Boston University

Social Sciences

Illustration of people talking with speech bubbles above their heads. Text reads "Explain This!"

Listen Now

What Is Language and How Does It Evolve?

March 1, 2024

Illustration of dozens of different people's faces, slowly aging and becoming more bright/vibrant in color

Aging Reimagined

Rethinking Our Idea of “Old Age”

February 21, 2024

Photo: A family with two children playing with blocks with english letters on them

Expert Take

Permanently Expanding the Child Tax Credit Can Make Generational Change

February 13, 2024

Photo: A group of woman walk in a refugee camp, one with her child wrapped in bright, beautiful garments.

Human Rights

How War and Displacement Impact Women

January 30, 2024

Photo: Guardsmen watch as migrants try to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S. They wear their military uniform.

Immigration

Digital Cages: How ICE Uses Digital Surveillance to Track Migrants

January 26, 2024

Photo: A composite image of Muhammad Zaman with various documents and miscellaneous imagery.

Forced Displacement

Video: The Global Problem of Statelessness

January 24, 2024

Photo: Steam rises from a large power plant as the sun rises behind the fog

Climate Change

2023 Was the Hottest Year on Record: Current Climate Action Isn’t Enough to Halt Global Warming

January 16, 2024

Photo: Darien Alexander Williams, a man with short, dark hair and a beard poses with his hands clasped, arm resting on a wall shelf. He wears a green button up and a white shirt with a red collar.

Urban Planning

Why Is the US So Unprepared for Natural Disasters?

January 3, 2024

Photo: A large teal sign reads "COP28 UAE: Energy Transition Changemakers". Streams of lit up water streams are shown in front of the bright sign.

Climate Conference

Can the World Find Agreement on Fighting Climate Change?

December 11, 2023

Image: A Modern wire frame mesh design vector illustration of the year "2023". Numbers are depicted with glowing neon green low polygonal digits on black background.

2023 in Review

Best of The Brink 2023: 10 Life-Changing Inventions, Amazing Discoveries, and Surprising Findings from BU Researchers

December 11, 2023

Collage: (From left to right, top down) Photo: Philadelphia Eagles' C.J. Gardner-Johnson catches a pass during practice at the NFL football team's training facility, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. A Black man wearing a dark green and white Eagles' football uniform and helmet catches a football in his hands, Photo: A flatlay of the iLet Bionic Pancreas, a bionic pancreas approved at the FDA. The device is a black box with a wire attached with two additional attachments, Photo: An unidentified person standing in a generic store pharmacy holds over the counter medicine in the aisle as they try to make a decision, and Photo: A white hands holds up a petri dish holding the yeast candida auris in a laboratory. a Petri dish with speckles of white dots/fungi is shown.

2023 IN REVIEW

What Were BU’s Most-Read Science and Research Stories in 2023?

December 11, 2023

Image: Vintage engraving of a scene from the Charles Dickens novel "David Copperfield." The black sketch-style engraving shows a man writing at a desk as a woman sitting on the floor next to him looks over towards the desk. A large bookcase filled with bookcase is the backdrop.

Education

How Dickens and Other Authors Shaped Attitudes to Education—with Lasting Impacts

December 5, 2023

Image: Vector illustration shows diverse peoples' faces made of paper cut-outs and arranged in a collage to create one new face. Mixed in the faces are random bits of typed paper, as well.

Antiracism

Are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Helping Workers—or Dividing Them?

November 28, 2023

Photo: In the foreground, a young woman wearing a colorful sweater and taking notes in a notebook looks to her left towards a comedian on stage, telling jokes under a spotlight to a small audience in front of them.

Comedy

How Comedians in Turkey Are Pushing Boundaries

November 15, 2023

Photo: The view from the 4-seat floatplane of Kodiak Island, where The Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people have lived for over 7,500 years. A lush green island surrounded by water can be seen from a plane.

Archaeology

Archaeology Student Trevor Lamb Found Some of Alaska’s Oldest Woven Textiles on Kodiak Island

October 26, 2023

Photo: an urban downtown scene of the Miami cityscape is shown. A small building covered in graffiti is juxtaposed in the foreground against new, tall glass buildings behind it.

Gentrification

Can We Stop the Gentrification of Cities?

October 24, 2023

Image: A zoomed in photo of a phone screen showing icons for OpenAI ChatGPT and other AI application software.

Expert Take

We Need Stronger Safeguards from Artificial Intelligence

October 24, 2023

Photo: A red and silver high-speed train is parked during the opening ceremony for launching Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway at Halim station in Jakarta, Indonesia on Oct. 2, 2023. People stand under a large banner set up on the middle platform of the open-air train station.

Belt and Road

China Has Financed Power Plants, Airports, and Roads around the Globe—but Has It Made the World a Better or Worse Place?

October 11, 2023

Image: Illustration of various diverse scientists doing research, medicine, chemistry or biotechnology experiments in laboratory. Images show people with lab flasks, microscopes, and molecules.

Expert Take

The Postdoc-Mentor Relationship Is Key to Advancing Research. Here’s How to Make It Better

September 21, 2023

Photo: A pre-school age girl helps her parents pick out veggies in the produce section at the grocery store. She is reaching for a red bell pepper. Her mother is Caucasian and her father is African-American.

Expert Take

Balancing Budgets by Emptying Bellies: WIC Cuts Would Harm Our Youngest Children

September 15, 2023

Balancing Budgets by Emptying Bellies: WIC Cuts Would Harm Our Youngest Children

Expert Take

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