A trial by jury is an important American right, enshrined in the 6th and 7th amendments of the constitution. But do jury trials work the way we want them to? Not all countries use citizen juries in...

Why is it so hard to draw the line between what’s funny or offensive? We love to laugh and we prize a good sense of humor in ourselves and others. But the ancient Greeks – Aristotle and Plato –...

For a century, the ACT and SAT played a central role in filtering college applicants. Most colleges and universities stopped requiring standardized test scores during the pandemic; that change has...

Most Americans are anxious about when – or even if – they’ll be able to retire. And we’re not wrong. Social Security is on shaky footing. Half of Americans on the cusp of retirement have no...

Compared to other wealthy nations, America has twice as many traffic deaths per capita. And in recent years, pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked. Experts say road design plays a big part in...

What does it mean to be a father in 2024? In most U.S. households today, the role of fathers is changing. The “primary breadwinner dad” is increasingly rare, while the "primary caregiver dad”...

More than two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in the U.S. live in a household where all available parents work. But in most communities, there’s a shortage of slots in childcare centers and...

Americans have a perplexing perception of crime. One in three Americans report watching, listening, or reading true crime on a weekly basis. But our fixation on crime goes deeper than entertainment....

These days anything that's widespread might be called an "epidemic." Violence, obesity, opioids, even loneliness. But in the public health space, the label "epidemic" carries special significance...

Since 2020 — when George Floyd's murder was seen around the world and protests for racial justice swept the country — many Americans with white skin have begun to think explicitly about race and...

We’re in between episodes this week on Top of Mind. In the meantime, we’ve got a story for you from a podcast we think you’re really going to like. It’s called When the People Decide, a...

In this podcast episode, Julie and the other members of the Top of Mind team reflect on moments from previous episodes that challenged them to stay curious and stick with uncomfortable perspectives...

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from David Beckemeyer, host of the podcast “Outrage Overload.” Beckemeyer used to spend his time engaging in...

Floods are the most common of all weather-related disasters in America. They cause more damage and kill more people than any other type of severe weather. Flood risk is rising all over the...

There are more people homeless in America today than at any other time in the last 17 years. Those numbers might have gotten a lot worse during the pandemic were it not for millions of dollars in...

Nearly a dozen states have active campaigns to move away from partisan or closed primaries, motivated by a frustration among many voters that the way parties choose nominees in high-stakes elections...

Overall mental health among Americans - young and old - took a nose-dive during the pandemic. But the trend among teens has been worrisome for at least a decade now. Starting around 2012, suicide...

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Karin Freeland, host of the podcast “Rock Your Reinvention” and author of the book “Grab Life By the Dreams.” Before...

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from health coach Carolyn Cohen, host of the podcast “Wellness While Walking.” Cohen grew up with strict dietary...

We’re being asked to tip more – and in more places – than ever before in America. And surveys show we’re annoyed and confused by “tipflation” and “tipcreep.” What are the rules in...