2026 begins with an increasingly autocratic United States rising on the global stageShelley Inglis, Rutgers University
Can the US ‘run’ Venezuela? Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacyMonica Duffy Toft, Tufts University
2026’s abortion battles will be fought more in courthouses and FDA offices than at the voting boothRachel Rebouché, The University of Texas at Austin
The ‘sacred’ pledge that will power the relaunch of far-right militia Oath KeepersAlexander Lowie, University of Florida
Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship heads to the Supreme CourtJean Lantz Reisz, University of Southern California
The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant housing policy reflects a long history of xenophobia in public housingRahim Kurwa, University of Illinois Chicago
‘These people do it naturally’: President Trump’s views on immigrant farmworkers reflect a long history of how farming has been idealized and practiced in AmericaDoug Sackman, University of Puget Sound
How the conservative Federalist Society will affect the Supreme Court for decades to comePaul M. Collins Jr., UMass Amherst and Tim Komatsu, UMass Amherst
Pete Hegseth could be investigated for illegal orders by 5 different bodies – but none are likely to lead to chargesJoshua Kastenberg, University of New Mexico
Who thinks Republicans will suffer in the 2026 midterms? Republican members of CongressCharlie Hunt, Boise State University
Karoline Leavitt’s White House briefing doublethink is straight out of Orwell’s ‘1984’Laura Beers, American University
As DOJ begins to release Epstein files, his many victims deserve more attention than the powerful men in his ‘client list’Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University
Trump administration’s immigrant detention policy broadly rejected by federal judgesCassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University
Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship will depend on its interpretation of one key phraseMorgan Marietta, University of Tennessee
Federal judges are frustrated by defiance from the Trump administration and fuzziness from the Supreme CourtJohn E. Jones III, Dickinson College
Trump administration’s immigrant detention policy broadly rejected by federal judgesCassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University
Why free speech rights got left out of the Constitution – and added in later via the First AmendmentDonald Nieman, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Polarizing political events are leading Americans to increasingly call for a national divorceRyan D. Griffiths, Syracuse University
‘Big’ legislative package shifts more of SNAP’s costs to states, saving federal dollars but causing fewer Americans to get help paying for foodTracy Roof, University of Richmond
Job of homeland security secretary is to adapt almost continuously to pressures from the department, the public and the world at largeFrank J. Cilluffo, Auburn University
House speaker’s refusal to seat Arizona representative is supported by history and lawJennifer Selin, Arizona State University
Many wealthy members of Congress are descendants of rich slaveholders − study demonstrates the enduring legacy of slaveryNeil K R Sehgal, University of Pennsylvania and Ashwini Sehgal, Case Western Reserve University
The disgraceful history of erasing Black cemeteries in the United StatesChip Colwell, University of Colorado Denver
Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudiceLinn Washington, Jr., Temple University
60 years of progress in expanding rights is being rolled back by Trump − a pattern that’s all too familiar in US historyPhilip Klinkner, Hamilton College and Rogers M. Smith, University of Pennsylvania
Anti-LGBTQ+ policies harm the health of not only LGBTQ+ people, but all AmericansNathaniel M. Tran, University of Illinois Chicago
Why rural Maine may back Democrat Graham Platner’s populism in the Senate campaign − but not his partyNicholas Jacobs, Colby College; Institute for Humane Studies
Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska – even if they don’t realize itChristine Keiner, Rochester Institute of Technology
Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudiceLinn Washington, Jr., Temple University
Zohran Mamdani’s transformative child care plan builds on a history of NYC social innovationsSimon Black, Brock University
Trump’s ability to counter Netanyahu’s spoiler tactics in public may have been key to advancing a ceasefire in GazaBoaz Atzili, American University School of International Service
Syria’s mass graves: Accounting for the dead and disappeared is crucial for the nation to healStefan Schmitt, Florida International University
Map wars in the Middle East: How cartographers charted and helped shape a regional conflictChristine Leuenberger, Cornell University
Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump’s plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza won’t change thatMaha Nassar, University of Arizona
Trump’s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy, justifiable targets and legal authorizationJeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The only ‘winner’ here is Putin: Ukraine unites in response to Trump-Zelenskyy spat and resigns itself to new realityLena Surzhko Harned, Penn State
As the Kremlin eyes a thaw with the White House, Russia’s pro-war hawks aren’t too happyAdam Lenton, Wake Forest University
Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find outJulia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Colorado State University
I wrote a book on the politics of war powers, and Trump’s attack on Venezuela reflects Congress surrendering its decision-making powersSarah Burns, Rochester Institute of Technology
Can the US ‘run’ Venezuela? Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacyMonica Duffy Toft, Tufts University
Greenland’s melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump is eyeing dangerous to extractPaul Bierman, University of Vermont
The ‘sacred’ pledge that will power the relaunch of far-right militia Oath KeepersAlexander Lowie, University of Florida
Who thinks Republicans will suffer in the 2026 midterms? Republican members of CongressCharlie Hunt, Boise State University
College students are bombarded by misinformation, so this professor taught them fact-checking 101 − here’s what happenedSam Wineburg, Stanford University
