WashU Experts

“The Golden Bachelor,” this fall on ABC, has the potential to help normalize the desire for love at any age, with a few caveats, said a Washington University expert on productive engagement of older adults.

In this highly polarized, post-lockdown world, the college transition can seem especially difficult. WashU happiness expert Tim Bono explains how students can set themselves up for success.

Some have raised concerns about the age of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who are 80 and 77 respectively, and who are both vying to be elected president in 2024. Performance and accomplishments matter, but old age should not, per se, said three experts on aging at Washington University in St. Louis.

Former President Donald Trump was indicted this month over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He plans to fight the charges by claiming in part that the prosecution would violate his right to freedom of speech. Not so, says First Amendment expert Greg Magarian.

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions is likely to encourage more lawsuits against other race-conscious policies, including in employment, says an employment law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

When thinking about the economy, and inflation in particular, Olin Business School economics expert John Horn said it’s important to focus on larger-picture trends rather than specific details like the prices of commercial real estate, used cars or eggs. Overall, inflation is not running away, he said — it’s gliding back to the path we’d like to see of around 2%.

Katie Westby, a vector and disease ecologist at Tyson Research Center, applies a strong DEET repellant and wears treated clothing when she’s headed deep into the woods, but uses a lighter touch at home. She warns that pet dogs and cats can also be affected by mosquito bites.

A longtime member of the Writers Guild of America, Arts & Sciences’ Richard Chapman has written more than 200 hours of network television. But as the WGA settles into its fourth strike in as many decades, Chapman wonders, will this time be the charm?

The Goldman Sachs Group is considering a sale of its consumer banking business, but regulations will mean it can’t simply return to being an investment bank, said Andrew Tuch, an expert on financial and securities regulation in the School of Law.

Large-scale redevelopment is often pitched as a strategy for reviving struggling downtowns. Yet such projects — with their acres of asphalt and tenuous connections to surrounding environs — are usually poor substitutes for the organic neighborhoods they displace, argues Patty Heyda, an associate professor of urban design at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.