Why Russia's threat of invasion is personal for Ukrainian Americans

+ Olympics in a warming climate; presidential morals US Edition - Today's top story: Why Ukrainian Americans are committed to preserving Ukrainian culture – and national sovereignty [View in browser]( US Edition | 21 February 2022 [The Conversation]( I waited until Sunday afternoon to write this note. It seemed uncertain whether a Russia-Ukraine war might break out between Friday and Monday. With worries that Russia would create a “false flag” pretense for an attack and reports of shelling and evacuations in eastern Ukraine, intense diplomatic efforts to avert a Russian invasion continued. As the world watches and waits, many Ukrainian Americans, including Wesleyan University dance and environmental studies professor Katja Kocio, continue to fear for Ukraine’s hard-fought independence. Kocio explains why the [crisis is so personal to the Ukrainian diaspora]( . “Ukrainians who fled felt responsible for preserving their native country’s intellectual and cultural heritage. My parents were among those in the Ukrainian diaspora who did so,” Kocio writes. Also today: - [It’s deeply human to trust total strangers]( - [Inventor of the Polaroid camera was prolific in optical breakthroughs]( - [Global warming was once called ‘the Callendar Effect’ from a 1938 paper]( Amy Lieberman Politics + Society Editor The author’s father, Wolodymyr ‘Mirko’ Pylyshenko, pictured in an ID card at a German displacement camp for Ukrainians. Katja Kolcio [Why Ukrainian Americans are committed to preserving Ukrainian culture – and national sovereignty]( Katja Kolcio, Wesleyan University Many Ukrainian Americans feel connected to Ukraine’s history and independence, including scholar Katja Kolcio. She writes about her family’s work preserving Ukrainian culture as immigrants in the US. Environment + Energy - [How climate change threatens the Winter Olympics’ future – even snowmaking has limits for saving it]( Steven R. Fassnacht, Colorado State University; Sunshine Swetnam, Colorado State University Innovation made the 2022 Winter Games possible in Beijing, but snowmaking has limits in a warming climate. - [A mild-mannered biker triggered a huge debate over humans’ role in climate change – in the early 20th century]( Sylvia G. Dee, Rice University His theory, based on years of detailed climate and weather data, became known as the Callendar Effect. Today we call it global warming. - [Why do humans have bones instead of cartilage like sharks?]( Michael Heithaus, Florida International University Hard and strong, or bendy and flexible? A cartilaginous skeleton provides advantages in the ocean, but wouldn’t stand up to life on land. Ethics + Religion - [Must the president be a moral leader?]( Michael Blake, University of Washington Presidents Day celebrates the American president – not only as a political leader, but as a moral leader. But can a president be a person of strong moral character, as well as a strong leader? Arts + Culture - [How scammers like Anna Delvey and the Tinder Swindler exploit a core feature of human nature]( Vanessa Bohns, Cornell University Despite the belief that people are deeply skeptical of strangers, study after study shows that humans are primed to trust one another. - [Dunkology 101: How the NBA could take a more scientific approach to scoring the slam dunk]( Justin Barber, University of Kentucky A new database could pave the way for a more fair and consistent way to score slam dunks, a self-described ‘dunk scientist’ says. Science + Technology - [75 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land’s Polaroid camera]( Ann Elsner, Indiana University Whether at a family gathering or in a research lab, getting access to images immediately was a game-changer. And Land’s innovations went far beyond the instant photo. Presidents' Day - from the archive - [Did Abraham Lincoln’s bromance alter the course of American history?]( Charles B. Strozier, City University of New York Would Abraham Lincoln ever have become president if he didn’t stumble into a dry goods store in Springfield, Illinois, and strike up a friendship with its owner, Joshua Speed? - [A brief history of presidential lethargy]( Stacy A. Cordery, Iowa State University Calvin Coolidge, during one stretch of his presidency, was getting 15 hours of shut-eye each day, while William Howard Taft was known for nodding off during public events. Trending on site - [Olympic skiers and snowboarders are competing on 100% fake snow – the science of how it’s made and how it affects performance]( - [5 things to know about why Russia might invade Ukraine – and why the US is involved]( - [How Cup Noodles became one of the biggest transpacific business success stories of all time]( Reader Comments 💬 "The ‘loudest voice in the room’ mentality (however that ‘volume’ is measured) is what has caused even our elected officials in the USA to give outsized effect to the voices of the extremes, in spite of the fact that a majority of voters does not agree with either extreme.” – Reader Thomas David on the story [Canadian trucker protests show how the loudest voices in the room distort democracy]( - More from The Conversation US - Like this newsletter? 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