Academic Writing

Want to See My Genes? Get a Warrant

Author(s): 
Elizabeth Joh
Publication Date: 
June 11, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Someone broke into a church in Centerville, Utah, last November and attacked the organist who was practicing there. In March, after a conventional investigation came up empty, a police detective turned to forensic consultants at Parabon NanoLabs. Using the publicly accessible website GEDmatch, the consultants found a likely distant genetic relative of the suspect, whose blood sample had been found near the church’s broken window. Read more about Want to See My Genes? Get a Warrant

Elizabeth Warren has a plan for the nation’s approach to trade

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
June 4, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Elizabeth Warren announced an agenda Tuesday that she calls a plan for “economic patriotism.” Warren argues against claims that “globalization” or “automation” or a “skills gap” are causing job losses in the United States. She blames, instead, Washington policies. Read more about Elizabeth Warren has a plan for the nation’s approach to trade

Germany proposes Europe’s first diversity rules for social media platforms

Author(s): 
Paddy Leerssen
Publication Date: 
May 29, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Tighter regulation of social media and other online services in now under discussion in several European countries, as well as in the UK where the government has released a white paper outlining its proposed approach to tackling online harm. Read more about Germany proposes Europe’s first diversity rules for social media platforms

About That Pelosi Video: What to Do About ‘Cheapfakes’ in 2020

Author(s): 
Danielle Citron
Publication Date: 
May 29, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

In the summer of 2016, a meme began to circulate on the fringes of the right-wing internet: the notion that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was seriously ill. Clinton suffered from Parkinson’s disease, a brain tumor and seizures, among other things, argued Infowars contributor Paul Joseph Watson in a YouTube video. The meme (and allegations) were entirely unfounded. Read more about About That Pelosi Video: What to Do About ‘Cheapfakes’ in 2020

Democracy's Dilemma

Author(s): 
Riana Pfefferkorn
Publication Date: 
May 15, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

The key term that recurs throughout Henry Farrell’s and Bruce Schneier’s essay is “trust.” That is no surprise, as the concept unites both authors’ bodies of work: Schneier, a security expert, and Farrell, a political scientist, have each written books about it. Security enables trust, and trust enables a functioning democracy. Read more about Democracy's Dilemma

Democracy's Dilemma

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
May 15, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

The Internet was going to set us all free. At least, that is what U.S. policy makers, pundits, and scholars believed in the 2000s.  The Internet would undermine authoritarian rulers by reducing the government’s stranglehold on debate, helping oppressed people realize how much they all hated their government, and simply making it easier and cheaper to organize protests. Read more about Democracy's Dilemma

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