Category: The Conversation – USA

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marcelo Bigliassi, Assistant Professor, Florida International University

When you lift weights, walk up a steep hill or ride a bike, your body is continuously sending sensory signals to your brain. These signals paint a picture of the physical sensation of what you’re doing. Your brain then takes these signals and filters them through your past experience, goals, expectations and current emotional state.

It turns out that the way your brain uses all that context to interpret this sensory information significantly influences whether you perceive something physically strenuous, such as a bike ride, as difficult and threatening or as rewarding and pleasant.

Many people who are new to exercise often quit because they interpret physical discomfort as a warning sign instead of a challenge that can be overcome. But in recent years, scientists have shown that by changing your emotional state, you can also change how you interpret physical sensations.

We are two neuroscientists who study how the brain and body respond to stress and how those reactions shape perception. Research has shown that small, well-timed challenges can help the body and mind grow more resilient, while too much stress, or stress at the wrong time, can slow recovery and sap motivation.

In a recent experiment, we wanted to see whether it is possible, in a sense, to recalibrate how the brain interprets difficult tasks using a tiny, safe dose of physical discomfort. We found that physical stress in manageable doses – in this case, dunking your hand in ice-cold water – can make a later effort feel more doable, particularly for people who are not yet accustomed to strenuous exercise.

Cold first, bike second

In order to evaluate the concept of stress calibration, we assembled a group of 31 adult volunteers with limited prior engagement in physical activity. Our physical fitness task involved volunteers riding a stationary bike for six minutes, with the effort increasing in short stages from easy to tough.

On one visit, before getting on the bike, participants put one hand into a bucket of ice-cold water and kept it there for as long as they could – between one and three minutes. We hypothesized this physical stress would trigger a slight change in how their brains would interpret physical sensations and change their ability to tolerate physical discomfort; this was the recalibration step.

On the other visit they just got on the bike without doing a cold-water hand dunk. To help control for variables, we mixed up the order so that some people did the cold-water dunk on the first day and others did it on the second.

While riding the test bike, participants reported on a number of variables using rating scales, including how much pain they felt, how pleasant or unpleasant the effort seemed, how much energy they had, and whether they felt in control or overwhelmed. These measures allowed us to track how the volunteers were experiencing the exercise at different levels of intensity, both with and without the cold-water hand dunk.

What we found

When we first saw the results, we were amazed by how much a short stress induction could affect people’s perceptual responses during exercise. During the hardest two minutes of the cycling task, the participants who had lasted longer in the cold-water dunk actually reported less pain and more pleasure. Additionally, the participants who said they had a high tolerance for pain experienced a slightly greater sense of dominance compared to other participants as the biking intensity peaked.

We believe three effects may help explain why our participants felt the toughest minutes on the bike were less painful and more enjoyable after the cold-water challenge.

The first effect is similar to a quick biological reset. Ice water jolts the nervous system. In response, the brain switches on its built-in pain-dimming system and sends “turn it down” signals down the spinal cord. For a short window, incoming pain messages are muted, so discomfort feels less intense, helping participants tolerate more pain during cycling right after the hand dunk.

The second effect is a short stress surge. When the body feels stress, your heart rate and blood pressure jump, stress chemicals rise, and the brain may turn pain down for a moment. That bump can make the first minutes of exercise feel less abrupt, almost as if you did a quick psychological warmup. As the surge fades, your system settles, allowing you to find your rhythm without the start feeling so shocking.

The third mechanism works through the brain’s interpretation of the sensations. Getting through the short burst of discomfort from the ice dunk seemed to give participants an instant sense of “I can handle this” and a feeling of accomplishment. We think this boost recalibrates how their brains interpret stress and discomfort.

From lab insight to everyday training

At its core, this study shows that how your brain perceives physical sensations is adjustable. A short, well-timed challenge, such as an ice-cold hand dunk, can act as a calibration mechanism, tilting the toughest moments of exercise away from pain and toward enjoyment.

You don’t need an ice bucket to apply this principle to your life. The challenge could be a short uphill push before a longer run, a quick set of jump squats before starting a workout, or a short jog before a more challenging activity. These brief contrasts can prime the body and mind so the main effort feels less like a threat and more like progress. The key is to keep the challenge short, safe and within your limits, especially on days when life is already stressful.

This finding fascinates us because it shows that neither your brain nor your body is just a passive passenger during effort. They constantly recalibrate what “hard” feels like. The effect of overcoming one small challenge can ripple forward, making the next challenge feel more doable and even rewarding.

Over time, those small wins become reference points, proof that effort leads to recovery and growth. Layered into everyday training, they turn workouts into opportunities to practice composure, restore a sense of control and build lasting resilience.

Marcelo Bigliassi is an Assistant Professor of Psychophysiology and Neuroscience at Florida International University. He receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), serves on the advisory board of the Antifragile Academy, and works as the Chief Scientist at NeuroMotor Training and NeuroSmart.

Dayanne Antonio is a Ph.D. student at Florida International University and serves as a Teaching Assistant in the undergraduate Kinesiology program. She reports no conflicts of interest.

– ref. A cold shock to ease the burn − how brief stress can help your brain reframe a tough workout – https://theconversation.com/a-cold-shock-to-ease-the-burn-how-brief-stress-can-help-your-brain-reframe-a-tough-workout-258552

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rahul Telang, Professor of Information Systems, Carnegie Mellon University

Scams are nothing new – fraud has existed as long as human greed. What changes are the tools.

Scammers thrive on exploiting vulnerable, uninformed users, and they adapt to whatever technologies or trends dominate the moment. In 2025, that means AI, cryptocurrencies and stolen personal data are their weapons of choice.

And, as always, the duty, fear and hope of their targets provide openings. Today, duty often means following instructions from bosses or co-workers, who scammers can impersonate. Fear is that a loved one, who scammers also can impersonate, is in danger. And hope is often for an investment scheme or job opportunity to pay off.

AI-powered scams and deepfakes

Artificial intelligence is no longer niche – it’s cheap, accessible and effective. While businesses use AI for advertising and customer support, scammers exploit the same tools to mimic reality, with disturbing precision.

Criminals are using AI-generated audio or video to impersonate CEOs, managers or even family members in distress. Employees have been tricked into transferring money or leaking sensitive data. Over 105,000 such deepfake attacks were recorded in the U.S. in 2024, costing more than US$200 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Victims often cannot distinguish synthetic voices or faces from real ones.

