From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Jake Haselswerdt, University of Michigan.

The summer employment rate for U.S. teens held steady at around 50% from 1950 to 2000, but began to decline dramatically in the 21st century. By 2009, it had fallen below 33% for those ages 16 to 19.

The fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in August 2014, and the subsequent protests and police actions, has prompted an outpouring of analysis and opinion about the issue of race in America, as well as law enforcement behavior.

From health care reform and global warming to marijuana legalization and same-sex marriage, voters are increasingly polarized, particularly along partisan lines. In this context, the level of fragmentation in the media landscape is assumed to be an important explanation for this polarization.