Humanities & Society

The Supreme Court decision that the Constitution requires that gay couples be allowed to marry no matter where they live has caused many religious conservatives to feel that the tax-exempt status of religious institutions is under threat. There is a fundamental reason we should protect religious organizations — even those we disagree with, said John Inazu, JD, associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

The number of uninsured people in America dropped by 8.8 million in 2014, according to a report released Sept. 16 from the U.S. Census Bureau. This number is significant because it is the first Census Bureau report since the widespread implementation of the Affordable Care Act, said a health economist at Washington University in St. Louis. “This is a big deal,” said Timothy McBride, PhD, professor at the Brown School and noted health policy analyst.

A national conference held at Washington University in St. Louis Sept. 24-27 will begin a conversation on finding a lasting solution to America’s incarceration problem. Organized by Carrie Pettus-Davis, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, the conference will discuss and evaluate proposals for sustainable and effective decarceration of America’s jails and prisons.

For more than 40 years, the Brown School and the Family Resource Center have been working together to give abused children hope and a better life.

A look at the impact the 40-plus-year partnership between the Brown School and the Family Resource Center has had on the community.

Brittany Packnett’s commitment to social justice has taken her from the streets of Ferguson all the way to the White House, where she helped shape policy to make policing less racially biased.

In 2014, so called “Right to Try” laws, which gave terminally ill patients access to investigational medications, were enacted in five states. More state legislatures are now considering such laws. While time will tell whether these investigational drugs have any significant impact on quality of life or longevity, the legislative debate over such laws must be more informed than it has been, argues Rebecca Dresser, JD, expert in biomedical ethics and law at Washington University in St. Louis.

For Americans, the likelihood of experiencing relative poverty at least once in their lifetime is surprisingly high, finds a new study from noted poverty expert Mark Rank, PhD, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

​Costas Azariadis, PhD, an economist at Washington University in St. Louis, is currently in Greece. A native of Athens, Azariadis emailed his observations and insights into the turmoil and what might be next.​

As floodwaters surge along major rivers in the midwestern United States, a new study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests federal agencies are underestimating historic 100-year flood levels on these rivers by as much as five feet, a miscalculation that has serious implications for future flood risks, flood insurance, and business development in an expanding floodplain.