Gallaher Listen: Men’s wheelchair basketball coach Matt Buchi Mar 26, 2019 9:00 am Illinois men's wheelchair basketball coach Matt Buchi interviewed following the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament on the Illinois campus. 'Brexit' is coming – or maybe not. Why is this happening? Mar 26, 2019 10:00 am Illinois political science professor Kostas Kourtikakis explains some of the forces behind 'Brexit' and why it’s so difficult to achieve. How is Illinois contributing to the Event Horizon Telescope Project? Apr 10, 2019 8:00 am Q + A with Illinois physics and astronomy professor Charles Gammie, who heads up the theory working group for the multi-institutional collaboration. What was lost in the Notre Dame Cathedral fire? Apr 17, 2019 11:00 am Notre Dame Cathedral, severely damaged by fire this week, holds historical and symbolic significance for both France and the world, say two University of Illinois historians. How does sexual harassment affect young women in physics? Apr 23, 2019 11:15 am Nearly 75% of undergraduate women in physics who responded to a survey reported having experienced at least one type of sexual harassment – mostly gender harassment – in their field. What changes should be made to modernize consumer bankruptcy law? May 8, 2019 9:45 am The primary reason why current bankruptcy law doesn’t work well is that it dates back to 1978, before the explosion of consumer credit, says Robert Lawless, an expert on consumer credit and bankruptcy Does the Supreme Court need to care about public opinion? May 29, 2019 8:30 am The Supreme Court has to consider public opinion and its popularity in deciding politically divisive cases, says political scientist Alicia Uribe-McGuire. What happened at Stonewall 50 years ago? And why did it matter? Jun 11, 2019 9:45 am Historians debate how much the Stonewall riots were a watershed moment for the gay rights movement, but for those involved, 'everything seemed to change overnight.' Does more rain mean more risk of mosquito-borne diseases in Illinois? Jun 18, 2019 9:15 am The risk of some mosquito-borne diseases can go up with increased rainfall, says Brian Allan, an Illinois professor of entomology. Will legalizing marijuana be a boon to the state of Illinois? Jun 20, 2019 9:45 am The financial impact of legal marijuana could boost the Illinois economy significantly, says Robert Bruno, a professor of Labor and Employment Relations. Will there be any constraints now on partisan gerrymandering? Jun 28, 2019 2:00 pm Last year, Justice Kagan summarized the concern: the 2010 redistricting cycle 'produced some of the worst partisan gerrymanders on record,' predicting 'technology will only get better, so the 2020 cycle will only get worse.' Citizenship and the census: What happens now? Jul 1, 2019 8:45 am Professor Julie Dowliing says not having a citizenship question will improve response rates, but more than a year of news coverage about this topic will have an impact. How might 'Medicare for All' reshape health care in the U.S.? Jul 2, 2019 10:30 am A single-payer health care system such as Medicare for All could expand access to care at equivalent costs – or less – to most consumers, according to health policy expert Thomas O’Rourke. Can a state copyright its own laws – and prevent citizens from republishing them? Jul 15, 2019 10:45 am Sara Benson, expert on copyright law, talks about a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that will determine the legality of a state copyrighting its own laws – potentially making it illegal to republish them. How can educators, coaches support student-athletes’ academic success? Aug 9, 2019 8:00 am A new Illinois study finds young athletes need the help of educators and coaches to perceive themselves as scholars and develop realistic educational and career goals. Germany transformed under Nazis in 100 days. Do we understand why? Aug 20, 2019 11:45 am With Sept. 1 marking the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II in Europe, a University of Illinois historian describes how Germans came to embrace Nazi rule. Would cutting payroll taxes help prevent recession? Aug 26, 2019 8:00 am Cutting the payroll tax could represent the middle-class tax cut that Trump campaigned on, said University of Illinois law professor and tax expert Richard L. Kaplan. Would changes to capital gains taxes spur the economy? Sep 4, 2019 10:30 am Indexing capital gains to inflation could be a simple fix to stimulate a teetering economy, but several significant implementation hurdles remain, said Professor Richard Kaplan. How are Illinois birds faring? Sep 24, 2019 8:30 am Scientists estimate the continent has lost close to 3 billion birds. Senior wildlife ecologist Thomas J. Benson of the Illinois Natural History Survey discusses the status of birds in Illinois. What’s at stake in auto workers strike? Sep 25, 2019 8:15 am Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations, explains the strike of more than 47,000 auto workers. What explains the persistence of Hong Kong protest? Oct 2, 2019 9:00 am Hong Kong’s protests grow out of the city’s unique history as a former British colony and Cold War cultural battleground, says Illinois historian Poshek Fu. What’s behind surge in unaccompanied minors crossing southern U.S. border? Oct 17, 2019 9:15 am Poverty, natural disasters and the rise of gang recruitment in their