Fraudsters are also using emotional manipulation. The scammers make phone calls or send convincing AI-written texts posing as relatives or friends in distress. Elderly victims in particular fall prey when they believe a grandchild or other family member is in urgent trouble. The Federal Trade Commission has outlined how scammers use fake emergencies to pose as relatives.

Cryptocurrency scams

Crypto remains the Wild West of finance — fast, unregulated and ripe for exploitation.

Pump-and-dump scammers artificially inflate the price of a cryptocurrency through hype on social media to lure investors with promises of huge returns – the pump – and then sell off their holdings – the dump – leaving victims with worthless tokens.

Pig butchering is a hybrid of romance scams and crypto fraud. Scammers build trust over weeks or months before persuading victims to invest in fake crypto platforms. Once the scammers have extracted enough money from the victim, they vanish.

Scammers also use cryptocurrencies as a means of extracting money from people in impersonation scams and other forms of fraud. For example, scammers direct victims to bitcoin ATMs to deposit large sums of cash and convert it to the untraceable cryptocurrency as payment for fictitious fines.

Phishing, smishing, tech support and jobs

Old scams don’t die; they evolve.

Phishing and smishing have been around for years. Victims are tricked into clicking links in emails or text messages, leading to malware downloads, credential theft or ransomware attacks. AI has made these lures eerily realistic, mimicking corporate tone, grammar and even video content.

Tech support scams often start with pop-ups on computer screens that warn of viruses or identity theft, urging users to call a number. Sometimes they begin with a direct cold call to the victim. Once the victim is on a call with the fake tech support, the scammers convince victims to grant remote access to their supposedly compromised computers. Once inside, scammers install malware, steal data, demand payment or all three.

Fake websites and listings are another current type of scam. Fraudulent sites impersonating universities or ticket sellers trick victims into paying for fake admissions, concerts or goods.

One example is when a website for “Southeastern Michigan University” came online and started offering details about admission. There is no such university. Eastern Michigan University filed a complaint that Southeastern Michigan University was copying its website and defrauding unsuspecting victims.

The rise of remote and gig work has opened new fraud avenues.

Victims are offered fake jobs with promises of high pay and flexible hours. In reality, scammers extract “placement fees” or harvest sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers and bank details, which are later used for identity theft.

How you can protect yourself

Technology has changed, but the basic principles remain the same: Never click on suspicious links or download attachments from unknown senders, and enter personal information only if you are sure that the website is legitimate. Avoid using third-party apps or links. Legitimate businesses have apps or real websites of their own.

Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. It provides security against stolen passwords. Keep software updated to patch security holes. Most software allows for automatic update or warns about applying a patch.

Remember that a legitimate business will never ask for personal information or a money transfer. Such requests are a red flag.

Relationships are a trickier matter. The state of California provides details on how people can avoid being victims of pig butchering.

Technology has supercharged age-old fraud. AI makes deception virtually indistinguishable from reality, crypto enables anonymous theft, and the remote-work era expands opportunities to trick people. The constant: Scammers prey on trust, urgency and ignorance. Awareness and skepticism remain your best defense.

Rahul Telang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Scams and frauds: Here are the tactics criminals use on you in the age of AI and cryptocurrencies – https://theconversation.com/scams-and-frauds-here-are-the-tactics-criminals-use-on-you-in-the-age-of-ai-and-cryptocurrencies-264867

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Joan Strassmann, Professor of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis

As I walked along Bolivar Flats, just across from Galveston Island in Texas, I watched flocks of sanderlings forage along the frothy wavefront as it surged and retreated. Nearby, Caspian terns, American avocets, and black skimmers rested on the beach, each in its own group.

The birds rose simultaneously as I drew near, and then settled farther down the beach, clearly fearing me.

As an evolutionary biologist and author of the new book “The Social Lives of Birds,” I’m fascinated by how social behavior has evolved in birds. Why is it ever worth being with others that not only compete for food but may pass on diseases or even mate with your partner?

Safety in numbers

The late Oxford University biologist William D. Hamilton discussed the advantages of flocking with his landmark 1971 paper “Geometry for the Selfish Herd.” He theorized that individuals in a flock stay because each benefits from the shelter of the group. At the time, a prevailing belief was that animals moved in groups for the benefit of the group, not the individual.

Groups provide some safety because they’re harder to attack, they’re more likely to provide warnings of approaching danger, and they have an ability to respond together if threatened.

But everyone in the group does not necessarily benefit equally.

The best position is one that puts another bird between oneself and a predator, making your neighbor the more likely target. This keeps birds in a group close together as each tries for living shelter. It is a kind of movement you’ll also see in schools of fish or great herds of ungulates in Africa, like wildebeests.

The peril of being the lone bird

Shorebirds, similar to those I saw in Texas, might be the easiest to study, particularly where the predator can come from a forest that borders the shore.

One of the best-studied flocking shorebirds is the common redshank, Tringa tetanus, often seen feeding on mudflats and saltmarshes in Britain. Redshanks are sandpipers very closely related to the greater and lesser yellowlegs I see in Texas, but with red legs rather than yellow.

The predator that redshanks have most reason to fear is the Eurasian sparrowhawk, which watches foraging redshanks from the trees bordering the saltmarsh. When a sparrowhawk picks its prey, it flies fast and hard toward a single predetermined target, grabbing the hapless redshank with its talons.

Evolutionary biologist Will Cresswell studied the redshank’s flocking behavior on the chilly Tyninghame Estuary and found that sparrowhawks were most successful in catching lone birds and those in smaller flocks.

The closer a bird was to a neighbor, the less likely it was to be targeted and caught. That reminds me of that old trope about how fast you have to run from a lion: just faster than your neighbor.

Large flocks have downsides, too

One downside to being in a large redshank flock is that these birds have to take more steps to get food because they have more competition.

With other flock members probing the sand, and the sand shrimp and other invertebrates fleeing this probing, the redshanks spend more time foraging when they are in larger flocks.

Canadian ornithologist Guy Beauchamp compared closely related species on islands where there were fewer predators with those on the mainland where predators were common. Flocks were smaller on islands, allowing the birds to forage with less competition.

Fantastic flying flocks

Flying in flocks can also help birds avoid predators.

