Society, Law & Politics

Scholar highlights the Venezuela-Cuba connection

Megan M Rogers — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:06:12 +0000

Scholar highlights the Venezuela-Cuba connection Megan M Rogers Fri, 01/23/2026 - 13:06

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

The two countries have developed deep ties over the past two decades, but it's unclear what impact recent actions by the United States against Venezuela will have on Havana's government, CU ��ý�� Latin America researcher Jen Triplett says.

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Flashpoint: Taiwan

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:59:36 +0000

Flashpoint: Taiwan Megan M Rogers Thu, 01/22/2026 - 12:59

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

In a new book, CU ��ý�� political scientist Steve Chan highlights the dangers of a Sino-United States war over Taiwan and why the Chinese believe time is on their side in their goal for reunification.

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Scholar explores fantasy of law in an empire of violence

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:44:31 +0000

Scholar explores fantasy of law in an empire of violence Megan M Rogers Wed, 01/14/2026 - 07:44

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

In a new book, CU ��ý�� classics professor Zach Herz focuses on the law, the bureaucrat and the Roman Empire.

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CIRES research reconstructs ancient Indus River flow to understand a disappeared civilization

Megan M Rogers — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:20:44 +0000

CIRES research reconstructs ancient Indus River flow to understand a disappeared civilization Megan M Rogers Tue, 12/16/2025 - 13:20

CIRES

Research co-authored by Balaji Ragagopalan of CIRES helped identify hydrologic records that are key to understanding a disappeared civilization.

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Code Reddit: How community guidelines, moderation can impede internet incivility

Megan M Rogers — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:30:51 +0000

Code Reddit: How community guidelines, moderation can impede internet incivility Megan M Rogers Mon, 12/15/2025 - 11:30

College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

A new paper finds subreddits with clearly defined rules and active volunteer moderators do well at limiting incivility and encouraging expression.

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As community spaces disappear, research warns of health, equity risks

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:18:58 +0000

As community spaces disappear, research warns of health, equity risks Megan M Rogers Thu, 12/11/2025 - 09:18

New CU ��ý�� research reveals that the closing of third places across the United States is a growing social and public health concern, especially for underrepresented communities.

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Rosa Parks: 70 years beyond the bus seat—a lifetime of activism

Megan M Rogers — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:04:51 +0000

Rosa Parks: 70 years beyond the bus seat—a lifetime of activism Megan M Rogers Tue, 12/02/2025 - 09:04

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

CU ��ý�� historian Ashleigh Lawrence-Sanders delineates misperceptions surrounding "the mother of the Civil Rights Movement" and the Montgomery Bus Boycott while highlighting Parks' enduring legacy.

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CU ��ý�� launches research initiative with Israeli and German partners

Megan M Rogers — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:41:07 +0000

CU ��ý�� launches research initiative with Israeli and German partners Megan M Rogers Mon, 11/24/2025 - 12:41

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

Collaboration between the Department of History, Open University of Israel and Berlin's Center for Research on Antisemitism brings scholars and graduate students together in joint research.

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CUriosity: Why do so many people watch football on Thanksgiving?

Daniel William Strain — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:54:26 +0000

CUriosity: Why do so many people watch football on Thanksgiving? Daniel William… Wed, 11/19/2025 - 07:54

Lisa Marshall

In CUriosity, experts across the CU ��ý�� campus answer questions about humans, our planet and the universe beyond.

This week, Jared Bahir Browsh, assistant teaching professor and director of the Critical Sports Studies Program at CU ��ý��, explains the historical and social roots behind the Thanksgiving football tradition.

Georgia Tech and Auburn face off on Thanksgiving Day in 1921. (Credit: Public Domain photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Think of Thanksgivings past, and you might conjure memories of family gathered around the table, the Macy’s parade playing in the background, and the smell of turkey and pumpkin pie.

Jared Bahir Browsh remembers the games.

There was the notorious 2012 “butt fumble” when New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez collided head first with the rear end of his teammate and dropped the ball, allowing the New England Patriots to run it in for the touchdown. And the time in 1999 when Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders (a.k.a. Coach Prime now) caught two interceptions to help defeat the Miami Dolphins.

One year, Browsh, who spends the holidays in his hometown of Philadelphia, skipped the turkey altogether when his uncle got the family last-minute tickets to an Eagles game.

“We all kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We don’t care about the dinner. Let’s go,’” recalls Browsh, clad head-to-toe in green-and white Eagles gear as he stands in Folsom Field for an interview. “In our family, Thanksgiving and football are synonymous.”

They’re not alone. According to the NFL, a record 141 million people watched Thanksgiving football on TV in 2024, making it the highest Thanksgiving Day viewership on record.

That doesn’t surprise Browsh, a teaching professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies who studies the social and economic impact of sports. He views Thanksgiving football as not only a rich tradition dating back 150 years but also as a potent cultural touch point that can unite people, even in the most divided times.

“Family dynamics can create tension on Thanksgiving sometimes, but football provides this shared cultural experience that crosses age, gender, religion and political affiliation,” he says. “We don’t have many of those experiences anymore.”

As Browsh notes, Thanksgiving itself was established to promote unity, and football came along around the same time.

President Abraham Lincoln founded the federal holiday in 1863 to promote peace between Northerners and Southerners during the bloody Civil War.

Six years later, on Nov. 6, 1869, Princeton and Rutgers faced off for the first official American football game. Just 11 days later in Philadelphia, the Young America Cricket Club and Germantown Cricket Club played the first Thanksgiving football game on record.

Previously in CUriosity

What can horror films teach us about society?

Or read more CUriosity stories here

In the years before the 1920 establishment of the NFL, high school, club, and college teams routinely closed out their seasons on Thanksgiving Day, with communities packing into the stands to display their shared pride.

Thanksgiving football first hit the national airwaves in 1934 when listeners huddled around the radio to hear a new NFL franchise, the Detroit Lions, face off against the Chicago Bears.
In 1953, the Lions made history again—hosting the first nationally televised Thanksgiving game.

“People said football would never work on TV, because the lighting was uncertain and it was more of an in-person experience,” says Browsh.

Since 1966, the Dallas Cowboys have hosted a nationally televised Thanksgiving game every year but two, a tradition that Browsh says has helped the team clinch its reputation as “America’s Team.”

The Lions have also hosted a game every Thanksgiving, although some critics called for that privilege to be revoked during the team’s disastrous 0-16 2008 season. The NFL sided with tradition, the game went on, and the Lions lost 47-10.

Today, in addition to the Cowboys and Lions games, other teams vie for a coveted third game in the evening.

Tens of millions look on as they dish up seconds. And in the days to follow, they bask in the victory or lament the loss of their team in grocery store lines, office break rooms and group chats.

“In this oversaturated media environment, we have fewer and fewer shared movies or other forms of media to bring us together,” says Browsh. “But we still have football.”

Politics and other touchy topics can divide families on Thanksgiving, but football often unites people from across society, says Jared Bahir Browsh.

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John Oliver segment on public media gets major assist from CMDI

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:19:36 +0000

John Oliver segment on public media gets major assist from CMDI Megan M Rogers Wed, 11/19/2025 - 07:19

College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

When Last Week Tonight wanted to talk about cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, its researchers called communication historian Josh Shepperd.

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