Deborah J. Ross

My Mother Was Murdered, and That's Why I Oppose the Death Penalty

2026-10-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am appalled by the recent rush to executions, horrified by the possibility of a televised firing squad, and deeply disturbed by the two botched attempts, and this is why:

In 1986, my 70-year-old mother was asleep in her own bed when a teenage neighbor broke into her home, raped her, and then beat her to near death and left her face down in a partially filled bathtub. It was a spectacularly brutal, banner headline crime, called by the District Attorney one of the most heinous in the history of the county.

Even in light of what happened, I am opposed to capital punishment, and I'd like to tell you why. I want to emphasize that I do not speak for anyone else. We all have different experiences, different histories, different internal and external resources. If there is one thing I'd like you to take away from my story, it is that not all the families of murder victims want the perpetrators to be executed.

I believe that capital punishment harms the survivors by interfering with the natural recovery process. In other words, when we focus on revenge instead of healing, we never heal.

A number of years ago, when I was being interviewed about my mother's death, the interviewer said to me, “You seem like such a sweet person. Most of us just aren't that spiritual.” What she meant was, “How could you not want revenge?” What I thought was, You have no idea how angry I was and how much I wanted to hurt the man who did this.

The rage I felt and that I've heard expressed by other murder survivors is so overwhelming, it's hard to find words to describe it. You feel as if your skin is going to crack open and out will pour enough molten hatred to incinerate the entire world. For years after my mother's murder, I obsessed over exactly how I would kill the perpetrator with my bare hands and how much I wanted him to suffer for every moment of terror and pain he'd caused her. The images were so vivid, I couldn't tell if I was awake or dreaming.

Adrenaline-fueled anger enables us to get through those early days and weeks. It sharpens our senses and focuses our thoughts. Our hearts pump faster. Biologically, we are primed to do whatever is necessary to meet the threat. We don't feel our own injuries, either of body or of mind or spirit. All our resources are devoted to our immediate survival. In some circumstances, this lasts only a short period of time. I know people who have lost loved ones to murder, but in that same incident, the murderer was also killed. At the other extreme are instances where the perpetrator is never discovered and the survivors must cope with the nightmare of walking down the street, suspecting every passer-by or wondering if the murderer has taken another life. I know people in that situation, too.

Anger and the craving for revenge are normal reactions when someone you love has been viciously attacked, their dignity as well as their lives stripped from them. At the same time, these feelings fuel the illusion that retribution erases pain, and popular media constantly reinforce this illusion.

We human beings aren't meant to stay in this hyper-alert, super-reactive, primed-for-battle state indefinitely. Mental health suffers as well as physical health. Most of all, we lose our selves. When we re-organize our thoughts and our lives around the goal of retaliation, we have nothing left over for the difficult work of healing. Even the process of grieving becomes distorted. We become focused on one single goal: making the perpetrator suffer.

This is what happens when someone – the District Attorney, for example – says to us when we are at our most vulnerable, when we’re in so much pain we can’t think straight: “When the person who did this is dead, you will have closure. It will all be over. You will feel better and get your life back again.”

Please understand: This is a cruel lie. We can never go back to the way things were before the murder. But the death of another human being cannot ease our agony. All such a promise does is keep us locked -- incarcerated -- in a permanent state of bitterness and hatred.

So what’s the alternative? On hearing my story, many people ask me, “How did you survive?” But I don't think survival is the question. Although numb with shock and drenched in grief, we get up in the morning. We brush our teeth. We go back to work. I had two daughters to care for, one almost seven and the other three months old; their needs couldn’t wait. We take on the trappings of an ordinary life, carrying on in the blind faith that our insides will someday match the artificial normality of our outsides. In other words, we do what seems best to us in order to survive.

I was fortunate enough – and desperate enough – to seek out skilled professional care with a therapist experienced in treating PTSD. Because the kid who killed my mother was an alcoholic/addict, I attended Alanon meetings for over 20 years to work on those issues.

We can never go back to who we were before the murder, but we can go forward, re-engaging with positive, meaningful aspects of life, fully experiencing our feelings, and understanding what we have lost and what can never be replaced, but what can be created. By acknowledging and experiencing our painful emotions, we allow fresh air and sunlight into our wounds. That’s how healing takes place. The more we stop looking to an external event -- the execution of the murderer -- to somehow make us feel better or to "achieve closure," and instead concentrate on taking care of ourselves -- our health, our hearts, our families, our spirits -- the better we will fare.

Almost every family member of a murder victim has lost not only a loved one but our belief in the decency of our fellow humans and our sense of safety in the world. Over the years, I found comfort, understanding, and strength in sharing my story with others who have endured similar losses. In listening with an open heart with families of those who have been executed, I recognize their loss because it is the same as my own. I can tell you unequivocally that I never, ever want anyone to suffer as I have. The life of their loved one has been taken not in a moment of anger or passion but with cold, deliberate malice on the part of the government. I refuse to allow my personal tragedy to be used as justification for state-sanctioned murder.

“No killing in my name.”

Two Short #BookReviews: Krakens and Fairy Hosts

2026-10-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

A Curse of Krakens, by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey)

This is the third installment in Kevin Hearne’s “The Seven Kennings” series, and it’s structured like the others, alternating third-person present-day narrative with first-person narratives of various characters involved in the overall story arc. It takes place in a complex, nuanced world, a “huge canvas” with different cultures, alliances, personalities, and pieces of the larger plot. It’s a little hard to follow as an entry to the series or if it’s been awhile since you read it, but I found that by relaxing into the various stories, the overall picture emerged.

Some of the narratives (channeled through a bard) felt like sitting down with old friends and savoring the details of their lives. Often, the stories would overlap, told from different viewpoints. Each character came to the same set of events from their own unique history and culture. My favorites remained Pen, a sort of tree guardian, and Abhi, who speaks to animals.

It’s a long, leisurely read sure to please fans of the series.

The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City, by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)

First of all, this is a physically gorgeous book with illustrated borders very much like medieval books. It’s a prequel to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, set 700 years in the past. Northern England has been conquered by a fairy host, and the city of Durham is surrounded by a mysterious, eerie wood. Ranulf, Bishop of Durham, determines to negotiate for the city’s freedom. That is, if he can find someone to talk to. When he eventually finds the leader of the fairy host, he encounters an adolescent human boy who is unable to speak any human language.

The plot is straightforward and the language is understated, inviting the reader to make connections and fill in the gaps, as it were. To me, these qualities added to the charm of this book. It can be enjoyed without having read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and would make a lovely gift for a fantasy reader.

Note: This book will be released on October 20, 2026

#BookReview: The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang

2026-10-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang (Tor)

The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang won an impressive list of award nominations and rave reviews. I hesitate to offer a contrary opinion because it did not work for me. Fortunately, we do not all enjoy the same books, so I offer these comments as solely my own.

I have a background of over 25 years in Chinese martial arts and I often feature women warriors in my own novels, so I dove into The Water Outlaws eagerly, confident that it would be just the kind of story I relish. I enjoyed the opening, especially the protagonist, expert martial arts instructor Lin Chong. Her personal prowess and teaching style were portrayed wonderfully. Other, equally fascinating and sympathetic characters soon followed. Lin Chong works for the Emperor, training his soldiers even when her superiors are fine with sloppy technique and incompetent military strategy. She’s unthinkingly loyal, but more than that, she has a profound ethical center.

About halfway through the book, it was clear to me that the villains were two-dimensional caricatures of wealthy, powerful, manipulative but ultimately insecure men. There was not just one, but three major villains, for the most part interchangeable and acting in highly predictable ways. I have no idea of the historical accuracy of this portrayal, only that I found them extremely unpleasant to read about. The real world has enough hideous, exploitive strong men in it without my giving free rent in my head to those without any discernible redeeming virtues.

Before too long, Lin Chong fends off a rape attempt by a corrupt, powerful official and finds herself in disgrace, tattooed as a criminal, and sentenced to slave labor that amounts to a death sentence. In desperate condition, she is rescued and then recruited by the women bandits of Liangshan, mountain outlaws who proclaim their belief in justice. The outlaws are a mixed group, some spiritual, others brutal, some leaders, some followers, and still others out only for their own power. The way the story is set up, Lin Chong has nowhere else to go, so she does her best to forge a new life. After a great deal of power wrangling within the bandits, she gains a measure of trust and responsibility, but at the cost of her own integrity.

The turning point for me happened when Lin Chong made a decision that, in my mind, compromised her ethics and integrity. Here is where I suspect other readers will disagree with me. I realized that I did not want to know what happened next. Maybe she redeemed herself. Maybe she found safety and power as just another outlaw leader. Maybe she used her remarkable skills to take down the villains. I didn’t care, and most importantly, I didn’t want to find out.

All this is my highly subjective opinion. I concede that I might have missed out on a story that is ultimately about redemption, forgiveness, and the triumph of sisterhood. I just couldn’t bridge the gap. From the reviews, many other readers loved this book, and I hope that nothing in my review dissuades someone from checking it out. I leave this review where I began it: this book did not work for me.

[Reprint] How Trauma Shapes Memory

2026-09-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Traumatic memories are often fragmented – a psychologist explains how and why that happens

Traumatic memories are not recalled the same way pleasant memories are. Filmstax/E+ via Getty Images

Michele Patterson Ford, Dickinson College

When survivors of trauma recount their experiences, they are often questioned because of how they relay their stories. They may have problems remembering what happened, or their memories may be jumbled or even contradictory. People hearing those stories – attorneys, reporters, healthcare workers or friends – may expect a clearer, linear narrative.

Those unaffected by trauma may also be surprised to hear how the person acted in the moment. It’s easy to assume that someone experiencing a traumatic event would have a “fight or flight” response, instinctively fighting off a perpetrator or fleeing the scene – but that might not be the case.

Understanding the science of how trauma affects memory and behavior reveals why these responses can actually be expected and are not contradictory.

In both my academic and clinical work as a psychologist, I have witnessed the impact trauma has on people’s memories and behaviors, especially when an event in their present life triggers something from their past.

Research shows that taking a trauma-informed approach, which prioritizes understanding and curiosity about someone’s experience as opposed to judgment or critical evaluation, increases empathy for survivors’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

How trauma affects the brain

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 70% of people worldwide report experiencing a traumatic event in their lifetime. The majority of these people do not develop PTSD, a clinical diagnosis of symptoms, such as having nightmares and flashbacks about the event, avoiding places that are reminders of it, and increased arousal that can make concentration and sleep difficult. Many survivors don’t meet criteria for PTSD but struggle with feeling distressed, depressed or anxious.

In traumatic situations, people often respond in unexpected ways, and they may second-guess themselves. This may happen particularly when someone experiences a repeated trauma, which is more likely than not due to how many people experience traumatic events.