Evolutionary biologist Daniel Sankey and his colleagues separated the behavior of predator and prey by using an artificial predator, the ingeniously engineered flying robot falcon. Its behavior could be mechanically controlled as it approached a flock of homing pigeons, all labeled with GPS tags that allowed precise measurements of how the birds’ positions changed.

The team compared pigeon flight with and without attacks by the robot falcon and found that when the pigeons noticed the robot falcon, they turned sharply away from it, following the direction their nearest neighbor was turning and did not cluster more tightly.

More spectacular but harder to study are the mesmerizing flocks of European starlings as they circle and swerve, avoiding predators before settling for the night. These flocks of thousands are called murmurations and are fantastic to watch, and likely frustrating for predators that would struggle to grab a single bird from the swirling scene.

Italian physicist Michele Ballerini figured out that this magnificent visual concert was the result of birds simply keeping track of six nearest neighbors, turning and moving when they did.

Beyond flocks: Roosts and supersociality

Birds are social in other ways, too.

Some sleep together in roosts, nest near each other in colonies, or show off together, carrying out mating dances in what is known as lekking to attract females. They may actively help each other in rearing the young, typically if they are related to the breeders, or anticipate inheriting the breeding position or territory.

Take time to watch the behavior of the birds around you, and you’ll start to notice social behaviors everywhere, from the ducks in a city pond to the chickadees hunting for insects deep in winter. I hope you’ll watch them with more understanding of their social lives, and with a little bit more wonder.

I wrote a book, The Social Lives of Birds, and this piece might increase sales of this book since it is about the same topic and is cited. Not sure if this is a necessary disclosure or not.

– ref. For birds, flocks promise safety – especially if you’re faster than your neighbor – https://theconversation.com/for-birds-flocks-promise-safety-especially-if-youre-faster-than-your-neighbor-264674

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jo Mackiewicz, Professor of Rhetoric and Professional Communication, Iowa State University

A few years ago, while working as a professor and as a welder at a small repair and fabrication shop, I went looking for books about women in the skilled trades. In the few I found, one stood out in how it made way for tradeswomen’s voices: political scientist Jean Reith Schroedel’s 1985 classic “Alone in a Crowd: Women in the Trades Tell Their Stories.”

Her first book after earning her Ph.D., “Alone in a Crowd” drew on Schroedel’s own experience working blue-collar jobs. She interviewed 25 women – machinists, truck drivers, electricians and more – whose stories revealed the exhaustion, danger, harassment and pride that shaped their working lives.

In her introduction, Schroedel noted that American women’s work opportunities have expanded and contracted in step with their rights as citizens. During World War II, for example, women entered the industrial trades in large numbers, only to be forced out when the war ended. They began to find their way back to such work after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which barred discrimination based on sex.

The women who entered skilled trades after 1964 made up just a small share of the workforce, and they faced a wide range of challenges, including sexual harassment. Schroedel’s interviewees talked at length about being harassed and threatened by co-workers and being retaliated against for reporting sexism, racism and bullying.

So what, if anything, has changed, and what’s stayed the same?

Women hold just 5% of jobs in the trades

For one thing, it’s still rare for women to work in the skilled trades. Around 95% of the trades workforce is male, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Discrimination remains a barrier to entry: A 2020 research review published by sociologist Donna Bridges and her colleagues found that sexual harassment, stereotyping, ostracization and surveillance kept women from entering and staying in construction trades.

According to a 2023 analysis of 25 studies by Kimberly Riddle and Karen Heaton, sexual harassment of tradeswomen becomes more likely when male workers view women as outsiders, when women have less seniority and when jobs are physically demanding. These issues were common in 1985, and they remain so today.

In addition to these meta-analyses – or studies of studies – new research has revealed other similarities between 1985 and now. In a study published in 2022, sociologist Elizabeth Wulff and her colleagues interviewed 15 tradeswomen and found that types of social and cultural capital, such as growing up in a family of tradespeople and being physically strong, led them to be more successful.

Meraiah Foley, a researcher who studies workplace gender equity, and her co-researchers focused on how tradeswomen experience gender harassment – harassment not sexual in nature but focused on gender characteristics. Studying women in aviation and automotive repair in 2019, they found women experience “jokes, jibes, and belittling comments” and bosses who allow such behavior. These behaviors reinforce the view that women are outsiders, making it harder for them to succeed.

Steps forward: Respect, research and cultural shifts

So, has anything improved for women in trades since 1985? While the research clearly shows that problems such as stereotyping, disrespect, scrutiny and harassment haven’t gone away, it would be wrong to say that nothing’s changed.

In Chapter 10 of my 2025 book “Learning Skilled Trades in the Workplace,” I discuss some of the challenges that I’ve encountered as a woman in a welding shop. But I also highlight the ways that my boss and my co-workers have respected my ideas and input, have encouraged me when I’ve made mistakes, have praised my successes, and have generously shared their knowledge.

It’s possible to see change in apprenticeship programs aimed at girls and women, scholarships for women studying trades, professional organizations to support tradeswomen, and, perhaps most important, growing numbers of women in apprenticeships and skilled-trades work. While the problems that tradeswomen encounter in 2025 haven’t changed in nature since 1985, it seems these problems are more readily acknowledged and less ubiquitous.

Also, the body of research on tradeswomen is growing, which can lead to new solutions to old problems. In 2021, for example, Bridges and her co-researchers looked to scholarship on resilience to understand how male-dominated industries might better support tradeswomen. They found that mentoring, role models and networking opportunities, as well as formal health and safety rules and policies such as flexible schedules, help tradeswomen thrive.

Similarly, while most research on women in skilled trades has historically focused on tradeswomen in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and other Western countries, new scholarship is providing insight into the experiences of tradeswomen elsewhere.

For example, education researchers Joyceline Alla-Mensah and Simon McGrath published an article in March 2025 about barriers to Ghanaian women’s participation in skilled trades. Their interviews brought to light new findings – for example, the importance of land ownership to Ghanaian tradeswomen. Researchers are just now beginning to understand the experiences of women in trades all around the world.

Back in 1985, Schroedel wrote that she had three goals for “Alone in a Crowd”: to let women doing nontraditional work know that they’re not alone, to shed light on their work situations, and to tell the largely overlooked stories of working-class women.

While the outlook for tradeswomen is brighter than it was back in 1985, it would nevertheless be possible to begin a 2025 sequel to “Alone in a Crowd” with the same three goals. And that says something about how far the U.S. has yet to go.

