
Online trolls keep largely mum for latest Star Wars movie
With a fast-paced plot and more conservative themes, The Rise of Skywalker avoided the online trolling that greeted its predecessor, argues associate professor of political science Bethany Lacina in the Washington Post.

Parents aren’t powerless when it comes to sleep-deprived teenagers
Teenagers in the US don’t get enough shut eye, and the consequences of this epidemic of sleep deprivation are extensive. But researchers at the University of Rochester have found that a simple solution yields solid results: setting a bedtime and sticking to it.

When do alcohol-dependent mothers parent harshly?
New Rochester research makes considerable progress towards understanding what triggers mothers with substance use disorders to treat their children harshly, and how parents and medical care providers can predict parenting difficulties.

The US is fighting an unwinnable war in Afghanistan
In a New York Times video op-ed, Lyle Jeremy Rubin, a history PhD candidate at the University of Rochester, and four other American veterans argue that the nation’s longest war is not winnable.

How much do we lie when sex is on the brain?
A new study shows the extent to which people will change their own opinions to conform to a stranger’s, or lie about their number of past sexual partners, when the sexual systems of the brain have been activated.

Do open relationships work?
Past studies have attempted to gauge the success of nonmonogamous relationships. Now a Rochester team has studied the distinctions and nuances within various types of nonmonogamous relationships and found that solid communication is key.

Separating children from their families must be last resort
In an essay published in the American Journal of Public Health, associate professor of history and practicing hospitalist Mical Raz writes that apart from extreme cases of imminent physical harm, “suboptimal families are better for children than removal.”

Native Americans, government authorities, and reproductive politics
In her book, historian Brianna Theobald traces the long history of efforts by federal and local authorities to manage the reproductive lives of Native families, and the widespread activism that arose as a result.

Calling Medicare ‘socialized medicine’ is a well-worn scare tactic
Conservatives have scared Americans into supporting higher health care costs, while shying away from expanding access, writes associate professor of history Michal Raz in a Washington Post op-ed.

Why Biden’s record players won’t solve poverty
“Biden was voicing a deeply flawed theory that arose during the 1960s and that blamed parents, especially mothers, for the struggles of poor children and children of color,” writes associate professor of history Mical Raz in a Washington Post op-ed.