In The Listeners, Brian Hochman Details History of Eavesdropping
Wiretapping and eavesdropping used to be the norm. Perhaps privacy was always an illusion after all.
Culture
World Food Supplies Are Enough To Feed Everyone
But despotic brutality is once again pushing millions to the brink of starvation.
Stellar Casting Elevates Boomer Spy Thriller The Old Man
This chilling cat-and-mouse hunt between Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow is worth your attention.
Review: Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System
M. Chris Fabricant's new book details how flawed techniques have led to numerous wrongful convictions.
Review: Apollo 10 1/2
The new movie offers a funny nod both to NASA's glitch-prone engineering and its can-do spirit
50 Years Later, the Motive Behind Watergate Remains Clouded
Despite the abundance of transcripts, FBI reports, and memoirs from those involved, we still know more about the cover-up than we do about the infamous political scandal.
Is Twitter-Famous Princeton Historian Kevin Kruse a Plagiarist?
His 2000 thesis on civil-rights-era Atlanta lifts passages from other people's work.
Diablo Immortal and the Paternalistic Futility of Video Game Loot-Box Bans
The game won't be playable in Belgium or the Netherlands thanks to local gambling laws.
Zap Comix Were Never for Kids
Disreputable and censored comix improbably brought the art form from the gutter to the museums.
Cancel Culture Deprives Brooklynites of Understanding How Putin Uses Food as a Political Weapon
When the Bushwick bar Honey's tried to host a “Russia, Ukraine, and Food" talk with food writer and academic Darra Goldstein, the angry mob shut them down.
Jurassic World Dominion Is a Sad, Desperate Nostalgia Trip
The original Jurassic Park is the best summer movie ever. The latest sequel just wants to remind you the original exists.
Dark Winds Brings Tony Hillerman's Navajo Tribal Police Mysteries to the Small Screen
Novel series gets six-episode launch on AMC.
Review: The Dropout
Hulu's limited TV series on Elizabeth Holmes shows how regulators failed to catch massive, dangerous medical fraud.
Review: Winning Time
The absurdly enjoyable TV drama shows how managers transformed the NBA in the 1980s.
Do We Really Need the Federal Government To Tell Us What Milk Is?
Everybody knows what almond, oat, and soy milk are. We don’t need the FDA’s intervention, no matter what the dairy lobby claims.
The Somin Family's D-Day
June 6 is not only the anniversary of D-Day, but also of the Somin family's arrival in America, back in 1979. This post reprints my reflections on that milestone, which I hope remain relevant today.
"He Is Right Who Is Defending His Home"
"Our generation always understood each other without borders and passports / There, where we sang about friendship, today people dream only of complete revenge / All that normal people built over the years—all is obliterated."
Former New York Times Reporter Denies in New Book That Hugo Chávez Was a Socialist
A new book vividly portrays human beings coping with daily existence in a disintegrating society but offers an incoherent analysis of what went wrong.
New York City Sued Over Illegal Foie Gras Ban
Hudson Valley foie gras producers are not taking New York City's guff sitting down.
Ohio Lawmakers Want To Subject Female Athletes to Genital Inspections
There’s reportedly only one trans female athlete competing in the state, but this sports ban can be used to harass cis girls as well.
HBO's Wild Irma Vep Adaptation Skewers Modern Films
Just don’t expect a whole lot of plot coherence.
David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future Is a Gross-Out Sci-Fi Film About Bodily Autonomy
Disturbing, eerie, and strangely relevant, it's a return to form for the Canadian horror master.
Review: My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
The political podcast uses relevant history to contextualize controversial current events.
Review: SKIMS
If you've detected increased sexiness in the atmosphere, you can thank Kim Kardashian and her lingerie brand SKIMS.
Secret City Recounts the Gay History of D.C.
In his new book, James Kirchick focuses on homosexuals' relationship with national politics during a time when gays were banned from working for the federal government.
Destroying Islamic Fundamentalism With Books
Ideas Beyond Borders is bringing ideas about pluralism, civil liberties, and critical thinking to hotbeds of Islamic extremism.
A Maine Couple Is Suing the State for the Right To Hunt on Sundays
The Parkers filed their lawsuit under Maine’s new ‘right-to-food’ constitutional amendment.
Book Review: The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
Early cities' concentrated populations and burgeoning scale didn't spontaneously summon pharaonic god-kings or bureaucrats.
David E. Kelley Brings Legal Thriller The Lincoln Lawyer to Netflix
Adaptation of Michael Connelly’s book series is punchy, clever, and entertaining.
How a Baseball Non-Fight Illustrates Our Weird Journalistic Discourse on Racism
White player suspended for calling black player "Jackie"; many journalists conclude that the player (and Yankees fans!) are racist.
Netflix Airs Ricky Gervais' Controversial Standup, Chooses Actual Entertaining Over Woke Pandering
"The platform's choice to release this special now, during a wave of unprecedented anti-trans legislation, is unconscionable," according to Vox.
A Plague of Policymakers Returns Hunger to the World
Lockdowns, trade disputes, and warfare make the next meal once again a matter of concern.
Review: Raccoon Tycoon
Unlike in Catan, the value of your wheat, wood, iron, coal, manufactured goods, and luxuries will fluctuate depending on what has recently been bought and sold in the game's marketplace.
The Slaughter-Free Future of Cultured Meats
Real factories are beginning to replace factory farms.
NPR Tries To Cancel Stoner Metal Legend Matt Pike
An exhaustive profile of the Sleep and High on Fire frontman focuses almost entirely on his "dangerous" affinity for David Icke's lizard people conspiracy theories.
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, Melissa Chen: Bringing Enlightenment Values to the Middle East
The co-founders of Ideas Beyond Borders talk about bringing Steven Pinker and John Stuart Mill to an audience dying for them.
Reason Is a Finalist for 8 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominated stories cover minor league baseball, drug tests, and L.A.’s plan for ending homelessness
Civilization Runs on Ammonia, Plastic, Steel, and Cement—for Now
Vaclav Smil’s How the World Really Works offers hope and despair for techno-optimists.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Demonstrate How Not To Handle a #MeToo Case
The torturous trial calls to mind Title IX investigations on college campuses.
Agnieszka Pilat: 'I Didn't Realize People Still Think Socialism Is a Good Idea.'
The Polish-born artist is creating "heroic portraits" of machines and defending individualism and creative expression in Silicon Valley.