I work for Howe’s Welding and Metal Fabrication.

– ref. 4 decades after the landmark book ‘Alone in a Crowd,’ women in the trades still battle bias – a professor-turned-welder reflects – https://theconversation.com/4-decades-after-the-landmark-book-alone-in-a-crowd-women-in-the-trades-still-battle-bias-a-professor-turned-welder-reflects-262307

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Laurie Archbald-Pannone, Associate Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Virginia

Autumn brings a chill in the air – and the start of another season of respiratory illnesses, which can be especially hard for older adults.

Although vaccine recommendations have been in flux, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations on respiratory vaccines for older adults remain robust.

As a geriatrician treating primarily patients age 65 and older, I’ve found that my patients are often unsure which of the various types of pneumonia vaccines is the best option for them.

Until recently, the CDC recommended that everyone age 65 and older get a pneumonia vaccine. A year ago, in October 2024, the CDC lowered the recommended age from 65 to 50 due to a growing recognition that pneumonia can cause serious illness in people ages 50-65 – especially people who have other conditions that make them particularly vulnerable.

Pneumonia basics

Pneumonia most commonly occurs when a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae infects the lungs. The infection can spur an outsize immune response and damage cells.

The first vaccine for pneumonia was developed more than 100 years ago, at the request of the South African mining industry, which was losing a startling 5% to 10% of workers to the disease each year.

For decades the most widely used pneumonia vaccine for adults was the so-called 23-valent vaccine, or PPSV23, which was approved in 1983 and protected against 23 strains of pneumococcal bacteria. In 2014, the PCV13 vaccine, which protected against 13 types of these bacteria, became the first pneumonia vaccine to be routinely recommended for adults age 65 and older. This vaccine was made using a newer technology that is thought to be more effective.

Since then, three other pneumonia vaccines for adults, also made using the newer technology, have been licensed and added to the list of those recommended for older adults. The most recent of these is PCV21, which was approved in 2024 and specifically targets strains that usually affect adults rather than children.

Which specific pneumonia vaccine you get will depend on your medical conditions and other health factors. Your health care provider will determine the most appropriate option, but you can learn more about pneumonia vaccines on the CDC’s website and bring specific questions to your next health care visit.

Why did the guidelines change?

As the population of older adults rises, research suggests that without intervention, the number of people hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia could nearly double by 2040. About 150,000 Americans are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.

Although the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the independent body that advises the CDC on vaccines, had previously considered lowering the recommended age to receive the vaccine from 65 to 50, the approval of PCV21 provided a push. Because the rate of pneumococcal pneumonia was so high in this age group, they moved to adopt the recommendation.

The pneumonia vaccine boosts the immune system’s ability to fight off this bacterium and lowers the likelihood of getting pneumonia – and of getting seriously ill, getting hospitalized, being put on a breathing machine or dying from a pneumonia infection.

According to the CDC, the old vaccine, PPSV23, is 60% to 70% effective in preventing invasive pneumonia, the more serious version of the disease in which pneumococcal bacteria infect the major organs and the blood. Althoughtis new, its mechanism and the strains it covers suggest it is even more effective, especially for people living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.

Who should get the vaccine?

Older age is the clearest risk factor for getting sick from pneumonia. So, if you’re like me and you are planning for an upcoming 50th birthday – and have never gotten the pneumonia vaccine before – make sure to put “get the pneumonia vaccine” on your birthday list.

If you’re an adult under 50 years old with a high risk condition, such as chronic liver disease or diabetes, the CDC also recommends you get vaccinated for pneumonia.

And make sure to talk with your health care provider to see that you’re also up to date on all recommended vaccines, which could include shingles, flu, RSV and COVID-19.

Laurie Archbald-Pannone receives funding from USDA and Prime, Inc

– ref. Pneumonia vaccines for adults are now recommended starting at age 50 – a geriatrician explains the change – https://theconversation.com/pneumonia-vaccines-for-adults-are-now-recommended-starting-at-age-50-a-geriatrician-explains-the-change-262009

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Ryan Herzog, Associate Professor of Economics, Gonzaga University

The Federal Reserve on Sept. 17, 2025, cut its target interest rate as it shifts focus from fighting inflation to supporting the choppy labor market.

As financial markets expected, the Fed lowered rates a quarter point to a range of 4% to 4.25%, its first cut since December 2024.

The Fed’s decision to begin cutting rates comes as evidence mounts that the U.S. labor market is losing momentum. The headline unemployment rate has stayed steady at near record lows, but the underlying trends are more concerning.

At the same time, the fight against inflation is not over yet. While a cooling jobs market could lead to a recession, cutting rates too much could drive inflation higher.

So if you’re the Fed, what do you do?

I’m an economist who tracks labor market data and monetary policy, examining how changes in hiring, wages and unemployment influence the Federal Reserve’s efforts to steer the economy. There’s an incredibly large amount of data the Fed, investors, economists like me and many others use to understand the state of the economy – and much of it often tells conflicting stories.

Here are some the data points I’ve been following most closely to better understand where the U.S. economy might go from here – and the tough choices the Fed has to make.

Underlying trouble in the labor market

The labor market looks stable on the surface, but more granular data tells a different story.

The unemployment rate has remained close to historic lows at 4.3% as of August 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the number of long-term unemployed – people out of work for 27 weeks or longer – rose to 1.9 million in August, up 385,000 from a year earlier. These workers now make up 25.7% of all unemployed people, the highest share since February 2022. Persistent long-term joblessness often signals deeper cracks forming in the labor market.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment benefits are spiking. Initial claims for unemployment insurance – a leading indicator of labor market stress – jumped by 27,000 to 263,000 for the week ending Sept. 6, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s the sharpest increase in months and well above economists’ forecasts. It suggests layoffs are becoming more common.

We also got news that past payroll growth was overstated. In a process the Bureau of Labor Statistics undertakes annually to double-check its data, the bureau recently revised its jobs data downward from April 2024 through March 2025 by 911,000. In other words, the economy created roughly 75,000 fewer jobs per month than previously reported. This implies the labor market was weaker than it appeared all along.

Finally, workers are losing confidence. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in August that confidence in finding a job fell to its lowest level – 44.9% – since it started surveying consumers in June 2013. That’s another sign workers are feeling less secure about their prospects.

