Category: Academic Reportage
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Why 2025 became the summer of flash flooding in America
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jeffrey Basara, Professor of Meteorology, UMass Lowell Rescuers searched for survivors after a flash flood in Texas Hill Country on July 4, 2025, that killed more than 130 people. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images The National Weather Service has already issued more than 3,600 flash flood warnings…
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Why do MAGA faithful support Trump if his ‘big beautiful bill’ will likely hurt many of them?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex Hinton, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University – Newark Supporters of President Donald Trump demonstrate near his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on July 17, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Images President Donald Trump signed the…
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Togo’s ‘Nana-Benz’: how cheap Chinese imports of African fabrics have hurt the famous women traders
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fidele B. Ebia, Postdoctoral fellow, Duke Africa Initiative, Duke University The manufacturing of African print textiles has shifted to China in the 21st century. While they are widely consumed in African countries – and symbolic of the continent – the rise of “made in China” has…
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Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 135 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Hatim Sharif, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio A Kerrville, Texas, resident watches the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025. Eric Vryn/Getty Images Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills…
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How public development banks could narrow inequality gaps between the Global North and South
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alicja Paulina Krubnik, PhD Candidate, Political Science, McMaster University The United Nations’ Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) recently concluded in Seville, Spain. It gathered global leaders from government, development, academia and civil society to discuss key barriers to sustainable development and shape collaborative…
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Immigration courts hiding the names of ICE lawyers goes against centuries of precedent and legal ethics requiring transparency in courts
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University Some immigration courts have allowed ICE attorneys to conceal their names during proceedings. Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock via Getty Images Something unusual is happening in U.S. immigration courts. Government lawyers…
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Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Maria Strack, Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo The Grande Plée Bleue bog, near Québec City in June 2023. This peatland with pools is one of the largest wetlands in eastern Québec. (Maria Strack) Though Canada is often known as a land…
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AI chatbots can boost public health in Africa – why language inclusion matters
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Songbo Hu, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge Language technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI) hold significant potential for public health. From outbreak detection systems that scan global news in real time, to chatbots providing mental health support and conversational diagnostic tools improving access to primary…
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Togo’s ‘Nana-Benz’: how cheap Chinese imports of African fabrics has hurt the famous women traders
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fidele B. Ebia, Postdoctoral fellow, Duke Africa Initiative, Duke University The manufacturing of African print textiles has shifted to China in the 21st century. While they are widely consumed in African countries – and symbolic of the continent – the rise of “made in China” has…
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Understanding how Taylor Swift constructs her songs helps explain her phenomenal popularity
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alexander Carpenter, Professor, Musicology, University of Alberta In 2023, Forbes published an article about Taylor Swift that included the following mind-boggling statistic: 55 per cent of adults in the United States identify themselves as Swift fans. In the wake of her recent epic world tour —…