Trauma also distorts how memories are stored and retrieved.

Research indicates that people experience traumatic memories differently than memories of other significant events, such as sad or positive experiences. Two of the main brain structures scientists believe are involved in storing traumatic memories are the hippocampus – responsible for memory storage – and the amygdala, which is responsible for processing emotions.

During trauma, the amygdala becomes highly active, processing emotions such as fear, and the hippocampus becomes overwhelmed by stress, leading to problems with memory storage.

Traumatic memories do not follow a neat, linear story. Instead, people may experience the memory as disconnected fragments of sensations, emotions, smells or images. Such memories cause the body to reexperience the past threat as if it is happening in the moment. This may cause a person to feel like running away or fighting back – flight or fight. Or they may freeze.

In other words, people don’t have the distant perspective they often feel with other memories from the past. Rather, they may feel they are reliving the original experience.

Emotionally intense conversations can bring up past traumas, causing a person to freeze or feel numb. Olga Rolenko/Moment via Getty Images

Misinterpreting victims’ behaviors

With this understanding, consider someone who experiences a trauma at the hands of a professional during an appointment. They may appear outwardly calm while it happens and then leave the session as they typically would – checking out, providing payment and possibly even scheduling the next appointment. While their response to act normally may seem odd, such behavior makes sense for someone trying to escape a threat.

Fight, flight or freeze responses have become widely known in popular culture. In a freeze response, a person’s mind goes blank and they may be unable to speak, leading to a “deer in the headlights” behavior.

On the other hand, a person may act paradoxically – perhaps by going on about their day as if nothing happened. They may not report the event or may question whether the incident even occurred. This represents another survival response – the lesser-known fawn response. This way of handling stress occurs when someone acts calm, appeases the threatening person and retreats to de-escalate the situation. Instead of literally backing away, in this example, the person metaphorically backs away by completing the session and exiting as expected without further conflict.

Outsiders may misconstrue these behaviors as evidence that a trauma did not actually happen or that a survivor lacks credibility. But that logic reflects common misconceptions about how people “should” remember or respond to trauma.

If this was the person’s first experience with a traumatic situation, afterward they are likely to feel afraid, disoriented or hyperalert. However, if they had previous similar experiences, this scenario may trigger past memories in the moment. This can muddy the experience even further, making it difficult to recall the incident later, especially under stressful circumstances.

When a survivor reports an incident and ultimately testifies against someone who harmed them, memory recall might be uniquely affected. Most people in this situation would be highly stressed, especially if the perpetrator were in the room.

To make matters worse, the feeling that the recalled memory is actually happening in the moment and not in the past may cause a survivor to convey a more fragmented story. They may also have either a more intense or detached emotional experience, depending on their own trauma responses.

Legal and other professionals unaware of the range of natural responses to trauma can easily misinterpret these behaviors as signs of lying or malingering.

In reality, the percentage of people who falsely report sexual assault, for example, is low – between 2% and 10%.

Empathy can build trust and safety. AzmanL/E+ via Getty Images

Providing better support

Research shows that people who better understand nuances of trauma and mental health in turn are more empathetic toward survivors. Some healthcare settings have adopted a trauma-informed approach to prevent retraumatization and build safety. Studies show that even being attentive to word choice can help ensure effective care for patients that avoids victim blaming.

A trauma-informed approach can also improve legal and justice systems so victims are better supported. This includes understanding why accounts aren’t linear and not equating memory inconsistencies with lying.

Research also shows that trauma-informed responses are equally important in everyday relationships. In friendships and close relationships, or in the workplace, patience and empathy convey a sense of respect, safety and trustworthiness. These offer a strong foundation for positive social and working relationships, which can lower a survivor’s distress and support their healing.

When people have a greater understanding of how trauma affects the brain, they gain insight into how survivors think, act and process their memories. What initially looks confusing or inconsistent is actually behavior that flows logically from a traumatized brain.

Having a trauma-informed perspective helps people to be better friends, co-workers and professionals. By extension, responding from this awareness may even help survivors understand their own reactions and experiences, which may ultimately aid their healing and ability to lead fulfilling lives.

Michele Patterson Ford, Lecturer in Psychology, Dickinson College

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

[Reprint] What to do if your vote is challenged

2026-09-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

What to do if your vote is challenged: Practical advice for midterm elections

Many states allow same-day registration at the polling site. adamkaz/Getty Images

Karen Figueroa-Clewett, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

As the 2026 midterm elections enter the final stretch, it’s important to know your rights in case your vote is challenged.

The best way to ensure that your vote is counted is to advocate for yourself. I’m a an attorney and lecturer for the University of Southern California’s undergraduate civil rights advocacy initiative, Agents of Change. Here are several straightforward ways to ensure your vote is counted and two practical remedies for you to consider if your vote remains challenged.

A major part of ensuring that you are able to vote is doing the necessary preparation before you even get to the polling place. Read on to find out how and where to register, where and when you can cast your ballot, and what numbers to call for any information you can’t find online.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out

Before you vote, you need to ensure that you’re registered to vote. You can verify your registration status using this tool. If you can’t use an online tool, then call your local election office or a voter help line like the ones listed in the hotline section below.

If you find you’re not registered, you can use this tool from the National Conference of State Legislatures to find your state’s online registration application. If you need to do this in person, then call your local election office for instructions.

At this point, you may have missed your state’s deadline for voter registration. But it may not be too late to register.

Many states allow same-day registration at the polling site. You can find your state’s same-day voter laws detailed here. Ask the poll worker, at the correct polling location, for a same-day registration form; complete the form and then ask for a “conditional ballot.” A conditional ballot allows election officials to count your vote after verifying your voter eligibility. If you can’t research online, you can call your local election office to find out if you can register on Election Day.

Marchellos Scott, right, helps Morehouse College students fill out a voter registration form at a college registration booth on Aug. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images

Gather documents to verify your identity

If you live in a state that requires identity verification to vote in person, gather the required documents – which may range from a driver’s license to bank statements with identifying information – before traveling to the correct polling place. You can find your county election office’s contact information here. This webpage includes a table listing each state’s acceptable ID documents and possible exceptions for some people. You may also call your local election office to find out what’s required.

Absentee voters: Locate your state’s identity verification rules here.

Find the correct polling location

You can ensure that you’re headed to the right polling place with this tool. Or call your county election office to find your polling place and its hours of operation; you can look up your county’s election office contact information here.

Once you know your polling place and its hours, you can go there and check in. In most cases, you’ll be handed a ballot, shown where to vote and asked to put your ballot in a machine or a box, and then you can go merrily along your way.

But the moment of check-in is where things might go wrong.

Problems at your polling place

Here are potential vote challenges and ways to overcome them.

Possibility No. 1: Out-of-order polling machines.

If you’re asked to leave because of malfunctioning machines, don’t. Instead, ask for a paper ballot.

Possibility No. 2: You’re in line and officials announce the polls have closed.

If you’re in line at the polling location before it closes, don’t let them turn you away at closing time if you haven’t voted. You have the legal right to vote under those circumstances, so stay in line and wait to cast your ballot.

Possibility No. 3: You’re not on the registered voters list.

If you’re told you can’t vote because your name is not on the voter roster, ask the poll site worker to check again and to check what’s called the list of supplemental voters. If they still can’t find your name, ask the poll worker to verify that you’re at the right location.

Poll workers want you to vote. But sometimes there are problems. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Possibility No. 4: Someone claims you shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

If your voting eligibility remains challenged after ensuring you’re at the right polling location, ask to cast a provisional ballot, which is available in every state except Idaho and Minnesota. You can find details about your particular state’s provisional ballot rules here.

Track your provisional ballot here.

Call a hotline

If you are not given a provisional ballot, call an election hotline for help. Here are four hotlines, run by members of the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition, that can help you:

English: 866-OUR-VOTE/866-687-8683, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA/888-839-8682, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund

Asian Languages: 888-API-VOTE/888-274-8683, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote

Arabic: 844-YALLA-US/844-925-5287, Arab American Institute

Report voter intimidation

If someone tries to scare you into voting or not voting for a candidate, stand your ground and demand a ballot from the poll site, call one of the hotlines above to report the intimidation, and file a claim with the FBI later by phone at 800-CALL-FBI – 800-225-5324 – or online at tips.fbi.gov.

File a lawsuit

If you are still blocked from voting, consider legal action – but get advice on your exact situation from one of the hotlines, which have free lawyers on hand. It’s a good idea to write down the names of people who prevented you from voting and to ask people who witnessed the incident for their contact information.

This is an updated version of a story that was originally published on Oct. 28, 2024.

Karen Figueroa-Clewett, Lecturer, Agents of Change program, Department of Political Science and International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Book Review: A Hilarious Guide to Querying Literary Agents

2026-09-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors: A Satirical Craft Guide to Writing Queries That Survive the Slush Pile, by David Brown and Michelle Barker (Darling Axe Publishing)

How-to books for authors abound in today’s market. Not all the advice is worth taking. Indeed, much of it seems to be based on outdated practices, flawed “conventional wisdom,” or is intended for novice self-published authors. Very little is aimed at serious authors interested in traditional publishing or established midlist authors scrambling to keep up with today’s rapidly changing market. Much of it is contradictory and involves a great deal of telling the author how to get an agent instead of showing pitfalls and best practices.

The latest entry in this field is the delightful, highly informative book, Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors: A Satirical Craft Guide to Writing Queries That Survive the Slush Pile, by David Brown and Michelle Barker of Darling Axe. They open with this intriguing premise:

What if the greatest novels ever written had to survive today's slush pile? No reputation to fall back on—just a cover letter and first page... and an agent who's already read 200 queries before lunch.

Spoiler: most of them wouldn't make it.

Using five classic novels (Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, The Scarlet Letter, Anne of Green Gables, and Jane Eyre) they first demonstrate the worst possible way the authors could query an agent and how to fix their disastrous mistakes.

Query guidelines for literary agents vary, but most include a letter, synopsis, and sample pages, which are often the first chapter). We already know (and, hopefully, love) the text, which gives us a foundation to evaluate each horrible, rejection-guaranteed sample letter and synopsis. The authors invite us to imagine ourselves as literary agents at the end of a punishing work week, facing an Inbox jammed with queries. (So much fun!) What would tempt us to read the entire query and then—oh joy!—request the entire manuscript?

Highly recommended for fiction writers at all stages of their careers for whom a literary agent is appropriate. Also highly recommended for indie (self-published) writers for invaluable insights into how to craft a compelling novel and then present it at its best. After all, in today’s overcrowded market, readers will decide to pick up a book on the same basis of a dynamite pitch.

