WashU Experts

The swift fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban apparently signals the end of a nearly 20-year conflict. But is it, asks Krister Knapp, a teaching professor of history in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Or is this simply the beginning of the next chapter of U.S/Afghan entanglements?

Rick and Ilsa, “Casablanca’s” ill-fated lovers, will always have Paris. Uncle Sam will always have Kabul. And Saigon. And Baghdad. In the long-running tragedy of American foreign entanglements, Uncle Sam has become less a hapless romantic idealist and more a cynical “love ’em and leave ’em” serial abuser, says veteran filmmaker Richard Chapman.

Without international pressure, the power-sharing agreement between Kabul and the Taliban was doomed, according to research by William Nomikos, assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences. But the political cost of continued occupation was too great.

Hybrid work may be the future for many organizations post-pandemic, but there will be significant challenges to overcome — perhaps even more so than traditional in-person offices and fully remote work environments, say Olin Business School researchers.

Democrats have called for a permanent expansion of the monthly child tax credit. In making the expanded credit permanent, lawmakers can leverage the power of child development accounts to build assets for all children in the United States, says an expert on asset building at Washington University in St. Louis.

The pandemic spurred an entrepreneurship boom, but do these small businesses have what it takes to survive? Olin Business School’s Glenn MacDonald explains factors to consider in starting and succeeding with a new business.

Although most likely temporary, inflation expectations could become self-fulfilling prophesy, according to John Horn, professor of practice in economics at Olin Business School.

“If vaccines or negative COVID-19 tests are required for attendees, 100% attendance is safe,” says the Washington University in St. Louis mathematician who helped derive the model used for fan-attendance risk analysis across many of America’s sports venues. “Without requiring vaccinations or testing, it’s not.”

The new CDC guidelines may help businesses – especially restaurants and bars – if customers feel safer with the new recommendations, according to Olin Business School’s Raphael Thomadsen and Song Yao.

Periodical cicadas are above ground for only a handful of days every 17 years. Human-induced rapid environmental change is altering the world they will briefly encounter, according to Brett Seymoure, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis.