Humanities & Society

Childhood poverty cost the U.S. $1.03 trillion in 2015, about 5.4 percent of the gross domestic product, according to a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The new Voter Access and Engagement initiative, part of Center for Social Development’s focus on Civic Engagement and Service, aims to strengthen democracy by increasing access and participation in the electoral process.

The recent search of the office, home and hotel of Michael Cohen, lawyer to President Donald Trump, is a pivotal event when it comes to issues of attorney-client privilege and client confidentiality, says Peter Joy, professor at the School of Law and an expert on criminal law.

John Heil, a professor of philosophy in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected for the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship based on his prior achievement and exceptional promise.

Washington University experts offer tips on how to make better and more ethical decisions.

The police shooting earlier this month of Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s Sacramento backyard has renewed protests over officer-involved deaths of unarmed black men, but research led by Washington University in St. Louis suggests young Hispanic men may face an even greater risk of being killed by police, especially in mixed-income neighborhoods with large Latino populations.

Constitutional law expert Greg Magarian, of Washington University and a former clerk for retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, said Stevens makes a compelling historical and legal case for amending the Constitution. At the same time, he warns that the path Stevens advocates would present distinctive challenges and hazards.

Given the chance to play Robin Hood, most Americans show little interest in taking from the rich and giving to the poor. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may explain why it’s so hard for voters in modern democracies to erase the economic inequalities that separate most citizens from the nation’s super-wealthy elites.

How can we be happier? In a world where stress, anxiety and bad days can easily overtake the good, Washington University happiness expert Tim Bono strives to answer that question in his book, “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness.”

Stigmas, attitudes of self-reliance and misattributing symptoms led a group of young adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis to delay seeking treatment, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.