[Reprint] How rhetoric promotes anti‑transgender views

2026-08-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

How the Trump administration’s rhetoric promotes anti‑transgender views

In the past few years, the Trump administration and state legislatures have restricted trans people’s rights and protections, from access to healthcare to passports. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Julie D. Nelson, University of Tampa

Whether in an Oval Office proclamation signing about commercial fishing or during a Fox News interview while discussing Iran, President Donald Trump finds opportunities to share his views on transgender people.

During a June 2026 signing event, Trump claimed, in response to a question about proposed legislation regarding election procedures, called the SAVE America Act: “We are talking about saving America, right? No men in women’s sports.” He continued, “And we have no mutilization of your children for transgender purposes … where your child leaves your house, and they take your child from you. … In six states, they take the child and do what they want to do. What they do is, is I don’t even want to talk about it. No transgender mutilization of your children.”

Highlighting Trump’s ongoing use of the made-up word “mutilization,” criticism quickly followed his false claims about states forcibly transitioning children. Misrepresentations like these help fuel the transgender moral panic that Trump has provoked since he started instituting restrictions on trans people in his first term.

As a rhetoric scholar for nearly two decades, I have studied how emotions propel rhetoric that goes viral on public platforms like social media and how politicians use emotions for varying purposes, including to bolster anti-trans legislation.

Throughout the Trump administration’s second term, I’ve followed how its officials have invented threats and used provocative language and repulsive imagery to stimulate anti-trans disgust and paranoia in audiences, contributing to public misconceptions and declining support for trans rights and people.

Changing views of trans people and issues

The Trump administration’s anti-trans agenda has flourished since his first term.

Following Republicans’ US$21 million anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ advertising campaign that helped pave Trump’s way to victory in 2024, the administration and its allies have been busy. The White House has denied the existence of trans identity, and states have introduced a deluge of legislation that restricts trans people’s rights and protections, from access to healthcare to passports.

Presidential rhetoric can have a significant impact on public opinion. Since reaching a peak in the early 2020s, overall support for LGBTQ+ issues has since declined in the U.S. Likewise, surveys have shown a decline in support for trans healthcare for minors, a preference for using birth sex on IDs, and increasing support for restrictions in sports for trans people.

Meanwhile, public approval of Trump’s approach to trans issues is relatively high, as compared with his approval ratings on other issues.

A 2024 report by the Human Rights Campaign decried an “epidemic of violence” against trans and gender-expansive people. A 2025 Pew report found that 70% of trans adults have feared for their personal safety, and only 13% of LGBTQ respondents reported social acceptance of trans people.

Though the causes for changing trans views are complex, research suggests Trump’s rhetoric and policies have powerful influence, the ramifications of which are clear. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws and debates negatively affect young queer people, according to the Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, and are associated with increased stress, discrimination and suicide attempts.

Trans people and their allies have pushed back against a recent wave of restrictions. Here, supporters rally for the Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Moral panic as political strategy

From the Salem witch trials in the 17th century to the war on drugs in the 20th century, moral panics have emerged across history to stoke fear against a perceived threat to a society’s values or well-being.

Moral panics, coined by sociologist Stanley Cohen in 1972, follow a similar pattern: a threat is defined, media exaggerates the threat, public concern increases, authorities respond with laws and policies, and society is transformed.

Research on anti-trans moral panics illustrates their success in propelling anti-trans lawmaking in the U.S. and suggests they are often initiated by people with power, who use their platforms to shape public discourse.

Moral panics elicit a range of negative emotions, but disgust and paranoia are especially potent. Originally a response meant to protect us from disease and spoiled food, disgust has evolved to also express social inappropriateness. Disgust asserts that its object is inherently bad. Since disgust is culturally dependent, it can also be used to marginalize groups of people.

Meanwhile, paranoia focuses on visualizing and preparing for future threats. When experienced as an emotion – outside of psychiatric disorders – paranoia has a righteous undertone, as it seeks to uncover perceived enemies.

Disgust and paranoia are a powerful combination for sustaining moral panics. While disgust produces an intense, immediate physical feeling, paranoia is long-lasting, stewing and existential.

Stimulating disgust and paranoia

Trump’s offhand remarks often invoke disgust and paranoia against perceived enemies – for example, toward immigrants, whom he has repeatedly described as dangerous criminals. These same patterns emerge in the Trump administration’s formal communication regarding trans issues.

The March 31, 2026, White House press release “President Trump Ended Democrats’ ‘Transgender for Everybody’ Insanity,” which touts the administration’s reversal of protections for trans people, offers several examples.

The release asserts that former President Joe Biden’s 2024 Proclamation of Transgender Day of Visibility “desecrated Easter Sunday with a ‘transgender’ message that elevated radical leftist ideology over faith, family, and biological truth.” Rousing paranoia, “radical leftist ideology” (and later in the release, “gender ideology”) is portrayed as an existential threat that puts Americans and their beliefs in danger.

The release also claimed that “the Trump Administration is celebrating a decisive victory: the swift and unrelenting dismantling of subversive, woke policies that endangered children, eroded women’s rights, assaulted common sense, and dragged America toward moral and cultural decline.”

As a rhetoric scholar, I read these allusions to religion and war – using words like “desecrate” and “victory,” respectively – as implications that the U.S. is in a battle between good and evil. Schools, hospitals, bathrooms, locker rooms, sports facilities and military bases are spaces declared under attack.

The release also condemns “the chemical and surgical mutilation of minors” and “child mutilation programs” – revolting imagery that misleadingly depicts gender-affirming care and incites shock, concern and disgust.

Similarly, invoking images of nonconsenting, victimized children and women, the release denounces “the un-American indoctrination of schoolchildren” and “the unfair, demeaning practice of forcing women to compete against biological men in sports.” Stimulating anger and moral panic, these descriptions encourage anti-trans views and discrimination.

Recognizing these rhetorical patterns is key to understanding how politicians use inflammatory language to denigrate trans people and other marginalized groups, including women, Black people and immigrants.

Julie D. Nelson, Associate Professor of English and Writing, University of Tampa

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Self-Care for Writers (and Everyone!)

2026-08-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else, we writers benefit from good self-care. Here are some suggestions.

5-10 minutes or less

sip a glass of water or your favorite tea
write one sentence on your manuscript
journal about things you’re grateful for
ask for help with something on your to-do list
do a few jumping jacks or gentle stretches
eat a piece of fruit
make a medical appointment you’ve been putting off
close your eyes and visualize the world as a better place for everyone
snuggle your pet (plushies count!)
watch a video of a baby laughing uncontrollably
listen to a favorite song

15-30 minutes

write a paragraph or two in your manuscript
dance to your favorite music (like nobody's watching)
meditate
make a quick, nutritious meal
take an Epsom salt bath (or bubbles!)
tidy your desk

1 hour +

do a sauna or hot tub
take a walk in nature
take a mini-vacation from screen time
go to bed early and/or sleep late
write an opinion piece for your local newspaper

Community Care

spend distraction-free time with family or friends
write or call your lawmaker about an issue you care about
attend a community meeting or protest
volunteer!
donate to a cause you care about
join or start a writing group
share a meal with a neighbor

When you do a self-care or community-care activity, do it mindfully, reminding yourself why you’re doing it and the benefit you and your community will receive.

(Adapted from Sue Campbell's newsletter)

[Reprint} How Dobbs Increased Support for Abortion Rights

2026-08-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Public opinion on abortion has shifted 4 years after Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade

People gather in front of the Supreme Court building following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Laurel Elder, Hartwick College; Mary-Kate Lizotte, Augusta University, and Steven Greene, North Carolina State University

It’s been four years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion.

In the immediate aftermath of the decision, national attention centered on implementation of state bans and a rapidly shifting legal landscape.

But four years later, one of the most impactful developments has been less visible: a significant, sustained and politically consequential shift in public opinion. In the wake of Dobbs, the debate over abortion rights did not simply return to the states. It fundamentally altered how many Americans think about the issue and how they vote.

In our recently published book, “Not Going Back: Public Opinion on Abortion in Post-Dobbs America,” we examined how and why these changes have occurred, and what they mean for U.S. politics. We believe the shift could have real consequences for the November 2026 midterms.

Post-Roe stability

Drawing on several nationally representative surveys conducted before and after Dobbs, we examined how Americans’ abortion attitudes, political priorities and voting behavior have changed in response to the most significant shift in abortion policy in half a century.

For nearly 50 years after Roe, public opinion on abortion was remarkably stable. In 1975, Gallup found support for legal abortion in certain circumstances at 54% and support for a ban in all circumstances at 22%. In 2021 – the year before the Dobbs decision – these figures were virtually the same: 48% and 19%, respectively.

Despite heated political rhetoric, most Americans held nuanced views. They were neither fully anti-abortion nor fully pro-abortion. Instead, they supported legal abortion in some circumstances and not in others.

That underlying stability shaped both policy and politics for decades. Republicans were able to rally a committed core of supporters around opposition to Roe, while the underlying constitutional right to access abortion remained unchanged.

As states moved quickly after the Dobbs decision to enact abortion bans and strict gestational limits, public opinion moved in the opposite direction.

Today, more Americans identify as pro-choice than they did before Dobbs. And, as we document in our book, more Americans are now taking absolutist positions. They support legal access to abortion in all or most cases and oppose government regulation altogether.

How Dobbs shattered the equilibrium

One of the most striking changes in the post-Dobbs era concerns who cares most about abortion. For decades, abortion was a higher priority for Republicans and those identifying as pro-life.

That dynamic has now flipped. In both 2022 and 2024, Democrats and pro-choice Americans were more likely than Republicans to say abortion was a top political issue shaping their vote. In our book, we document how in both 2022 and 2024, pro-choice Democrats were especially motivated to vote and remained highly loyal to Democratic candidates.

At the same time, the considerable minority of Republicans who support legal abortion found themselves politically cross-pressured, meaning they experienced conflicting political influences.

Drawing on multiple nationally representative data sets, our book reveals that roughly one-third of Republicans hold views on abortion that do not align with the official pro-life position embraced by their party. They either identify as pro-choice or support legal abortion in at least some cases.

It was one thing to identify as a pro-choice Republican when Roe guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. After Dobbs, however, Republican electoral victories could directly result in abortion bans and other restrictions. That makes partisan choices far more consequential.

We found that cross-pressured Republicans had lower turnout rates and were more willing to cross party lines, reflecting the growing tension between their abortion views and their party’s position. Given the size of this group, that presents a serious challenge for GOP candidates.

A group of abortion-rights supporters gather in front of the Supreme Court on June 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Reshaping US politics

At the same time, efforts to find a middle ground on abortion have proven difficult. Republican legislators in North Carolina and Virginia, for example, have sought to position policies such as 12- or 15-week bans as a reasonable compromise.

That might have worked in 1990. But public opinion has shifted in ways that make this strategy increasingly untenable. Our research shows that most Americans, including Republicans, do not see these “moderate” policies as meaningfully different from more restrictive bans.