Taken together, these data points paint a clear picture: The labor market is not collapsing, but it is softening. That helps explain why the Fed is beginning to cut rates now – hoping to stimulate spending – before the job market breaks more sharply.

Tariffs are complicating the inflation data

Even as the labor market softens, tariffs are pushing certain prices higher than they otherwise would be, complicating the Federal Reserve’s effort to bring inflation down.

Government data shows that businesses have begun passing the costs of President Donald Trump’s new import tariffs to consumers. In August, clothing prices rose 0.5% and grocery prices rose 0.6%, with especially strong gains for tariff-sensitive items such as coffee.

Lower-income households are getting hit hardest because they spend more of their budget on imported goods, which tend to be the lower-cost items most affected by tariffs. A report from the Yale Budget Lab found that core goods prices are about 1.9% above pre-2025 trends as tariffs raise costs for basic items such as appliances and electronics.

Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, said recently that Trump’s tariffs have pushed inflation higher than CBO analysts had expected, even as overall economic activity has weakened since January.

Typically, a slowdown in the labor market is met with slower inflation. But while the CBO now projects that the tariffs will reduce the federal budget deficit by about US$4 trillion over the next decade – roughly $3.3 trillion in new revenue and $700 billion in lower debt service costs – but it will come at the cost of near-term upward pressure on prices.

This creates a difficult balancing act for the Fed: Cut rates too quickly, and tariff-driven price pressures could reignite inflation; move too slowly, and the softening labor market could tip into recession.

A narrow path to a soft landing

As it resumes cutting rates, the Federal Reserve is trying to thread a narrow needle – easing policy enough to keep the labor market from cracking while not reigniting inflation, which is proving stickier in part because of tariffs.

Markets are betting the Fed will keep cutting. The futures market is betting the Fed will cut rates by another half point by the end of the year. And the one-year Treasury yield has dropped about 150 basis points (1.5%) since June, signaling that investors expect a series of rate cuts through 2025 and into 2026.

At its latest meeting, the Fed signaled two more rate cuts in 2025 and at least one rate cut in 2026.

Such cuts would ultimately bring the federal funds rate closer to 3% and hopefully reduce 30-year mortgage rates to around 5% – from an average of 6.35% as of Sept. 11. If the labor market continues to weaken – with jobless claims climbing, payrolls revised down and more workers stuck in long-term unemployment – that expectation will likely harden into consensus.

But the path is far from certain. Cutting rates too quickly could cause inflation to spike, while going too slow could lead to further deterioration in the labor market. Either outcome would jeopardize the Fed’s credibility – whether by appearing unable to control prices or by allowing unemployment to rise unnecessarily. That would undermine its ability to influence markets and enforce its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices.

Another tricky issue is Trump’s public campaign to push the Fed to cut rates – appearing to do his bidding could also undercut Fed credibility. For what it’s worth, the Sept. 17 rate cut appears driven less by politics than by economic data. The Fed itself was projecting a year ago that rates would be much lower today than they actually are, suggesting it’s been following the data.

The economy appears to be slowing but remains resilient, which is why the Fed is likely to move gradually. The risk is that the window for a soft landing is closing. The coming months will determine whether the Fed can ease early enough to avoid recession, or whether it has already waited too long.

Ryan Herzog does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Fed rate cut is attempt to prevent recession without sending prices soaring – https://theconversation.com/fed-rate-cut-is-attempt-to-prevent-recession-without-sending-prices-soaring-265370

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Matt Motta, Assistant Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University

Trump officials intend to link 25 child deaths to COVID-19 vaccines, according to reporting from The Washington Post. These findings will reportedly be discussed during the Sept. 18-19, 2025, meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, with implications for who may be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the future.

These death reports are reportedly derived from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, a database co-managed by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. It was originally established in 1990 to detect possible safety problems with vaccines. Unfortunately, the anti-vaccine movement has used this database to spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist, has promulgated this misinformation through the Make America Healthy Again movement in efforts to limit access to COVID-19 vaccines.

VAERS is ripe for exploitation because it relies on unverified self-reports of side effects. Anyone who received a vaccine can submit a report. And because this information is publicly available, misinterpretations of its data has been used to amplify COVID-19 misinformation through dubious social media channels and mass media, including one of the most popular shows on cable news.

We are political scientists who study the social, political and psychological underpinnings of vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. In our research, we argue that VAERS, despite its limitations, can teach us about more than just vaccine side effects – it can also offer powerful new insights into the origins of vaccine hesitancy in the U.S.

What the side effects database was designed to do

Medical experts at the Department of Health and Human Services are well aware of VAERS’ limitations. Rather than taking each individual report at face value, regulators remove clearly fraudulent reports. Demonstrating this, anesthesiologist and autism advocate James Laidler once used the system to report that a vaccine turned him into the “Incredible Hulk,” which was removed only after he agreed to have the data deleted.

Regulators also look for reporting patterns that can be corroborated by additional evidence. For example, reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome should be more common in people over 50 than in younger adults. This can help researchers identify potential adverse events that were not detected in clinical trials.

Because VAERS claims are self-reported, they tell us something about what ordinary people, as opposed to doctors and medical researchers, think about vaccine safety. In other words, people who feel that a vaccine is responsible for a side effect they might be experiencing can log that concern with the federal government, whether or not those claims would stand scrutiny in rigorous clinical testing.

Consequently, VAERS reports might not only document people’s negative experiences with vaccination but also their attitudes toward vaccination. People may be more likely to report side effects, for example, in response to media stories about vaccine safety concerns. If reports to VAERS increase following these stories, then the reporting system may be functioning similarly to a public opinion poll. It could reflect, in part, public attentiveness to and concern about potential side effects.

To see whether this is the case, we examined a well-known case of vaccine misinformation: the since-retracted paper that claimed a link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) to childhood autism.

Is a fraudulent study responsible for MMR vaccine skepticism?

In 1998, former physician Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues published a since-retracted paper claiming that the MMR vaccine could cause autism in children. Although the study was rife with unreported conflicting interests and data manipulation, it nevertheless garnered significant media attention in the late 1990s. Some journalists and researchers have since argued that the paper played a major role in inspiring MMR vaccine hesitancy.

While this is plausible, there hasn’t been evidence to support the argument. Virtually no opinion polling about MMR existed prior to the publication of Wakefield’s paper. Consequently, researchers have not been able to directly observe whether the study influenced how Americans think about the MMR vaccine.

