Dizzying news cycle recalls other historic years

+ athletes' gut microbiome may reveal winning secrets US Edition - Today's top story: Sure, 2024 has had lots of news – but compared with 1940, 1968 or 1973, it’s nothing exceptional [View in browser]( US Edition | 23 July 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Teacher morale hasn’t recovered from COVID-19]( - [How coffee loses the caffeine – but not the flavor]( - [What Lincoln meant by invoking our ‘better angels’]( Lead story In more than six years of working at The Conversation, I have never edited a story whose author described it as a “laundry list.” But that’s how scholar Philip Klinkner, an American politics expert at Hamilton College, summed up the story he sent me Monday morning. And what a revealing collection of lists it is. I had asked Klinkner what ideas he had for stories after we had just published his piece on Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race. I fully expected something more on the 2024 election. Instead, he wrote that he wanted to write about “times when history moves at a rapid pace, like now.” Trust me, as a national politics editor who has forgotten the meaning of the term “weekend,” I knew what he was talking about. [Klinkner’s lead story today]( will convince you that if we are all exhausted by the incessant, ceaseless barrage of consequential news breaking all the time, it’s nothing new. And quite possibly not even as bad as what Americans experienced in 1940, 1968 and 1973. “While 2024’s fast pace of events is rare in American history, it’s not unique,” he writes. And for each year, Klinkner details a list of the grave and often extraordinary events that were packed into those 365 days. [ [Sign up for our weekly Global Economy & Business newsletter, with interesting perspectives from experts around the world](. ] Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Images from prominent events of 2024 in the US. Rebecca Droke/AFP; Qian Weizhong/VCG; Justin Sullivan; Erin Schaff/POOL/AFP, all via Getty Images [Sure, 2024 has had lots of news – but compared with 1940, 1968 or 1973, it’s nothing exceptional]( Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College You think 2024 has been packed with a ceaseless and exhausting stream of consequential events? So did Americans in 1940, 1968 and 1973. Ethics + Religion - [Lincoln called for divided Americans to heed their ‘better angels,’ and politicians have invoked him ever since in crises − but for Abe, it was more than words]( Donald Nieman, Binghamton University, State University of New York Keeping the United States together meant more than defeating the Confederacy. Lincoln first had to unite a fractured North. - [Court battle to keep Annunciation House open underscores how faith groups strive to welcome strangers in the face of anti-immigrant sentiment]( Laura E. Alexander, University of Nebraska Omaha Religiously affiliated organizations can clash with politicians on humanitarian aid to migrants, raising issues around religious freedom and hospitality to newcomers. Politics + Society - [GOP attacks against Kamala Harris were already bad – they are about to get worse]( Stephen J. Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington Kamala Harris’ career as a prosecutor lets her use law-and-order themes to fight back against America’s first convicted felon former president. - [US says it wants Palestinians to have a country of their own – but its actions say otherwise]( Dennis Jett, Penn State While US presidents have consistently said that a two-state solution is the only way forward to settle Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US has blocked Palestine from being fully recognized at the UN. Science + Technology - [Seafloor sediment reveals previously unknown volcanic eruption 520,000 years ago in south Aegean Sea]( Molly Colleen McCanta, University of Tennessee A newly discovered half-million-year-old layer of volcanic sediment beneath the Aegean Sea rewrites what scientists know about this area’s volcanic history – and potential future hazards. - [Retaining flavor while removing caffeine − a chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee]( Michael W. Crowder, Miami University Even unstimulating coffee has stimulating chemistry. - [Athletes looking for a competitive edge may find it within their gut microbiome]( Christopher Damman, University of Washington Athletes have different gut microbiomes compared with the general population. Some of these microbes are thought to improve endurance and recovery by optimizing the cell’s powerhouses. Environment + Energy - [Counter-drug strategies in Central America are worsening deforestation, threatening many species of birds]( Amanda D. Rodewald, Cornell University Central America’s forests are critically important habitat for many forest birds, including endangered species. Narco-traffickers are cutting down trees, leaving birds with nowhere to go. Health + Medicine - [Worried about the health effects of the sugar in your breakfast cereal? Little has changed since the days of ‘Unfrosted,’ the Pop-Tarts movie]( Nathaniel Johnson, University of North Dakota Many popular cereals have 10 to 14 grams of sugar per serving, which is nearly a third of the USDA’s recommended daily limit. Education - [COVID-19 devastated teacher morale − and it hasn’t recovered]( Lesley Lavery, Macalester College; Steve Friess, University of Michigan The pandemic led many teachers to leave their jobs − a trend that could continue if education leaders don’t address issues that affect morale. - [Unequal access to quantum information education may limit progress in this emerging field − now is the time to improve]( Bethany Wilcox, University of Colorado Boulder; Gina Passante, California State University, Fullerton ; Josephine C. Meyer, University of Colorado Boulder Universities and colleges nationwide are beginning to investigate quantum education to develop a workforce ready for quantum technology. Trending on site - [Until 1968, presidential candidates were picked by party conventions – a process revived by Biden’s withdrawal from race]( - [Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – the picture is unsettling]( - [Dig safely when building sandcastles and tunnels this summer – collapsing sand holes can cause suffocation and even death]( Today's graphic 📈 [A bar graph showing percentages of Americans who said they supported or agreed with the following in a national 2023 Pew Research Center poll.]( From the story, [Can humanity address climate change without believing it? Medical history suggests it is possible]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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