One reason may be that, in the wake of Dobbs, abortion restrictions have become concrete rather than abstract. Extensive media coverage of women denied care during miscarriages, severe pregnancy complications and other medical emergencies has highlighted the consequences of gestational limits. This leads many Americans to judge these policies by their practical effects rather than the specific week at which abortion is prohibited.

In addition, our original survey data reveals that many Americans have only a limited understanding of how pregnancy is dated. That makes distinctions between six-, 12- and 15-week bans less meaningful than policymakers often assume.

Another major change is the emergence of a gender gap in abortion attitudes. For decades, men and women held remarkably similar views on abortion. That is no longer the case.

Since Dobbs, women have become significantly more supportive of abortion rights than men. For example, 56% of women say abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, compared to 41% of men.

This new gender gap reflects both women’s experiences with pregnancy and abortion and the changed policy environment following Dobbs. After the ruling, the consequences of abortion restrictions became far more immediate and tangible.

Rather than accepting these new restrictions, many women reacted against them. As abortion policy moved sharply to the right in many states, women’s attitudes moved in the opposite direction. This has resulted in substantially greater support for abortion rights.

Our survey research further finds that a better understanding of human reproduction, including how pregnancies are dated, is associated with greater support for legal access to abortion.

Taken together, these changes have reshaped American politics in ways that advantage Democrats. Abortion rights played a key role in the 2022 midterms, contributing to stronger-than-expected Democratic performance nationwide.

And it continues to shape voter motivation and turnout patterns heading into future elections.

‘Not going back’

That said, abortion is not the only issue that matters in modern U.S. politics. In the 2026 midterm elections, the economy and partisanship – especially in an era dominated by President Donald Trump – will remain central to electoral outcomes.

Abortion alone is unlikely to determine any single race. But it has altered the political landscape in ways that will matter this November and beyond.

The phrase that gives our book its title – “Not Going Back” – captures this moment. The changes we document are not temporary reactions to a single Supreme Court decision.

The stability that defined abortion politics for half a century is gone. The new normal is a political landscape in which abortion rights have become both more widely supported and more politically consequential. They are motivating Democratic voters while creating new tensions within the Republican coalition.

Perhaps most importantly, Dobbs transformed abortion from a constitutional question into an electoral one. As abortion laws became substantially more restrictive, public opinion moved toward greater support for abortion access. The 2026 elections will offer another test of how the U.S. responds when public policy and public preferences move in opposite directions.

This story was produced in collaboration with Rewire News Group, an independent nonprofit media outlet that covers reproductive health.

Laurel Elder, Professor of Political Science, Hartwick College; Mary-Kate Lizotte, Professor of Political Science, Augusta University, and Steven Greene, Professor of Political Science, North Carolina State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

#BookReview: Murder mystery in a haunted castle

2026-08-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, by T. L. Huchu (Tor)

This is the third volume of T. L. Huchu’s wonderful “Edinburgh Nights” series. I love the protagonist, a feisty, resourceful slum kid, Ropa Moyo. In magic-imbued, dystopic post-apocalyptic Scotland, Ropa and her sister live with their grandmother, who is steeped in the ancient ritual magic of her African ancestors. Ropa’s magic is of a different sort: she can talk to ghosts. Ropa’s path out of abject poverty lies through the formal academy of Scottish magic. At the beginning of The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, Ropa is struggling with an unpaid internship, doing scut work for an international magical conference at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. It’s the perfect opportunity for her to make connections and further her career. That is, until a vital magical scroll goes missing, a librarian is murdered, and her mentor casts a force-field spell over the castle to prevent the culprit’s escape.

On one level, this is a classic Agatha Christie style murder mystery, with suspects galore confined in a castle. Political and personal frictions abound, everyone has an ax to grind—including the resident ghosts—and the characters and plot twists kept me turning the pages. On another, it’s a story about difficult choices, about whether Ropa will be being valued or manipulated as a pawn. One of the things I look for in a compelling protagonist, particularly a young one, is agency: how much resourcefulness does this person have, and how will they determine their own fate? Ropa may not have material wealth or status, but her other qualities, including her unerring sense of justice, more than compensate.

Middle books present challenges, as exemplified by the dreaded second book of a trilogy that falls flat. Lots of things happen but the dramatic shape doesn’t match the dynamic beginning or the climactic end. In this case, the book is a bridge between Ropa finding her place at the academy and the choices she makes at the end. We don’t know where those choices will lead; that’s for the next book. Seen as a bridge with a significant amount of lack of conclusion, Mystery works well. These shortcomings are less significant than they would be for a stand-alone book or even the second book in a series because readers who have been following Ropa’s journey have already fallen in love with her over the previous two books. I know that I did!

Not a stand-alone, but readers of the series will want to gobble up the next volume!

[Reprint] The Science of Bones

2026-08-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

Bones communicate with the rest of the body to support overall health – here’s the science behind your skeleton

Healing after a fracture is just one way your bones contribute to your body’s overall health. seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Moment via Getty Images

Priya Bhardwaj, Washington University in St. Louis

Each year, doctors treat more than 6 million bone fractures in the United States. And while it takes only a few seconds for a bone to break, the processes that keep your bones strong and allow them to heal are taking place continuously throughout your life.

Beneath their hard surface, your bones are alive with activity, continuously being broken down, rebuilt and reshaped. Far from being static structures that simply support the body, bones are dynamic, living tissues that respond to physical activity, hormones and the body’s changing needs.

I am a research scientist who studies bone biology and mineral metabolism. To me, one of the most striking things about bone is how dynamic it is, despite its static appearance. Research over the past 15 to 20 years has demonstrated that this is even more true than scientists had previously realized.

More than just structural support

For decades, scientists have known that bone provides support, stores minerals and continuously remodels itself. This remodeling is the process bone uses to renew itself, maintaining its strength while allowing the skeleton to adapt over time.

Different kinds of bone cells work together to maintain bone structure. Cells called osteoclasts remove old or damaged bone, while osteoblasts build new bone in its place. Osteocytes, which are cells embedded within bone, help sense mechanical strain and coordinate how bone responds. Together, these cells help the skeleton stay strong.

But over the past two decades, new research has emerged that is changing how scientists and physicians think about skeletal health. More than just a structural framework, bone also functions as a highly active tissue that helps regulate the body’s mineral balance, supports blood cell production and communicates with multiple organ systems.

Growing evidence also suggests that in order to perform these functions, bones produce signaling molecules that influence energy metabolism and balance the minerals the body needs.

Lifelong support

The balance between bone formation and bone breakdown changes throughout life.

During childhood and adolescence, the body builds bone faster than it removes it, allowing bones to grow larger and denser. By early adulthood, most people reach their peak bone mass. After that, bone breakdown gradually begins to outpace bone formation, particularly with aging and hormonal changes. Over time, this shift can increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

Bone is also highly responsive to how it is used. The skeleton is constantly “listening” to the demands placed upon it and adjusting accordingly. Everyday activities such as walking, running or lifting weights place stress on the skeleton. In response, bone adapts by becoming stronger. This is why weight-bearing and resistance exercises are so important for maintaining bone health.

On the other hand, prolonged inactivity due to illness, immobilization or a sedentary lifestyle can lead to bone loss. Astronauts also experience bone loss during spaceflight, but for a different reason: In microgravity, bones are lifting far less weight, even when astronauts remain physically active.

Communicating with the rest of the body

Hormones help regulate the process of bone formation and breakdown as well. Calcium and phosphate levels are tightly controlled by the body because they are essential for nerve signaling, muscle contraction and many other biological functions.

Bone serves as a major reservoir for these minerals. During menopause, a woman’s hormones shift and her body produces less estrogen, causing her bone density to decrease.

The kidneys and glands, such as the parathyroid glands, produce hormones such as parathyroid hormone and vitamin D that act as signals to tell bone when to release calcium and phosphate into the bloodstream and when to store them. This helps your body maintain stable mineral levels.

In addition to all of those functions, many bones contain bone marrow, the main site of blood cell production. Bone marrow produces red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body; white blood cells, which help fight infection; and platelets, which are essential for blood clotting.

The marrow also responds to signals such as infection, inflammation and blood loss by adjusting blood cell production, making the skeleton closely connected to both the circulatory and immune systems.

Researchers have also found that bone not only receives signals from other organs, but it sends signals as well. Bone-derived molecules, including the protein osteocalcin, have been linked to energy metabolism and broader physiological signaling.

While scientists are still uncovering the full extent of these connections, growing evidence suggests that the skeleton is integrated with the rest of the body rather than functioning as an isolated structure.

When you do weight-bearing exercises, your bones respond by becoming stronger to accommodate heavier loads. Frazao Studio Latino/E+ via Getty Images

Maintaining bone health

Because bone is living tissue, it can also heal. After a fracture, the body moves through overlapping stages of repair that include inflammation, formation of new tissue and, later, remodeling of the repaired area.

Healing takes time and depends on factors such as blood supply, stability, nutrition and overall health. Poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and health conditions like metabolic bone disease can disrupt bone remodeling, leading to weaker bones over time.

Lifestyle factors like smoking, excessive alcohol use and long-term use of certain medications, including glucocorticoids, can also influence bone health.

Nutrition remains one of the practical foundations of bone health. Calcium is a major building block of bone, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and maintain normal bone mineralization. Without enough of either, the skeleton has a harder time maintaining its structure and strength.

New approaches to bone research

These insights into how bone functions as a living tissue are beginning to reshape how researchers approach bone health.

There is increasing focus not only on bone density, but also on bone quality, remodeling dynamics and how the skeleton interacts with other physiological systems. This broader perspective is influencing how scientists understand and study conditions such as osteoporosis and age-related bone loss.

Maintaining strong bones is not just about preventing fractures later in life. It is about supporting a living system that contributes to movement, mineral balance, blood cell production and communication with other tissues throughout the body every day.

Priya Bhardwaj, Senior Researcher in Orthopedic Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

[Abstract] Preventing Dementia?

2026-08-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Medical research has made tremendous strides in our understanding of how to prevent--or, at very least, delay--dementia. Many of these factors are within our control. Even better, many of them also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Here's the abstract from The Lancet. <-- Click the link to register for access to the entire article.

The 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on dementia provides new hopeful evidence about dementia prevention, intervention, and care. As people live longer, the number of people who live with dementia continues to rise, even as the age-specific incidence decreases in high-income countries, emphasising the need to identify and implement prevention approaches. We have summarised the new research since the 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on dementia, prioritising systematic reviews and meta-analyses and triangulating findings from different studies showing how cognitive and physical reserve develop across the life course and how reducing vascular damage (eg, by reducing smoking and treating high blood pressure) is likely to have contributed to a reduction in age-related dementia incidence. Evidence is increasing and is now stronger than before that tackling the many risk factors for dementia that we modelled previously (ie, less education, hearing loss, hypertension, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption [ie, >21 UK units, equivalent to >12 US units], traumatic brain injury [TBI], air pollution, and social isolation) reduces the risk of developing dementia. In this report, we add the new compelling evidence that untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol are risk factors for dementia.

