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Welcome to the Saturday edition of The Conversation U.S.’s Daily newsletter.
The Winter Olympics just opened in the Italian Alps, and you’ll be seeing a lot of skiers racing down bright white slopes and flying through the air off ski jumps. Years ago, Olympic races had plenty of fresh snow, but as snowfall becomes less reliable, skiers are racing more and more often on machine-made snow – and it doesn’t feel the same.
Agnes Macy knows. She’s a former competitive skier now studying geography and changing winters at the University of Colorado. Macy and three cross-country skiers who are competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics joined Colorado snow scientist Keith Musselman to explain in our lead story why racing on machine-made snow is faster and riskier.
It’s a fascinating look at the challenges racers are experiencing that aren’t obvious on camera, as well as the science behind the Winter Olympics.
This week we also liked articles about how Bad Bunny’s halftime performance ties into the NFL’s goal of gaining fans in Latin America, what’s wrong with alluding to “domestic terrorism” before getting all the facts, and why old religious songs often ring out at protests.
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U.S. skier Rosie Brennan leads a group during the women’s team sprint classic cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
AP Photo/Aaron Favila
Keith Musselman, University of Colorado Boulder; Agnes Macy, University of Colorado Boulder
US Olympic skiers and scientists explain the sharp differences between natural snow and machine-made snow, from the science to the rising risk of crashes.
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Bad Bunny performs on stage on Dec. 11, 2025, in Mexico City, Mexico.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Jared Bahir Browsh, University of Colorado Boulder
Reggaeton star’s comments on ICE have added to a conservative backlash to NFL’s choice of entertainment. But his appeal in Latin America is seen as a big plus.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initially said Alex Pretti committed an ‘act of domestic terrorism’ before saying later that ‘we were using the best information we had at the time.’
Al Drago/Getty Image
Brian O'Neill, Georgia Institute of Technology
A ‘domestic terrorism’ label that comes before the facts teaches the public to treat the term as propaganda rather than factual diagnosis.
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David W. Stowe, Michigan State University
Clergy demonstrating against ICE in Minneapolis have turned to classic ‘freedom songs’ – the music associated with protests ever since the Civil Rights Movement.
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Cara Ocobock, University of Notre Dame; Gabriel R. Burks, University of Notre Dame
While physical exertion helps athletes stay warm, sweating can lead to dehydration.
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Mary Magnuson, The Conversation
Athletes will use physics concepts such as friction and lift to their advantage on the world stage in the 2026 Olympic Games.
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