VAERS data, however, could offer some clues. In our study, we examined whether the number of VAERS reports following publication of Wakefield’s paper was significantly greater than expected based on typical report numbers prior to its publication. We found that the number of adverse event reports for MMR increased by about 70 reports per month following publication of the paper. This is significantly greater than what we would expect by chance based on previous reporting frequencies. Notably, we did not find a similar effect for other childhood vaccines in the same time period. This further underscores the power this since-debunked study has had in shaping public opinion about the MMR vaccine.

Importantly, we also found that adverse event reporting rates rose in tandem with negative media coverage of the MMR vaccine. Following the publication of Wakefield’s paper, television and print news published significantly more stories about MMR than before the paper was published. These results suggest that Wakefield’s article influenced how much more attentive Americans were about the MMR vaccine.

VAERS: A double-edged sword

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in the side effects reporting system had significantly grown. Google search engine trends suggest that more Americans were looking up VAERS than ever before shortly after emergency use authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. This trend continued to increase until a peak in August 2021.

This search behavior is likely a result of increased media attention to VAERS, particularly by right-leaning news outlets. According to the data from media research platform Media Cloud, there have been 459 stories in mainstream national news outlets, such as CNN or USA Today, mentioning VAERS between December 2020 and mid-August 2021. In right-wing media outlets such as Fox News, The Daily Caller and Breitbart, however, coverage soared to 3,254 stories – over seven times more than mainstream news media.

Consequently, VAERS data could be seen as something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it has been weaponized by the anti-vaccine movement and political actors on the right to sow doubt and distrust about COVID-19 vaccinations. On the other hand, this data could also tell public health researchers something useful about how American vaccine skepticism might ebb and flow in response to events such as the brief pause in Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine administration or fluctuations in the tone of media coverage about COVID-19 vaccines.

VAERS data may even offer an important advantage over public opinion polls, which, with the exception of weekly vaccine uptake polls, have typically been administered much less frequently. Our research cautions that media attention to discredited vaccine-related claims may undermine public confidence in vaccination.

How to avoid another wave of misinformation

To ensure that VAERS is used properly, journalists and scientific researchers can team up to help the public interpret new findings. Journalists should, in our view, contextualize their coverage within a broader body of scientific evidence. Scientific researchers can aid in this by helping journalists accurately portray studies on vaccine side effects, clearly outlining their methodologies and results in accessible language.

By working together, researchers and journalists can take constructive action to address vaccine hesitancy before it has a chance to germinate.

This an updated version of an article originally published on Aug. 25, 2021.

Matt Motta has received funding from the National Science Foundation.

Dominik Stecuła receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

– ref. Vaccine death and side effects database relies on unverified reports – and Trump officials and right-wing media are applying it out of context – https://theconversation.com/vaccine-death-and-side-effects-database-relies-on-unverified-reports-and-trump-officials-and-right-wing-media-are-applying-it-out-of-context-265362

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton

After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups foment political violence in the U.S., and “they should be put in jail.”

“The radical left causes tremendous violence,” he said, asserting that “they seem to do it in a bigger way” than groups on the right.

Top presidential adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in after Kirk’s killing, saying that left-wing political organizations constitute “a vast domestic terror movement.”

“We are going to use every resource we have … throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks and make America safe again,” Miller said.

But policymakers and the public need reliable evidence and actual data to understand the reality of politically motivated violence. From our research on extremism, it’s clear that the president’s and Miller’s assertions about political violence from the left are not based on actual facts.

Based on our own research and a review of related work, we can confidently say that most domestic terrorists in the U.S. are politically on the right, and right-wing attacks account for the vast majority of fatalities from domestic terrorism.

Political violence rising

The understanding of political violence is complicated by differences in definitions and the recent Department of Justice removal of an important government-sponsored study of domestic terrorists.

Political violence in the U.S. has risen in recent months and takes forms that go unrecognized. During the 2024 election cycle, nearly half of all states reported threats against election workers, including social media death threats, intimidation and doxing.

Kirk’s assassination illustrates the growing threat. The man charged with the murder, Tyler Robinson, allegedly planned the attack in writing and online.

This follows other politically motivated killings, including the June assassination of Democratic Minnesota state Rep. and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband.

These incidents reflect a normalization of political violence. Threats and violence are increasingly treated as acceptable for achieving political goals, posing serious risks to democracy and society.

Defining ‘political violence’

This article relies on some of our research on extremism, other academic research, federal reports, academic datasets and other monitoring to assess what is known about political violence.

Support for political violence in the U.S. is spreading from extremist fringes into the mainstream, making violent actions seem normal. Threats can move from online rhetoric to actual violence, posing serious risks to democratic practices.

But different agencies and researchers use different definitions of political violence, making comparisons difficult.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security define domestic violent extremism as threats involving actual violence. They do not investigate people in the U.S. for constitutionally protected speech, activism or ideological beliefs.

Domestic violent extremism is defined by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security as violence or credible threats of violence intended to influence government policy or intimidate civilians for political or ideological purposes. This general framing, which includes diverse activities under a single category, guides investigations and prosecutions.

Datasets compiled by academic researchers use narrower and more operational definitions. The Global Terrorism Database counts incidents that involve intentional violence with political, social or religious motivation.

These differences mean that the same incident may or may not appear in a dataset, depending on the rules applied.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security emphasize that these distinctions are not merely academic. Labeling an event “terrorism” rather than a “hate crime” can change who is responsible for investigating an incident and how many resources they have to investigate. “investigate IT”?

For example, a politically motivated shooting might be coded as terrorism in federal reporting, cataloged as political violence by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, and prosecuted as homicide or a hate crime at the state level.

Patterns in incidents and fatalities

Despite differences in definitions, several consistent patterns emerge from available evidence.

Politically motivated violence is a small fraction of total violent crime, but its impact is magnified by symbolic targets, timing and media coverage.

In the first half of 2025, 35% of violent events tracked by University of Maryland researchers targeted U.S. government personnel or facilities – more than twice the rate in 2024.

Right-wing extremist violence has been deadlier than left-wing violence in recent years.

Based on government and independent analyses, right-wing extremist violence has been responsible for the overwhelming majority of fatalities, amounting to approximately 75% to 80% of U.S. domestic terrorism deaths since 2001.