[Reprint] How Childhood LGBTQ+ Stigma Can Harm Adult Relationships

2026-08-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is so important to those affected by LGBTQ+ stigma and those who love them, I am reprinting it in its entirety (under Creative Commons license).

Childhood experiences of LGBTQ+ stigma can harm romantic relationships decades later – psychologists explain how to reconnect with yourself and your partner

Difficult experiences you had as a child may be putting a wedge between you and your partner. Dmytro Betsenko/Moment via Getty Images

Melissa Gates, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Christina Balderrama-Durbin, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Childhood rejection, discrimination and bullying can affect your well-being as an adult. If your friends, family or community pushed you away because of your sexuality or gender, these childhood experiences of prejudice can also affect your future relationships.

Many LGBTQ+ people encounter difficult experiences as children, including abuse, neglect and challenges at home, because of their sexuality or gender. Other negative experiences – including bullying, witnessing your peers be harassed or ostracized, and the need to conceal your identity to protect yourself – may make it especially challenging to accept your sexuality or gender as an adult.

Developing a negative self-view as a result of these harmful experiences during your formative years is not uncommon. Feelings of shame or unworthiness can carry into your 20s, 30s and beyond, harming your mental health along with your ability to form and maintain romantic relationships.

Fortunately, making meaning of your early experiences can help you heal, reconnecting and strengthening your relationships as a result.

Internalized stigma harms relationships

Our psychology research team focuses on understanding the connection between childhood anti-LGBTQ+ experiences, well-being and relationship health.

We found that a factor called internalized stigma can notably affect the romantic relationships of LGBTQ+ people. Internalized stigma refers to when society’s negative views and biases toward a part of your identity shapes how you think and feel about yourself. This can influence how you view romantic relationships and how you interact with your romantic partners.

People with higher levels of internalized stigma report more conflicts and less satisfaction in their relationships. Research suggests that internalized stigma can negatively affect key aspects of romantic relationships that keep people satisfied with their partners, including trust, connection and intimacy.

Internalized stigma can lead to conflict in relationships. zoranm/E+ via Getty Images

For some, internalized stigma might result in low self-esteem, feeling like you are inadequate or unworthy, feeling disengaged from the LGBTQ+ community or wanting to pass as heterosexual or cisgender.

Internalized stigma can also shape how secure you feel in romantic relationships. For some, these negative self-views can lead to difficulties with commitment and more conflict between partners.

In our study of 80 LGBTQ+ couples, we found that childhood emotional wounds tied to sexuality or gender can carry into adulthood, shaping a person’s relationships in their 20s and 30s.

Specifically, LGBTQ+ adults with more childhood anti-LGBTQ+ experiences reported less trust in their partner and reduced emotional and sexual intimacy – key ingredients in a healthy and satisfying romantic relationship.

Overcoming childhood trauma

It’s worth remembering that these negative beliefs about yourself don’t develop overnight. It also takes time to recognize and change how you react to them.

Exploring whether your symptoms of guilt, shame and low self-esteem are related to internalized stigma is a critical part of beginning to navigate it. Recognizing and pinpointing where these beliefs came from, which may include negative messages from society or your family, is an important first step.

Practicing self-compassion – that is, offering yourself warmth, nonjudgment and understanding during stressful and challenging moments – can reduce anxiety, depression and internalized stigma. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by your emotions and the stressors you encounter, self-compassion allows you to attend to these experiences in a balanced way.

Show yourself patience and acceptance after difficult moments, such as when you’re feeling undervalued, alone or ashamed because of your sexuality or gender. Adopting mantras such as “I am enough,” “I can overcome hard things” and “May I be kind to myself and give myself compassion in this moment” is one way to practice self-affirmation.

Talking to your partner about challenging experiences can help build intimacy. FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

Building in opportunities in your daily life to engage with your interests and finding positive outlets for stress can improve your mood by reigniting joy and a sense of accomplishment. For some, this might include expressive writing, reading, going for a walk or listening to a podcast.

You may also want to explore how shame and guilt around your sexual or gender identities can show up in your relationships. Intentionally carving out ways to support and connect with your partner can create emotional safety by building intimacy and closeness.

Importantly, stigma and shame don’t have to become the only thing you and your partner talk about. Strengthening positive aspects of your relationship can help you continue finding ways to bond.

Finding and giving support

Talking with your partner or other community members who have had similar experiences may provide a sense of connection.

Seeking professional support for your relationships can help reconnect you with your partner. Many LGBTQ+ people face barriers to seeking professional relationship support, including fear of discrimination and concerns about working with providers who lack expertise on LGBTQ+ issues.

Online self-directed relationship programs that are tailored for LGBTQ+ relationships may be more approachable. Find trained providers who are LGBTQ+ friendly, affirming and willing to advocate for your needs.

Lastly, recognize that the onus for change is not solely on you and your partner. Change also needs to come at a societal level. You can empower yourself and others by connecting with other people in the LGBTQ+ community, including mentoring LGBTQ+ youth. Many face similar experiences, and you are not alone.

Melissa Gates, Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Christina Balderrama-Durbin, Associate Professor of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Book Review: When a Werewolf's Friends Set Him Up on a Date

2026-07-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

Blind Date With a Werewolf, by Patricia Briggs (Ace)

When Asil, an ancient, deadly, and drop-dead gorgeous werewolf, becomes the recipient of five blind dates arranged via online dating apps by his anonymous “Concerned Friends,” the fun begins. These “friends” are concerned about Asil becoming a recluse, which these social encounters are supposed to rectify. They have not only created a profile for him in his human form, but they have pretended to be him in corresponding via email with his prospective dates. There are rules to this game, of course, including the length of time each date must last and how much bloodshed is acceptable. Intrigued, Asil accepts the challenge…only to discover that his first date, Kelly, is a gay man, while Asil is firmly straight. (Oops!) But Kelly is a pleasant dinner-and-dance companion, as much confused by the mix-up as Asil. It also turns out that the “vampire”-themed event is attended by actual vampires out for their next victims. Then, of course, chaos ensues and bodies pile up.

Although this book features a recurring series character, it works well as a stand-alone. The author has done a wonderful job weaving together episodes into a dynamic flow, and balancing inner and outer dramatic tension. The unifying theme is the relationship between the human Asil and his inner wolf, which adds deep psychological resonance to this urban fantasy.

How Long Can Life on Earth Survive?

2026-07-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Live Science, one of my favorite news sources (yay, science!) recently published this fascinating report. It's perfect for futuristic science-fiction world-building!

From the article: Life on Earth could continue for another 1.8 billion years, according to new research. This figure, which is based on complex climate models, is far longer than many previous studies indicated.

As the sun evolves, it is getting brighter. Our star is currently producing about a third more energy than it did at the dawn of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. And it will continue to get hotter until it eventually dies in about 5 billion years.

In 1982, James Lovelock and colleagues estimated that Earth's photosynthetic biosphere — which includes all plants and forms the basis for most of the planet’s biology — would end about 100 million years from now. Successive studies have pushed back the deadline for the death of all life on Earth. Published in the journal JGR Atmospheres, researchers suggest that plant life could continue about 1.8 billion years into the future. That nears the time when Earth would lose its oceans to space, either through radiation splitting water atoms or runaway evaporation, in about 2 billion years.

Baycon 2026 report

2026-07-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

I don’t attend many science-fiction/fantasy conventions these days. Pre-pandemic, I often attended conventions on the West Coast, including Orycon in Portland, Oregon. I’d add a day or two on each end of the convention dates to get in a visit with my best friend from college and a dear writer friend. Ditto going south to Loscon in Los Angeles or Condor in San Diego, or larger conventions like World Fantasy or SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend when they’re held on the West Coast. Sadly, both friends have died, so even before the pandemic, I found it harder to fly north. Orycon has closed, and I believe that Condor has, too. Nevertheless, I always try to make it to my local con, Baycon/Westercon. It’s within driving distance, although a bit far to commute, and it’s a vibrant, diverse community.

When I attend a convention, I do so as a professional author, so I almost always appear on panels, readings, and autographing sessions. Some conventions request that potential guests submit proposals for events. If panel topics are accepted, the guest then moderates them. This was the case for 3 of the 6 panels I appeared on (* = I proposed and moderated this panel). Here are descriptions, with a few notes on how the discussions unfolded. With only one exception, I have avoided using the names of panelists and audience members. All the opinions are my own!

The Reality of Fiction. We normally think of fiction as unreal, but quite a few authors talk regularly with their fictional characters about the story and where it should head. How does this work? How can knowing some of the psychology involved give us a livelier relationship with fictional characters? What wisdom for life might they impart when listened to?

I arrived a bit early, as is my custom, to find the panelists wondering who the moderator was and expressing their unwillingness to do it. “Okay,” sez I, “I’ll do it.” Therein followed a fascinating divergence between the tired, perennial question, “What to do when your characters won’t behave the way you want them to?” and how much your characters reflect yourself—is this a good thing or a bad thing?--versus my personal focus, “Where is the energy in the story? Character (Hamlet), plot (thrillers), ideas (mysteries)…and how difficulties with characters arise from mismatches between different elements.

*Writing our Nightmares. What horror, dark fantasy, and related genres can teach us about surviving personal and political catastrophes.

The idea for this panel arose from two incidents: Octavia Butler told me that she took the things that really scared her and put them on paper; in a horror panel many years ago, when I said I had enough nightmares in my life, the other panelists showed me how horror can shine a light in the darkest places. As writers, we have agency; as readers, we trust that the protagonist, no matter how vulnerable, has or gains power over their fate.

We talked about having lost many traditional methods of dealing with trauma, so horror as a genre offers catharsis via the story journey; the end is different from the setup. “Horror is safer than memories.”

Finally, the zinger trope: “Play nice or I’ll put you in my novel” (and you won’t come out unscathed)!

*Finding Our Tribe. Writers, readers, and fans share how storytelling creates communities of understanding, acceptance, and celebration of differences. From fandom as family to writing as a way of healing, stories transcend the fear and prejudice of our times.

My thought in proposing it was to celebrate how the science fiction/fandom community welcomes and celebrates those who feel they don’t fit in anywhere else. This could be folks “on the spectrum” (of autism), sexual and gender minorities, racial and ethnic minorities, geeks of all flavors, and so forth. Everyone in the room had a version of a “finding my home here” story.

