Trump Should Have Tried To Get Congressional Authorization If He Wanted To Strike Venezuela and Capture Maduro
The strikes against Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro might be popular or defensible. They were not legal.
Why America's Inequality Story Doesn't Add Up
Taxes, benefits, and household data make America look more unequal than it is.
The DOJ Thinks Cocaine Couriers Are Not Worth Prosecuting. Trump Thinks They Deserve To Die.
Even as the president blows up drug boats, the government routinely declines to pursue charges against smugglers nabbed by the Coast Guard.
Zohran Mamdani Can't Ruin New York City
Mayors come and go, but New York City remains fundamentally itself.
Latest
Donald Trump Says the U.S. Will 'Run' Venezuela After Maduro's Ouster
When asked who would be in charge, Trump said: “We’re designating those people.”
A Socialist Swearing In
Plus: the limits of Zohran Mamdani's ability to ruin New York, Trump's National Guard withdrawal, and a deadly New Year's blaze in Switzerland
Will Zohran Mamdani Defund New York City Police?
The new mayor is keeping Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on the job, but they might have a contentious relationship.
3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
Podcast
The Politics of Permanent Outrage
Lauren Hall looks at the roots of political tribalism, why voters feel trapped between false choices, and how radical moderation offers a way out of constant polarization.
Why Mitt Romney's Call To Tax the Rich Falls Apart
Yes, the status quo is unsustainable. But Romney's proposed solution risks making those problems harder to fix while foreclosing opportunities for the next generation.
Betty Boop Enters the Public Domain, but Only as a Dog
The cartoon's bizarre saga illustrates what's wrong with modern copyright law.
Did Brett Kavanaugh Just Apologize for Butchering the Fourth Amendment? Maybe.
Puzzling over a curious omission from the conservative justice.
NYC Schools Are Losing Students and Burning Cash. Mamdani Could Make the Situation Worse.
New York schools need more choice and better curricula, but the city's new mayor wants to take choices away.
'Affordability' Politics Is a Major Opening for the Free Market Message in the New Year
The socialists of both parties want things to cost less. Only free markets can make that so.
If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
The Big Lesson of the 2020s? Don't Ignore the Economists.
From COVID-19 lockdowns to Biden's inflation and Trump's tariffs, bad things have happened when economics are sidelined in policymaking.
Study: Short-Form Video Isn't Rotting Your Brain
A recent meta-analysis concerning short-form video, mental health, and attention spawned a lot of tech panic. Did critics even read the study?
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Says REAL ID, Which DHS Certifies, Is Too Unreliable To Confirm U.S. Citizenship
It's the punch line to a bad joke that started 20 years ago when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.
With Eddington, Hollywood Finally Starts To Reckon With the Madness of 2020
Ari Aster’s pandemic satire is the movie of the year.
Trump Bars 5 Europeans From the U.S. Over Their Censorship Efforts
Creeping authoritarianism in the European Union gets pushback from an administration that has its own rocky relationship with free speech.
The Real Reason Golden Ages Collapse—and How the U.S. Can Avoid It
Past societies tried to regulate their way to stability. But it came at a great cost.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
The Minnesota Welfare Fraud Story Is Really About a Broken Medicaid Bureaucracy
Federal Medicaid policy creates little incentive for states to stop potential fraudsters. Fixing that should be the priority, not demonizing Somali immigrants.
The Politics of Permanent Outrage
Lauren Hall looks at the roots of political tribalism, why voters feel trapped between false choices, and how radical moderation offers a way out of constant polarization.
Unlearning History
Three decades after Massachusetts ended its disastrous experiment with rent control, voters are considering giving the policy another shot.
February/March 2026
Magazine
Mamdani Can't Ruin New York
Mayors come and go, but New York City remains fundamentally itself.
