1. When to Trust a Story That Uses Unnamed Sources
When are unnamed sources valuable, and when do they undermine credibility? FiveThirtyEight presents a five-step graphic to how to weigh your daily news.
2. Why Is the U.S. Handcuffing Incarcerated Women In Childbirth?
Just five percent of women in the world live in the U.S., but the U.S. accounts for nearly 30 percent of the world's incarcerated women.
3. We are Witnessing the Revival of Religion in Higher Education
“This revival … should not come as a surprise.”
4. AI Is Inventing Languages Humans Can’t Understand. Should We Stop It?
A curious conversation occurred between two AI agents developed inside Facebook: At first, they were speaking to each other in plain English. Then researchers realized they’d made a mistake in programming.
5. How Documentaries Can Make Climate Believers Out Of Christians
Religious leaders and documentary filmmakers are preaching the same sermon — connecting glaciers in Greenland to clean air in Atlanta in order to convert the unconverted.
6. Salem Memorializes Those Killed During Witch Trials
A professor at Salem State University estimates those accused have 100 million descendants. “In that sense, it really is our national story, our national shame … and our national chance at redemption.”
7. How D.C. Has Criminalized Black Teen Entrepreneurship
On a hot and humid 88-degree summer day in Washington, D.C. in June, three teenagers were handcuffed and detained for selling water on the National Mall.
8. Dallas Police Get First Female Chief, Making All Of Metro's Top Lawmen Women
Renee Hall succeeds David Brown, who led the department through the aftermath of the ambush deaths of five officers last July. She leaves Detroit, where she has been deputy chief of police.
9. In Mississippi, Aging Muslim Community Worries About Its Future
“At New Medinah, Miss., when Abdul Hakim Shareef looks out on these hills, this mosque — this perfect embodiment of a Muslim ideal — he hopes it won’t all end with him.”
10. How to Tell a Better Cult Story
Four recent works — two books and two TV shows — are transforming how we talk about new religious movements.
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