The second aspect was ethnic or ancestral communities. I was fortunate to run into one of my favorite co-panelists, an Indigenous elder, and invite him to participate in the panel. He brought the perspective of tribal membership being integral to identity, the history of near-extermination, and the separation he experiences between his role as elder and teacher, and his love for science fiction not shared with fellow members of his tribe. He helped us to understand the difference between tribal and tribalism. Tribal affiliation nourishes community and deep understanding of collective history. Tribalism creates a distinct "in-group" (those we identify with) and an "out-group" (everyone else).

Three of us were Jewish, and the only thing we agreed on was that we don’t agree on anything except being Jewish (“two Jews, three opinions,” more like “twenty-five opinions with footnotes and appendices spanning 2,000 years of commentary.” You can join if you’re willing to study hard for a year and pass a board examination. Otherwise, “Are you nuts?”) Much laughter ensued.

*Escapism is Not a Dirty Word! Panelists and participants share their favorite comfort reading and how it informs, sustains, and gives us hope.

In the past, we’ve labeled comfort reading “guilty pleasures,” but it’s much more than that. Certain books or series inspire as well as soothe us, and create community. (See Star Trek and Star Wars fandoms.)

As young children, we read or listen to what our parents choose. As we mature, however, we develop our own taste. A panelist asked the audience what age they were when they first read The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

As the discussion progressed, both audience members and panelists shared their “go-to” escape reading, everything from cozy mysteries to romance to space adventure to classics. A good time was had by all.

Hard Sci Fi vs Soft Sci Fi vs Science Fantasy. How many or what science facts do we have to include in our stories? Does what we call it have to do if we are focusing on the science or on the mystical aspects? Or is it only marketing?

I got to relax on this panel since it was in the capable hands of a different moderator. After introductions, the moderator realized that everyone—panelist and audience alike—had opinions about the definitions and distinctions between the sub-genres. This included a discussion on the difference between science (science fiction obeys the laws of physics, with a few exceptions like Faster-Than-Light travel and psychic powers, if explained) and magic (magic works by different rules). A comment by an audience member brought the insight that science is replicable but magic is unique and individual.

Fantasy, by the way, derives from the ancient Greek, “making things visible to the mind.” I love that!

I should add that the conversation was greatly enriched by the presence in the audience of one of the field’s living legends, Larry Niven, whose perspective and insights were invaluable.

You're Asked To Moderate Your First Panel. A panel designed to help convention goers who want to do their first panel. This is about planning and preparation.

This was my last panel of the convention, and it was challenging for several reasons. I was tired, a vicissitude of nearing 80, but mostly that my assumptions about the nature of the panel were erroneous. It turned out to be a repeat of a presentation (as opposed to a discussion) from a previous convention the year before. The moderator stood at one end of the room, thereby drawing all attention to them, and walked about as they delivered a lecture. And complained about the absence of the appropriate equipment for a visual presentation. After several deep breaths, I looked for ways I could contribute constructively. My style of moderating was quite different from the instructions being given. An example is that since most or many of the panels I moderate are ones I have proposed, I have already done my preparation. I often write down a few questions to revive lagging conversation, but I will set them aside in light of the energy in the room, both on the panel and in the audience. (I’ve seen enough times a moderator forces a discussion into a pre-determined path—with strained, deadening results.) So when the moderator insisted that we must prepare 2 to 3 weeks in advance and asked if anyone did not, I raised my hand (fairly emphatically) and proceeded to present a contrary view, which is that panels at their best are spontaneous, with give-and-take, my turn-your turn, and sensitivity to the rhythm and energy of the room. And so it went…

One of the more interesting moments was the realization that another panelist was autistic and struggling with nonverbal subtext (social cues, eye contact, and the like). I used a lull in the conversation to ask how I might help them to feel more comfortable.

The more diverse opinions the panelists expressed, the better the conversation went (in my estimation). I told the story—in the context of the importance of arriving early—of a panel where two authors whom I knew to dominate conversations were sitting together, and I tactfully placed them at opposite ends of the table. One of the panelists turned to me and said, “I love you forever for that,” to much laughter from the audience.

[Reprint] Overwhelmed by Bad News? Looking Away is Not the Fix

2026-07-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Why 40 per cent of people are avoiding the news, according to a psychologist

Ali Jasemi, Wilfrid Laurier University

During several recent conversations, people have told me that they’ve stopped checking their phones in the morning. Not because nothing was happening, but because everything was. They described the feeling as standing under a waterfall of perpetual bad news.

This experience is far from an isolated one. According to Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report, 69 per cent of Canadians at least occasionally avoid the news now.

Globally, 40 per cent report they at least sometimes or often do the same, the highest figure ever recorded. People shared consistent reasons for this: the news put them in a bad mood, they felt overwhelmed and powerless to act.

As a researcher in developmental psychology, focusing on social development and psychological well-being, I argue that news fatigue is not laziness, weakness or a generational decline in civic interest. It’s the predictable response of a human brain meeting an environment it was never designed to navigate.

Wired for bad news

Long before smartphones or even the printing press, our cognitive architecture was shaped by a single problem: stay alive long enough to reproduce. Our ancestors whose attention drifted past the rustle in the grass left fewer descendants than those who froze, looked and listened.

The brain that paid attention to threats was the brain that survived.

This is the foundation of what psychologists call the negativity bias, one of the most replicated findings in cognitive science. Across decades of research, the human mind has been shown to weigh negative information more heavily than positive, attend to it faster and remember it longer.

A predator nearby mattered more than a beautiful sunset. The cost of missing a real threat was death, while the cost of overreacting was a few minutes of wasted vigilance. The asymmetry made this bias adaptive.

Here is the problem: the human brain has not changed since then. We are the same species as we were thousands of years ago. What’s changed is the size of the world it’s asked to scan for threats.

Scanning the whole world

For most of human history, the threats our nervous system processed were local. A neighbouring tribe. A drought. The illness of a child we personally knew. Information about distant places would barely arrive, and if it did, it was mainly irrelevant.

In 2026, the same neurological system is being asked to absorb a war in one region, a financial shock in another, a climate disaster in a third and a violent crime in a fourth, all before lunchtime.

A study published in the scientific journal Nature Human Behaviour examined more than 105,000 real news headlines viewed nearly six million times. Each additional negative word increased click-through rates, while positive words had the opposite effect.

Recent studies suggest people around the world demonstrate measurably stronger physiological responses to negative news than to positive news. The body is reacting before the mind has decided whether the threat is relevant.

Some researchers have introduced a clinical framework for what happens in this instance called Problematic News Consumption (PNC) — a pattern of news engagement that results in preoccupation, dysregulation and disruption to daily functioning. In their 2022 study, the researchers found that 17 per cent of American adults qualified as having severe levels of PNC. Among that group, 61 per cent reported feeling unwell quite a bit or very much, compared with six per cent of those who didn’t.

For minority populations, news fatigue may be even more consequential.

Repeatedly witnessing harm directed at our own groups, even when we’re not the immediate target, can have a significant psychological impact on people from the same group affiliation. For racialized communities, such as immigrants, the cognitive load could be even heavier, and the option to simply stop watching is much harder to exercise when the news is about their country of origin.

Looking away is not the fix

What’s the solution to news fatigue? Well, it’s not avoidance. A democracy depends on informed citizens.

Many adults already cite the spread of misleading information as a major source of stress. Withdrawing from accurate, trustworthy information only deepens the problem. We’re wired to pay more attention to bad news, and that kind of content will find its way to us one way or another.

The fix is to manage the consumption and the sources.

Several approaches can help manage news fatigue and protect mental health. Containing news consumption to defined windows of time reduces the sense of being overwhelmed. Choosing depth over volume also matters: one carefully reported long-form article will inform you better than bursts of random, unreliable and emotionally loaded posts on Instagram.

There is also value in distinguishing between information and action — research on perceived control and stress consistently shows that the gap between awareness and agency is one of the strongest predictors of psychological distress. Identifying what you can actually do about what you read in the news, however small, regulates that response.

Finally, be wary of “rage bait” — intentionally provocative messages or content designed to boost engagement on social media platforms by eliciting negative reactions. Recognizing that certain content creators want to provoke rather than reflect reality creates useful cognitive distance.

The news will not become less “heavy.” But our relationship with it can become more deliberate. Our brains were not built for this scale of input. They were, however, built to learn to adapt.

Ali Jasemi, Lecturer, Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

#BookReview: Another Whimsical, Quirky Fantasy from Heather Fawcett

2026-07-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter, by Heather Fawcett (Del Rey)

I became a huge fan of Heather Fawcett on the first page of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies. What a glorious, romantic, silly, unexpected adventure those three books were! I picked up Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter with anticipation and was richly rewarded. Like Emily Wilde, this story brings together an unusual heroine (obsessed with saving every stray cat in 1930s Montreal) and a mysterious, wounded dark wizard (widely known to have almost caused the end of the world). In this world, like Emily’s, magic exists on the fringes of human society. Most uncomfortably so, for at the beginning of the story, a duel between two magicians resulted in the partial destruction of the building that Agnes has leased for her cat shelter, and she (and her irresistible sister, Elise) must find new quarters before winter storms sweep in. The only suitable place that will rent to her is the shop above the secret hideout of Havelock, the notorious “dark wizard” widely known to have almost brought about the apocalypse. Inevitably, they encounter each other…only to discover that he is allergic to her beloved cats.

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter is a delightful concoction of whimsy, dark secrets, grief, quirky characters, and cats. The cats, of course, have their own personalities and agendas. The magical system is fresh and interesting (and a little scary in its own right). Second chances are not only for rescue kitties.

Reprint: A Better Way To Clean a Reflecting Pool

2026-06-29T14:10:40.658-07:00

When your local reflecting pool or pond turns green with algae, don’t reach for chemicals – nature has better solutions

A National Park Service employee uses a vacuum to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 20, 2026. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Eric Palkovacs, University of California, Santa Cruz

When the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turned green with algae just days after a US$15 million renovation, the U.S. government scrambled for chemicals and expensive technical solutions to fix the iconic landmark.

Trying to kill algae with chemicals is a common response when community ponds or other water features go green. But as a scientist who studies freshwater ecology, I can tell you there are better solutions that cost far less, last longer and carry less risk of harm to pets and wildlife.

Rather than battling against nature, these alternatives work with nature for long-term solutions.

What went wrong on the National Mall

The algal bloom that turned the Reflecting Pool a vibrant green shouldn’t have been a surprise.

The pool is big, more than a third of a mile long and around 165 feet wide. But it’s shallow, meaning it warms up quickly in the sun. When it was repainted “American flag blue” during the renovations in spring 2026, the new color darkened the pool, and darker colors absorb more heat.

On top of those conditions, the pool was refilled with water from the nutrient-rich tidal basin of the Potomac River. The combination of warm water and nutrients created prime conditions for algae to bloom, turning the water pea soup green.