Illustrative cases include the 2015 Charleston church shooting, when white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine Black parishioners; the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, where 11 worshippers were murdered; the 2019 El Paso Walmart massacre, in which an anti-immigrant gunman killed 23 people. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, an earlier but still notable example, killed 168 in the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.

By contrast, left-wing extremist incidents, including those tied to anarchist or environmental movements, have made up about 10& to 15% of incidents and less than 5% of fatalities.

Examples include the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front arson and vandalism campaigns in the 1990s and 2000s, which were more likely to target property rather than people.

Violence occurred during Seattle May Day protests in 2016, with anarchist groups and other demonstrators clashing with police. The clashes resulted in multiple injuries and arrests. In 2016, five Dallas police officers were murdered by a heavily armed sniper who was targeting white police officers.

Hard to count

There’s another reason it’s hard to account for and characterize certain kinds of political violence and those who perpetrate it.

The U.S. focuses on prosecuting criminal acts rather than formally designating organizations as terrorist, relying on existing statutes such as conspiracy, weapons violations, RICO provisions and hate crime laws to pursue individuals for specific acts of violence.

Unlike foreign terrorism, the federal government does not have a mechanism to formally charge an individual with domestic terrorism. That makes it difficult to characterize someone as a domestic terrorist.

The State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list applies only to groups outside of the United States. By contrast, U.S. law bars the government from labeling domestic political organizations as terrorist entities because of First Amendment free speech protections.

Rhetoric is not evidence

Without harmonized reporting and uniform definitions, the data will not provide an accurate overview of political violence in the U.S.

But we can make some important conclusions.

Politically motivated violence in the U.S. is rare compared with overall violent crime. Political violence has a disproportionate impact because even rare incidents can amplify fear, influence policy and deepen societal polarization.

Right-wing extremist violence has been more frequent and more lethal than left-wing violence. The number of extremist groups is substantial and skewed toward the right, although a count of organizations does not necessarily reflect incidents of violence.

High-profile political violence often brings heightened rhetoric and pressure for sweeping responses. Yet the empirical record shows that political violence remains concentrated within specific movements and networks rather than spread evenly across the ideological spectrum. Distinguishing between rhetoric and evidence is essential for democracy.

Trump and members of his administration are threatening to target whole organizations and movements and the people who work in them with aggressive legal measures – to jail them or scrutinize their favorable tax status. The administration’s focus is on left-wing organizations, but research shows that it’s organizations on the right that the government needs to focus on with prevention and investigation.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Right-wing extremist violence is more frequent and more deadly than left-wing violence − what the data shows – https://theconversation.com/right-wing-extremist-violence-is-more-frequent-and-more-deadly-than-left-wing-violence-what-the-data-shows-265367

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Michael Oxman, Professor of the Practice of Sustainable Business, Georgia Institute of Technology

Some major oil companies such as Shell and BP that once were touted as leading the way in clean energy investments are now pulling back from those projects to refocus on oil and gas production. Others, such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, have concentrated on oil and gas but announced recent investments in carbon capture projects, as well as in lithium and graphite production for electric vehicle batteries.

National oil companies have also been investing in renewable energy. For example, Saudi Aramco has invested in clean energy while at the same time asserting that it’s unrealistic to phase out oil and gas entirely.

But the larger question is why oil companies would invest in clean energy at all, especially at a time when many federal clean energy incentives are being eliminated and climate science is being dismantled, at least in the United States.

Some answers depend on whom you ask. More traditional petroleum industry followers would urge the companies to keep focused on their core fossil fuel businesses to meet growing energy demand and corresponding near-term shareholder returns. Other shareholders and stakeholders concerned about sustainability and the climate – including an increasing number of companies with sustainability goals – would likely point out the business opportunities for clean energy to meet global needs.

Other answers depend on the particular company itself. Very small producers have different business plans than very large private and public companies. Geography and regional policies can also play a key role. And government-owned companies such as Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corp. control the majority of the world’s oil and gas resources with revenues that support their national economies.

Despite the relatively modest scale of investment in clean energy by oil and gas companies so far, there are several business reasons oil companies would increase their investments in clean energy over time.

The oil and gas industry has provided energy that has helped create much of modern society and technology, though those advances have also come with significant environmental and social costs. My own experience in the oil industry gave me insight into how at least some of these companies try to reconcile this tension and to make strategic portfolio decisions regarding what “green” technologies to invest in. Now the managing director and a professor of the practice at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech, I seek ways to eliminate the boundaries and identify mutually reinforcing innovations among business interests and environmental concerns.

Diversification and financial drivers

Just like financial advisers tell you to diversify your 401(k) investments, companies do so to weather different kinds of volatility, from commodity prices to political instability. Oil and gas markets are notoriously cyclical, so investments in clean energy can hedge against these shifts for companies and investors alike.

Clean energy can also provide opportunities for new revenue. Many customers want to buy clean energy, and oil companies want to be positioned to cash in as this transition occurs. By developing employees’ expertise and investing in emerging technologies, they can be ready for commercial opportunities in biofuels, renewable natural gas, hydrogen and other pathways that may overlap with their existing, core business competencies.

Fossil fuel companies have also found what other companies have: Clean energy can reduce costs. Some oil companies not only invest in energy efficiency for their buildings but use solar or wind to power their wells. And adding renewable energy to their activities can also lower the cost of investing in these companies.

Public pressure

All companies, including those in oil and gas, are under growing pressure to address climate change, from the public, from other companies with whom they do business and from government regulators – at least outside the U.S. For example, campaigns seeking to reduce investment in fossil fuels are increasing along with climate-related lawsuits. Government policies focused on both mitigating carbon emissions and enhancing energy independence are also making headway in some locations.

In response, many oil companies are reducing their own operational emissions and setting targets to offset or eliminate emissions from products that they sell – though many observers question the viability of these commitments. Other companies are investing in emerging technologies such as hydrogen and methods to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Some companies, such as BP and Equinor, have previously even gone so far as rebranding themselves and acquiring clean energy businesses. But those efforts have also been criticized as “greenwashing,” taking actions for public relations value rather than real results.

How far can this go?

It is even possible for a fossil fuel company to reinvent itself as a clean energy operation. Denmark’s Orsted – formerly known as Danish Oil and Natural Gas – transitioned from fossil fuels to become a global leader in offshore wind. The company, whose majority owner is the Danish government, made the shift, however, with the help of significant public and political support.

