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 readOct 30, 2026

Gas prices have surged amid the Iran conflict, but adjusted for inflation and wages, 2008 was costlier.

short readNov 2, 2026

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, 2025. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

short readOct 26, 2026

Voters pose with props outside a polling location in Austin, Texas in 2026. (Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

short readOct 21, 2026

short readsSep 27, 2013

Majority of online Americans ‘Google themselves’

Today marks Google’s 15th birthday, which has prompted many users to reflect on what it was like to use the search engine circa 1998. We took the opportunity to look back at Americans’ habits to “Google themselves” during the first decade of the search engine’s life and found that, after an initial increase, the activity […]
short readsSep 27, 2013

U.S. stands out as among the least concerned about climate change

China and the U.S., the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, are among the least worried about climate change.
short readsSep 27, 2013

Lessons from the last government shutdown

The 1995-1996 government shutdowns didn’t help the GOP’s image, but the party had lost support among the public well before they happened.
short readsSep 27, 2013

Chart of the Week: The bipartisan federal debt limit

Raising the federal debt limit has given both Republicans and Democrats, in Congress and the White House, fits for decades.
short readsSep 27, 2013

Child labor is declining but still common in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia

The International Labor Organization estimates there are 168 million child laborers worldwide, a third fewer than in 2000.
short readsSep 26, 2013

Powered by oil and gas, U.S. energy production is on the rise

U.S. domestic energy production is rising — up 13.9% from 2005 to 2012, and on track to rise even more this year.
short readsSep 26, 2013

Household wealth has yet to recover

Until the housing market and home equity levels fully recover, the typical American household still has a ways to go.
short readsSep 26, 2013

Republicans divided on impact of shutdown, willingness to compromise

The share of Tea Party Republicans who say the economic effect of a government shutdown will be major is 21 points lower than others in the GOP.
short readsSep 25, 2013

At 42 months and counting, current job “recovery” is slowest since Truman was president

42 months after U.S. payrolls bottomed out, the economy still hasn’t recovered all 8.7 million jobs wiped out in the Great Recession — the longest and slowest recovery in the postwar era.
short readsSep 25, 2013

Study: Awards may stifle future achievements, at least in math

Do prizes result in more brilliant work from the world’s best and brightest? Apparently not, at least in mathematics.

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Short Reads

Gas Prices Are High Now, but for Many Americans They Were Even Higher in the Past

Majorities in Both Parties Say Media Criticism Keeps Politicians in Check

Why Is Election Day on a Tuesday in the U.S., and How Many Other Countries Have Weekday Elections?

Pace of Trump’s Judicial Appointments Has Slowed in His Second Term

Majority of online Americans ‘Google themselves’

U.S. stands out as among the least concerned about climate change

Lessons from the last government shutdown

Chart of the Week: The bipartisan federal debt limit

Child labor is declining but still common in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia

Powered by oil and gas, U.S. energy production is on the rise

Household wealth has yet to recover

Republicans divided on impact of shutdown, willingness to compromise

Short Reads

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