In addition to hydrogen peroxide and vacuums, the government ordered nanobubble ozone technology to break up the algae. The nanobubbler contract was for $1.7 million. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

As the national conversation over the Reflecting Pool shifts to political finger-pointing, an important environmental question deserves careful scrutiny: What is the best approach to maintain water quality in a case like this, whether for a national monument or a community water feature or pond?

Trying to chemically or mechanically remove algae can damage the structure of a water feature and may harm species in the water that could actually help solve the problem.

Importantly, chemical and mechanical solutions are only temporary fixes. When the Reflecting Pool is drained and filled again, there’s a good chance that algae will bloom again.

Natural algae control

Limnologists – scientists like me who study inland water bodies – have spent many decades learning why lakes and ponds turn green and how to clear them up.

Often, nutrient-rich waters fueled by fertilizer runoff from farm fields or sewage from cities are the sources that stimulate algal growth.

However, natural ponds also host grazing zooplankton, which eat algae. For example, a type of zooplankton called Daphnia, known as water fleas because of the way these tiny crustaceans swim, can control algae by consuming it before it becomes a pea soup nuisance. Thus, a thriving Daphnia population can help maintain good water quality in a lake, pond or community water feature, even when nutrient levels spike.

Daphnia are a genus of hundreds of species of tiny, see-through crustaceans that happen to be voracious algae eaters. A female Daphnia magna’s eggs are visible in this magnified image. Hajime Watanabe, PLoS Genetics, March 2011, CC BY

In addition to being highly effective grazers, Daphnia have another superpower – they can evolve rapidly. Urban waterbodies are often harsh environments with a variety of challenges, including high temperatures, low levels of dissolved oxygen, and pollutants. Daphnia can adapt to tough conditions, making these creatures an ideal source of algae control in many urban ponds.

Rooted aquatic plants are also useful for algae control in ponds because they absorb nutrients. Thus, shallow ponds with thick beds of aquatic plants can often resist algal blooms when nutrient levels rise.

Why draining might not be the best solution

One downside to draining and refilling a pond or urban water feature to try to clean it is that doing so resets the aquatic ecosystem, erasing the signature of any past evolution that has taken place.

Imagine Daphnia in a shallow pond that experiences periodic heat waves throughout the summer. Through repeated exposure to high temperatures, natural selection favors heat-resistant genotypes that can thrive in an urban pond.

Daphnia and other grazing zooplankton can also evolve resistance to some types of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, which produce compounds that are toxic to people and pets. Daphnia that evolve resistance to those toxins can help control harmful cyanobacterial blooms.

If a Daphnia population that evolved to tolerate warm temperatures, low oxygen levels or cyanotoxins is removed, the new population likely won’t be ready to handle those local challenges. This evolutionarily naive population will perform poorly in its new environment, reducing its effectiveness at controlling algal blooms.

As a result, traditional mechanical and chemical approaches may actually work against the goal of minimizing algae in ponds and other water features.

Nature-based solutions

The use of Daphnia to control algal blooms is just one example of solving environmental challenges with nature-based solutions.

Growing urban forests to provide cooling and improve air quality to help reduce the need for more energy-intensive air conditioning is another example. Maintaining urban wetlands can help reduce flooding, protect property and recharge groundwater more effectively and for less money than building and maintaining levees. Coastal marshes similarly reduce erosion, buffer storm surges and support fisheries.

All these urban ecosystems protect biodiversity and support human health and well-being.

From national landmarks to city parks and backyard ponds, projects of all sizes can take advantage of nature-based solutions. While each specific project is unique, some general principles apply.

Ecosystems are most resilient when they are diverse and connected. So, it is beneficial to use a variety of species and genotypes and provide corridors that support the movement of organisms and their beneficial genes.

Urban climates are changing rapidly, so it helps to use species and genotypes that will thrive under future conditions, including rising temperatures.

Not every solution has to be engineered

The hubbub over the Reflecting Pool holds a mirror up to assumptions about how to solve pressing environmental challenges. The idea of just engineering one’s way out of any environmental crisis has limits.

Understanding ecology and nature’s mechanisms of ecosystem resilience can achieve sustainable solutions that benefit both nature and people.

Eric Palkovacs, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Book Review: A Compassionate Hero

2026-06-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Wearing the Lion, by John Wiswell (DAW)

I requested an ARC of Wearing the Lion, by John Wiswell from NetGalley because I loved his novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a tour-de-force queer heart-story told by a murderous but ultimately sympathetic monster. Wearing the Lion is Wiswell’s retelling of the Hercules mythos, the title being a reference to the ferocious Nemean Lion, one of the “labors of Hercules.” It’s told in alternating points of view, primarily the goddess Hera and Hercules himself. The opening is awesome, every bit as captivating as Someone You Can Build a Nest In. Hera is anything but divine; she’s petty, spiteful, and thoughtless in how she uses her powers, so fuming mad at her “dipshit husband” (the ever-absent, ever-promiscuous Zeus) that she never gives a thought who might be hurt in the process of lashing out at him. Hercules is just the opposite—compassionate, sensitive, earnest, and devoted to his goddess and his family. By the time he encounters the Lion, I was thoroughly enchanted with him. What does he do, when tasked with conquering (aka, slaying) the beast? He cuddles the Lion until it purrs contentedly and falls asleep in his arms. (Yes, I know that lions can’t purr, but it’s superb storytelling.) What he does with the creatures from the subsequent tasks is equally unexpected and delightful. I love the message that heroism does not mean brutality; it can also be kindness and the ability to see into the heart and spirit of even a hideous creature.

As the story progressed, however, my sympathy for Hera plummeted as much as my admiration for Hercules increased. Her spitefulness and resentment of Hercules’s devotion lead to a horrible tragedy, one that all but breaks Hercules as all his trials could not. In a dawning moment of responsibility, Hera first tries to hide her part and then attempts to destroy Hercules before he can discover the truth. By this time, however, I disliked her so much, I did not care what happened to her and I absolutely did not want to spent another moment in her point of view. Ultimately, Wiswell weaves the two stories together into a tale of the families we create, a lofty goal. For me, however, the resolution came too little, too late. All I wanted was a time machine for Hercules to go back before his devastating losses or, failing that, for him to find true comfort, self-forgiveness, and healing.

I applaud Wiswell for tackling this story in such an ambitious and creative way, even if Hera’s part did not work for me. He’s a marvelous, wildly talented author worth reading. I look forward to his next.

Recommended, with trigger warning for violence against children

Book Review: Aliens Warp Reality

2026-06-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

A Hole in the Sky, by Daniel H. Wilson (Doubleday)

A Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson combines elements of thriller, horror, and first-contact science fiction. Something’s out there…it’s made contact with Voyager 1, out in the heliopause, the boundary where the interstellar medium and solar wind pressures balance each other…and a mysterious, infallible US intelligence predictive device issues a warning: “First contact imminent.” These are not cute, friendly aliens, nor are they hostile killers (a la Predator). The incoming object is able to warp time, space, and reality itself. Meanwhile, in the heartland of America, a Cherokee single father and his teen daughter rediscover ancient legends of powers protecting their people and the planet.

This book was a quintessential page-turner, a tale that kept me up way too late. While I don’t appreciate shock and gore for their own sake, I found these elements so well integrated into the story that the book would have seemed pallid without them. I enjoyed the characters, especially Jim Hardgray, the Cherokee whose viewpoint—from his indigenous beliefs to his position outside the super-secret military intelligence apparatus—enriches the story beyond its otherwise claustrophobic paranoia. For most of the book, I loved astrophysicist Dr. Mikayla Johnson, an autistic genius whose noise-canceling communication headphones morph from enabling her to manage sensory overload to melding with her brain. My only quibble with the book is her descent into delusions and then outright insanity. I appreciate seeing a character with autism portrayed as strong and competent, but it seemed too easy to show how her different perceptions transformed her into an extension and, hence, a pawn of the weird extra-terrestrial entity.

All in all, this fast-paced book engaged me with characters I cared about and an unrelenting buildup of Things Going Wrong. The author is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, as well as a former threat forecaster for the US Air Force.

Three Book Reviews from 2012

2026-06-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

I found this in my Draft folder from 2012. These books are still well worth reading. And if they qualify as "escapism," who among us does not need a bit of that these days?

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen. Gerritsen is one of my favorite thriller writers, along with Kathy Reichs. I loved studying anatomy, loved human dissection, and so all the forensic blood'n'guts adds to the fascination. Usually, the books are predictable in the sense of I know ahead of time what kind of reading experience I'll have -- police procedural, forensic pathology, a murder mystery with consistent suspense and smart, savvy female protagonists. Every once in a while, a book will rise about the usual, and this is one. The core is the friendship between cop Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, their belief in one another, their honesty and care. When Maura disappears after a medical conference and a badly burned body with her characteristics is discovered in a wrecked car, everyone concludes she's dead. Except Jane, who knows the body cannot possibly be Maura's because it wasn't wearing a seat belt. Noticing this kind of detail, and putting it together with Maura's obsessive safety habits is what makes Jane such a tenacious detective. It's a good thing, too, because Maura has stumbled into Nightmare-in-Jonestown. Woven in with the theme of friendship is that of loss -- of family, of a love affair, of hope, of safety. The ending was a surprise -- fair play but not at all what I expected -- but more than that, the resonant layers and fine touches stayed with me after I'd finished.

Due Date by Nancy Wood. This is a first published novel from a talented writer who received very poor editorial support from her publisher. The premise -- a down-on-her-luck student undertakes to become a surrogate mother, only to discover that the parents are baby brokers -- is interesting and refreshing, and the prose is smooth. (I also think it's a hoot that for the past few days, my Spam Box has been full of ads for surrogate mothers.) The characters are strongly drawn, with solid dialog. Yet although the overall story arc has a decent shape, the book feels flabby. The tension takes too long to escalate (for example, it isn't until very late in the book that we learn why selling babies is a horrific thing instead of an illegal way of giving them to loving parents who don't qualify for traditional adoption), too many details and incidents are unconnected or connected in the wrong way, and the protagonist appears either inappropriately suspicious or equally inappropriately gullible. I don't see these as faults of the author, but of a failure of editing. Even seasoned writers need that second pair of eyes, that professional perspective on how to pull it all together, to make every piece pull its weight at the right time in the right way. All the elements of a really good suspense novel are present, and as it is, Due Date offers an entertaining story with many strengths, worth reading. It could have been much more, and I'm hoping that future novels from Nancy Wood will do justice to her considerable potential.

The Glass Butterfly by Louise Marley. There's a special delight in picking up a new Louise Marley novel, akin to expecting the unexpected. Who else could write about Mozart's musical genius transmitted by a vampire's bite, or time travel to discover the mystery of Clara Schumann's passionate romance with Brahms? Music, as the jaded, time-worn vampires in Mozart's Blood know all too well, is the one joy that transcends the years, perhaps because it cannot exist outside of time.