But most large oil companies aren’t likely to completely reinvent themselves anytime soon. Making that change requires leadership, investor pressure, customer demand and shifts in government policy, such as putting a price or tax on carbon emissions.

To show students in my sustainability classes how companies’ choices affect both the environment and the industry as a whole, I use the MIT Fishbanks simulation. Students run fictional fishing companies competing for profit. Even when they know the fish population is finite, they overfish, leading to the collapse of the fishery and its businesses. Short-term profits cause long-term disaster for the fishery and the businesses that depend on it.

The metaphor for oil and gas is clear: As fossil fuels continue to be extracted and burned, they release planet-warming emissions, harming the planet as a whole. They also pose substantial business risks to the oil and gas industry itself.

Yet students in a recent class showed me that a more collective way of thinking may be possible. Teams voluntarily reduced their fishing levels to preserve long-term business and environmental sustainability, and they even cooperated with their competitors. They did so without in-game regulatory threats, shareholder or customer complaints, or lawsuits.

Their shared understanding that the future of their own fishing companies was at stake makes me hopeful that this type of leadership may take hold in real companies and the energy system as a whole. But the question remains about how fast that change can happen, amid the accelerating global demand for more energy along with the increasing urgency and severity of climate change and its effects.

In the past, Michael Oxman has worked with Chevron and consulted with other oil/gas companies. The views expressed in this article are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Georgia Institute of Technology.

– ref. Why do big oil companies invest in green energy? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-big-oil-companies-invest-in-green-energy-260855

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jeffrey H. Cohen, Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Billions of people regularly eat insects. In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, chapulines – toasted grasshoppers – stand out as a beloved seasonal treat that follows the start of the rainy season, a period that runs from late May through September.

My new book, “Eating Grasshoppers: Chapulines and the Women who Sell Them,” dives into the history and cultural significance of entomophagy (eating insects) and this unique snack.

Chapulineras – the women who sell chapulines – often learn their craft from their mothers and grandmothers. Most will use nets or mesh bags to capture grasshoppers in their “milpa” – alfalfa and maize fields – during the cool, early morning hours.

Teresa Silva, whom I spoke with at her home in Zimatlán, Oaxaca, shared some of her experience:

“I began with my husband’s family, following their traditions after we married. My husband would bring me chapulines in large quantities, and with him and my in-laws’ support, I started to cook and sell [them]. It wasn’t easy at first … but I liked the money I made. Now, I have been selling chapulines for 23 years.”

Prepping chapulines isn’t hard. A dip in boiling water turns the grasshoppers a rich, deep red. Then you toss them on the “comal” – a ceramic or metal cooking surface – with a little garlic, lemon, chile and “sal de gusano,” a mixture of ground agave worms, salt and other seasonings. In a few minutes, the grasshoppers are ready to eat.

Culture and cuisine in Oaxaca

Chapulines have been a staple food for thousands of years. Like other insects and their by-products – including honey – grasshoppers are easily digestible, high in protein and an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

They are also plentiful. Archaeologist Jeffrey Parsons estimates that harvests before the arrival of European settlers might have included 3,900 metric tons of insects and their eggs, if not more, annually.

One of the earliest references to chapulines appears in Franciscan Friar Bernardino de Sahagún’s 1577 “General History of the Things of New Spain.” Sometimes called the “first anthropologist,” Sahagún describes their importance as a beloved seasonal food in the local diet.

High praise. But perhaps it isn’t surprising that Spanish colonists largely ignored grasshoppers and other Indigenous foods while introducing new crops, animals and unique ways of eating. The Spanish also reorganized life according to the casta system – a racially based hierarchy that restricted the rights and opportunities of Indigenous people.

While chapulines and other insects remained critical to the local diet, the Spanish preferred eating dishes made from the animals and crops they’d brought with them, including wheat and cattle.

Nor were these new foods readily adopted by locals. Indigenous cuisine lacked Spanish parallels. Grains and livestock were not suited to local dishes; furthermore, even as the Spanish colonists had locals grow these new crops, they usually prohibited them from keeping any of the harvest.

An old reliable

Of course, with time, the introduced crops and livestock took hold, and local cuisine incorporated these foods into many of the dishes the world knows today as Mexican.

However, whenever there’s not enough to eat – whether due to discrimination, a natural disaster or a human-made crisis – Mexicans often fall back on edible insects. They were critical following floods and famines in the 18th and 19th centuries. And when Oaxacans fled their homes and farmland during the Mexican Revolution, they turned to chapulines as a replacement for more typical proteins like chicken, turkey, beef tripe and pork.

Most recently, when the COVID-19 lockdowns made it nearly impossible to shop for foods, chapulineras created a touchless economy that connected vendors and customers through messaging services like WhatsApp. Some chapulineras also provided no-interest loans to people who could not cover the costs of their orders.

Carmen Mendoza, whom I interviewed at Mercado Benito Juárez in Oaxaca City, described her experience of the lockdown:

“When the pandemic hit, I said to myself, ‘Look, you need to keep selling, but from home.’ I know where I am, and I know my clients. I also know how much people want, how many kilos of chapulines they will buy. So people came to my house. Sometimes they would bring me their harvest, other times they would call and ask for two or three kilos. I could do that.”

The meaning, use and value of chapulines are changing, as Oaxaca has become a popular tourist destination and has been commemorated as a UNESCO heritage site. For foodies and tourists, tasting chapulines is a way to consume and experience the past.

Chapulineras will happily sell to foodies who want to “eat bugs.” But they also know tourists cannot support their market. Visitors usually swoop in for a few days, buy a small handful of chapulines and leave. Most will never return.

And so chapulineras continue to depend on locals whose families have been eating the insects for generations. Many chapulineras have achieved financial security through their efforts, earning incomes that exceed that of most rural women in Oaxaca.

In Oaxaca, just as it was 3,000 years ago, chapulines are “what’s for dinner.”

Jeffrey H. Cohen received funding from the National Science Foundation (Household Producer Effects of Rural Diet Transformation, BCS award 1918324), National Geographic, Fulbright and the Ohio State University Institute for Population Studies to support this research.

– ref. Would you eat a grasshopper? In Oaxaca, it’s been a tasty tradition for thousands of years – https://theconversation.com/would-you-eat-a-grasshopper-in-oaxaca-its-been-a-tasty-tradition-for-thousands-of-years-263868