home countries all contribute, but the biggest factor is that their countries of origin are as violent as war zones, says law professor Lauren Aronson. Impeachment is underway: So who makes the rules? Oct 17, 2019 9:30 am An impeachment investigation may be based in charges of wrongdoing, but it’s still a political process, says political science professor Gisela Sin. Even the design of rules, procedures is done strategically. Could cannabis be a pain relief alternative to opioids? Oct 25, 2019 1:45 pm Julie Bobitt, director of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences program at Illinois, talks about the state's Opioid Alternative program and the feasibility of cannabis as a pain management alternative. Will hiding 'like' counts, other metrics improve social media? Oct 31, 2019 9:45 am Ben Grosser began experimenting with hiding the metrics on social media platforms years ago. He says hiding them makes users feel less competitive and reduces negative social effects. Will anything ever change for the Kurds? Nov 7, 2019 1:45 pm 'Despite decades of domestic conflict between Turks and Kurds, there is no centuries-old feud. ...The current conflict, including Turkish incursion into northern Syria, is largely a story about political power.' 'It was a bad day for Peoria County about 450 million years ago.' Nov 14, 2019 12:00 pm 'A meteorite bigger than the State Farm Center hit near the present-day Village of Glasford, a little ways southwest of Peoria. It created a 2.5-mile-wide crater that we now call the Glasford structure.' U.S. politics aside, what's the bigger picture in Ukraine? Dec 4, 2019 4:15 pm There’s more happening in Ukraine than just U.S. politics. U. of I. professor Cynthia Buckley talks about how the country is dealing with a long-term war and its consequences. What’s in the global carbon budget? Dec 9, 2019 1:00 pm The Global Carbon Project recently released its 2019 annual report, giving decision-makers access to data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends. MLB baseballs juiced? Dejuiced? A few minutes with Alan Nathan Dec 10, 2019 9:30 am 'There could very well be differences from one ball to another within a given year...and that's just a natural consequence of the materials that are used and the actual process...there's a lot of hand work done to create a baseball.' What do we really know about poverty? Dec 16, 2019 10:45 am Sociology professor Brian Dill finds that many students assume extreme poverty in the world is much higher than in reality, yet underestimate the number of poor in U.S. suburbs. A US drone killed an Iranian general. What might be the consequences? Jan 8, 2020 4:15 pm 'The drone-strike killing of Suleimani was unprecedented... No country has used a drone to try to kill a state political or military leader, and the U.S. has not killed a foreign military leader since World War II.' Would modifying payment of the earned income tax credit help struggling families? Jan 23, 2020 11:15 am Researchers found that paying the earned income tax credit in quarterly installments reduced financial stress and food insecurity among struggling families in Chicago public housing. What is the coronavirus spreading across the globe? Jan 23, 2020 12:00 pm Leyi Wang, a virologist and professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, discusses the outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus. Targeted ads are coming to mainstream media. Should we care? Jan 27, 2020 11:15 am The major shift underway in TV – from broadcast and cable to streaming – is also bringing targeted advertising to mainstream media, says Professor Mike Yao. 'Total surveillance' could be one result. Are there alternatives to declining, disappearing newspapers? Jan 30, 2020 3:00 pm Nonprofit newsrooms are providing a significant new source for news as many newspapers face cuts and closures, says journalism professor Brant Houston, who co-founded of the Institute for Nonprofit News. What are the novel coronavirus health risks? Feb 28, 2020 9:45 am Christopher Brooke, an expert in viruses and how they spread, discussed what makes the novel coronavirus virus a public health concern. Why does the census matter? What are the challenges this time? Mar 2, 2020 11:15 am 2020 census information wil arrive in millions of mailboxes this month . A U of I professor who also chairs a U.S. Census Bureau advisory committee explains why the census matters and the challenges in making it work. Does lack of paid sick time make US susceptible to global health crisis? Mar 9, 2020 9:15 am Lack of paid sick time makes the U.S. acutely susceptible to a global health crises like COVID-19, and is part of the larger problem of tying health care to employment, says U. of I. labor expert Robert Bruno. Is the US ready for the 2020 census? And what's at stake for Illinois? Mar 10, 2020 9:15 am A U of I demographer voices both praise and concern for 2020 census preparations, and notes the importance of an accurate count. Cynthia Buckley calls the census 'a decennial celebration of the idea that everybody counts.' What do Russians hope to gain from U.S. elections interference? Mar 12, 2020 11:15 am Russia is taking advantage of the polarized views of Americans and trying to promote its own geopolitical interests when it spreads disinformation around our presidential election, says Professor Richard Tempest.