Music, particularly the glorious operas of Puccini, is an abiding love of Victoria Lake, and the one thing she must renounce if her identity is to remain hidden as she goes on the run from a psychopathic killer. But music cannot be extricated from the soul, and Puccini's own life -- as seen through a servant girl -- soon begins unfolding in Victoria's dreams. It's never entirely clear whether this is a purely psychological phenomenon or whether there is some fantastical element, some bond or message across time. Are the lives of the two women parallel in the deadly risks they each face? Does music have the magical power to cross time as well as space? Or is this all happening in the highly-stressed mind of a woman who has already survived one attempted murder? It doesn't matter, because the metaphors and images and emotional responses are real, no matter how them come to us. Bottom line: an extraordinary book by a master storyteller. If you don't already love Puccini's operas, you will.

Book Review: A YA Stumbles

2026-06-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Abeni's Song, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor)

I requested an ARC of this book from NetGalley because I loved the author’s previous work. RING SHOUT and THE WAR OF THE DJINN engaged my imagination with compelling characters and gripping, freshly inventive stories. Alas, in my reading experience ABENI’S SONG fell far on all counts. It’s a YA fantasy set in a mythical African village and steeped in African folklore and customs. The first time I tried to read it, it was so tedious and slow-paced and its characters so stilted and bland that it regularly put me to sleep. Then I decided to give it another chance. I made it halfway through before I realized I was using one excuse after another to not read any further. All my previous problems were still there, plus more. I gave up halfway, at a point when I should have been eager to return to the story. Here’s a roundup of what didn’t work for me:

1. First and foremost, the kids lack agency and competence. At twelve, most children—especially those in traditional societies—already have a wide range of skills. They contribute to their communities at adult or near-adult levels. Here, they have few responsibilities, they consistently behave in ways that are disrespectful and irresponsible, and they are utterly helpless in the face of a threat to their village. One of the joys of contemporary YA novels for both young and adult readers is the resourcefulness of the young characters.

2. Abeni and some of her friends are annoying to the point that I lost all sympathy for them. Abeni, the viewpoint character, seems completely unaware, for example, of her mother’s fighting skill, something her mother would have practiced regularly to maintain. She’s a self-centered brat, and no one except the witch calls her on it.

3. Despite bursts of action, the pacing is excruciatingly slow. Material is repeated, adding to the already excessive length for a YA novel. There’s little sense of dramatic shape, and the tension dissipates in the long gaps between action scenes. I perked up during the attack on the village and its aftermath, only to have all the dramatic momentum evaporate.

4. The evil characters are two-dimensional, as if they woke up in the morning and went, “Evil! Evil! Rah-rah-rah!” This is in stark contrast to the nuanced complexity of the antagonists in Clark’s adult novels.

I am left wondering if this was either a trunk (early, unsuccessful) novel or an attempt at YA by someone who never reads it. The prose, annoyingly peppered with exclamation marks and juvenile (in the worst sense) worldview, is what one might expect if unfamiliar with the genre. All that said, I liked Clark’s adult novels enough to give future work a try and hope there will be more of them.

Reprint: Is My Brain Wired to Never See a Ghost?

2026-06-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Is my brain wired to never see a ghost? A psychologist on three factors that make a paranormal experience more likely

When you experience something that can’t easily be explained, do you think of the supernatural? Zeferli/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Melissa Maffeo, Wake Forest University

Around 1 in 5 Americans say they’ve seen a ghost. I’m not one of them, and I probably never will be. I blame my brain.

Let me explain. No one can say definitively that ghosts exist, but many people believe they do. Roughly three-quarters of Americans believe in some form of paranormal activity – not only ghosts, but psychic abilities, precognitive dreams, mediums and anything else that conventional explanations can’t account for.

As a psychology professor, I often think about the subjectivity people use when interpreting experiences. I wonder, then, if there are perfectly ordinary explanations for seemingly extraordinary experiences. Maybe a perfect storm of everyday factors can converge and trigger the sensation of a paranormal experience.

In my new book, “Science of the Supernatural,” I explore the idea that the human brain might be creating an experience of the supernatural by misinterpreting the external world. Here are three factors that might trick your brain into creating a fake ghost:

Haunted factor #1: Environmental stimuli

Anyone who’s ever watched a ghost hunting show has seen the paranormal investigator mutter something like “The EMF’s going crazy” when there’s purported supernatural activity afoot. Electromagnetic fields, or EMFs, are invisible areas of energy created by electrically charged particles.

At present, there is no direct evidence that humans can consciously sense EMF the same way we can touch, see or hear things in our environment. But with a handheld device purchased at a local hardware store, you can measure them anywhere. An EMF detector picks up electrical or magnetic activity, whether human-made or otherworldly. But do EMF fluctuations relate to paranormal activity?

The scientific method might help answer this question. In one study, conducted in the South Street vaults underneath Edinburgh, Scotland, EMFs fluctuated more in areas with a history of ghostly happenings. Another study found greater variability of EMFs in the more “haunted” areas of Hampton Court Palace in England.

People might unknowingly be detecting changes in environmental stimuli, like electromagnetic fields. The question then becomes: Did the ghost cause the EMF, or did the EMF cause the ghost?

To date, only one research group has attempted to experimentally manipulate environmental factors, including complex EMF, and measure subsequent perceptions of the paranormal.

Participants did report many peculiarities, ranging from feeling dizzy to feeling like they were detached from their bodies and even sensing a presence – but these experiences didn’t correspond to how the researchers varied environmental conditions, like EMF intensity. Interestingly, the people who described anomalous experiences were the same people who believed more strongly in the paranormal.

Do environmental factors like EMF lead to perceptions of the paranormal? On the one hand, there is a correlation between reportedly haunted places and EMF variability. And there are some indications that humans can detect magnetism. On the other hand, experimental manipulation of EMF did not relate to weird perceptions in a lab setting.

I think we need to look into other haunted factors.

Haunted factor #2: Neurological mix-ups

By applying a small electrical current to the side of the head, usually to evaluate a patient for a clinical procedure, researchers have observed some strange effects. One case study described a patient who experienced an “illusory shadow figure” that was mimicking, and even interfering, with their movements. Other people have reported out-of-body experiences.

The temporoparietal junction is on each side of the brain; this region helps you feel that you are within your own body. John A Beal/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Experimental evidence suggests that this brain area, the temporoparietal junction, is probably crucial for the feeling of embodiment – that you inhabit your own body. Disrupting this brain area seems to trigger a sensation of disembodiment.

Neuroscientists aren’t completely sure how the sense of embodiment is built in the brain. The brain probably integrates bodily senses, like balance and position, with other internal processes, like a sense of self and agency. When this integration is altered, a person will experience very strange sensations.

Sometimes, misinterpretation of sensations from the body can happen during sleep, when your brain shuts out the external world. During rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep, when most vivid dreams occur, the brain sends messages that prevent movement of skeletal muscles. This inhibition causes complete paralysis during REM sleep. It is a neurological safeguard; without it, you would be likely to act out your dreams.

Mixed-up sensory input during sleep paralysis can lead to the perception of an out-of-body experience. Ralf Nau/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Some people, though, wake up during REM sleep and find that they cannot move. They may simultaneously experience rich hallucinations – the remnants of their dream. This experience passes quickly. But in that moment of sleep paralysis, the neural signals that control skeletal muscle movement are inhibited, resulting in a mismatch of feedback from the body to the brain. Most people respond to the missing sensory information with fear, which makes them more likely to experience the sights and sounds from their dreams as reality.

Haunted factor #3: Personality traits

Living through a paranormal encounter requires that a person label their experience as such. If a believer were exposed to fluctuating EMFs, for example, they might be quick to categorize the strange sensation as paranormal. A skeptic might note they felt weird or off, but probably not point to a paranormal explanation.

There’s a growing body of research that suggests people with certain personality traits are more likely to believe in the paranormal.

For instance, some people are hyperaware of unconscious perceptions and ideas, which then permeate their consciousness. Often, these traits are associated with magical thinking, distorted or unusual thoughts, disorganized behavior and, sometimes, trouble forming close relationships.

Psychologists refer to this set of traits as schizotypy. They’re related to schizophrenia, although being high in schizotypy doesn’t mean you will be diagnosed with the disorder of schizophrenia. People with high levels of schizotypy are more likely to believe in the paranormal. They’re also more likely to experience disembodiment and spontaneous sensory perceptions and have trouble discriminating between self and others.

All of these traits relate to the function of the temporoparietal junction – the brain area that helps you know you’re located within your own body.

A perfect storm of factors can make a ghost seem like the only explanation. urbazon/E+ via Getty Images

When haunted factors add up to a ghost

While I cannot say for sure whether ghosts exist, I can propose a plausible explanation for why some people might be more prone to apparent paranormal experiences than others.

Consider a person who believes in paranormal phenomena who experiences a natural change in electromagnetic fields or an episode of sleep paralysis. Those experiences induce unusual sensations that this person cannot explain. Searching for meaning in ambiguity, this person distorts their distinction between internally and externally generated sensations. They settle on the only explanation that makes sense to them – that this strange feeling they experienced was a ghost.

My guess is that belief in the paranormal is the glue that holds the haunted factors together to create the (mis)perception of a ghost.

One experiment asked participants to walk through a disused theater in Decatur, Illinois. Some were told that the theater was haunted, and some were not. Several participants noted weird sensations that they attributed to paranormal activity – but only those who believed that the theater was haunted reported these sensations.

Belief alone might not create a ghost, but belief combined with at least one haunted factor – environmental stimuli, neurological hiccups or psychological conditions – might be enough to make a ghost real.

This becomes a chicken-or-the-egg riddle – or in this case, the ghost or the EMF. Someone who is more likely to be sensitive to environmental factors or who experiences sleep paralysis might create belief from their experiences. When someone cannot explain these experiences with any “natural” explanation, a supernatural explanation might be the only one that makes sense.

I’ve never noticed EMF. I’ve never experienced sleep paralysis. I’m pretty sure I don’t have personality traits like schizotypy. I don’t believe in the paranormal. And I don’t think I’ll ever see a ghost.

Melissa Maffeo, Teaching Professor of Psychology, Wake Forest University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Kindness, Fishtanks, and Getting Banned - June's Newsletter is Here!

2026-06-03T13:56:28.549-07:00

Kindness, Fishtanks, and Getting Banned by Facebook!

I just sent out my newsletter for June 2026! Among other things, it's the story of how my cat, Freya, rescued me from being kicked off Facebook. It also features Freya in her very own action-adventure film as she stalks the Denizens of the Fishtank.

You can read the whole thing here:

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