Short Reads

Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

short readAug 6, 2026

Darline Graham, accompanied by her husband, Larry Nordone, is sworn in as U.S. senator by Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley of Iowa on July 14. Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster following the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The U.S. Senate has had 43 appointed members since 1990, and 27 of them (63%) have run to keep their seat.

short readAug 3, 2026

A kindergarten teacher at Ridgetop Elementary School in Austin, Texas, instructs students in Spanish. (Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

short readJul 28, 2026

Visitors view the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2025. (Tom Brenner for the Washington Post via Getty Images)

short readJul 23, 2026

An AI sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July 2024. (Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

short readsMar 25, 2014

After Hobby Lobby, a nonprofit legal challenge to the contraception requirement

Even though the two cases heard by the Supreme Court involve for-profit businesses, the rulings in Hobby Lobby and Conestoga on the contraceptive requirement could impact subsequent cases involving nonprofits like Little Sisters of the Poor.
short readsMar 25, 2014

Data Feed: Catholic voting, March consumer confidence, low-wage workers, geography of smoking

A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
short readsMar 24, 2014

Data Feed: GOP picked to take Senate, mortgage tax breaks favor the rich, no pay for NCAA athletes

A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
short readsMar 24, 2014

Census Bureau explores new Middle East/North Africa ethnic category

Organizations representing people of Middle Eastern and North African descent are asking the Census Bureau to add a new ethnic category for them on forms, and it is one of the changes the bureau is exploring.
short readsMar 24, 2014

5 questions about the Hobby Lobby case and contraceptive coverage

A Q & A about the two related cases that will be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday involving a challenge to regulations in the Affordable Care Act requiring many employers to include free coverage of contraceptive services in their employees’ health insurance plans.
short readsMar 21, 2014

Data Feed: City/country political divide, long-term unemployment, educational inequality

A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
short readsMar 21, 2014

Chart of the Week: Do firefighters or musicians have richer parents?

How people’s incomes and jobs as adults compare with the households they grew up in.
short readsMar 20, 2014

What happens to the internet after the U.S. hands off ICANN to others?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a multinational organization that oversees the address book of the internet thanks to a contract issued by the U.S. government. What happens when this contract expires in September 2015?
short readsMar 20, 2014

Data Feed: Federal drug prosecutions, American coal exports, social trust, partisan media effects

A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
short readsMar 20, 2014

Even before Ukraine crisis, views of Putin had grown more negative in U.S., Europe

Vladimir Putin’s third term as Russia’s president had already been marked by clear signs of his intention to reassert his country as a world power before his move to annex Crimea. But whatever impact the latest events have on international opinion about Putin, views about him in the U.S. and allied countries had already turned negative compared to his first took office in 2000.

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Short Reads

Most U.S. senators appointed since 1990 have run to keep their seat – and most have won

What do Americans think about language learning in U.S. schools?

Most Americans favor big changes to the political system that likely would require amending the Constitution

What Americans think about the global AI race

After Hobby Lobby, a nonprofit legal challenge to the contraception requirement

Data Feed: Catholic voting, March consumer confidence, low-wage workers, geography of smoking

Data Feed: GOP picked to take Senate, mortgage tax breaks favor the rich, no pay for NCAA athletes

Census Bureau explores new Middle East/North Africa ethnic category

5 questions about the Hobby Lobby case and contraceptive coverage

Data Feed: City/country political divide, long-term unemployment, educational inequality

Chart of the Week: Do firefighters or musicians have richer parents?

What happens to the internet after the U.S. hands off ICANN to others?

Data Feed: Federal drug prosecutions, American coal exports, social trust, partisan media effects

Even before Ukraine crisis, views of Putin had grown more negative in U.S., Europe

Short Reads

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