The Real Reason Beef Costs More: Fewer Cows, Not Corporate Greed
Donald Trump and Peter Navarro are blaming meatpackers for hiking beef prices, but Agriculture Department data tell a different story.
Culture
The Real Reason You Pay for NFL Stadiums
Economist J.C. Bradbury breaks down why taxpayer-funded stadiums are a bad idea, how team owners market them to politicians, and why another stadium building boom may be coming.
It's OK To Use Sports as an Escape From Politics
We don’t have to treat everything as political, even if politics has a meddlesome hand in everything.
Embarrassed by Leaks, Feds Raid Washington Post Journalist's Home
Agents seized devices and data but already had what they needed to prosecute the leaker.
Ken Levine on BioShock, Ayn Rand, and Libertarianism
"What does completely, completely unregulated commerce look like?" Ken Levine's Bioshock will tell you.
The Trump Administration Plans To Deport Iranians Amid Deadly Crackdown in Iran
With thousands of people dead in Iran, the Trump administration still plans to go ahead with a deportation flight as early as this weekend.
The Rip Is a Just-OK Miami Cop Thriller That's Really About Netflix
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play Florida police officers who stumble into a giant cash stash.
Review: A Hit Country Song Made by AI
Should it matter whether a song was made by a human or a machine?
Josh Shapiro Goes to War With Kamala Harris
Plus: Why apologize for hating on Jasmine Crockett?
The Real Reason Flying Feels Worse Today
The big lesson from the past 50 years of American air travel is that the aesthetics matter a lot less than the economics.
Flying Is Better Than in the Good Old Days, No Matter How Luxurious Those Old Photos Look
The big lesson from the past 50 years of American air travel is that the aesthetics matter a lot less than the economics.
The New Dietary Guidelines Are a Warning About State-Run Grocery Stores
If progressives distrust Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vision of healthy eating, they should rethink giving the government control over grocery aisles.
Trump's Immigration Crackdown Threatens What Makes Sports Great
It’s not just the World Cup and the Olympics—baseball, basketball, and other sports are getting hit too.
Trump's 'Great Healthcare Plan' Has Promise but Should Add More Freedom for Americans
Empowering patients is good. Let’s give them a lot more choice and independence.
How the FCC Became the Speech Police
The constitutionally anomalous status of broadcasting invites government meddling.
She Let Her 6-Year-Old Ride to the Park Alone. Georgia Called It Neglect.
Despite a new state law protecting childhood independence, child welfare officials accused these Atlanta parents of neglect—and put their family under surveillance.
Trump's Push To Restore 'Truth and Sanity in American History' Tests Nonpartisan Institutions
Politically-motivated firings and increased executive branch scrutiny set “a dangerous precedent,” warns a former archivist of the United States.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Delivers Anarchy in the U.K., Again
A zombie movie where mystical evil turns out to be a blonde guy named Jimmy.
Review: D.C.'s $500 Million Shrine to Capitalism
The new Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C., sidesteps its founder's complicated history.
Eyes on Gorsuch as SCOTUS Weighs Transgender Student Athlete Bans
Plus: Still waiting on the tariffs case.
Brett Kavanaugh Is Rightly Skeptical of a Nationwide Ruling on Trans Athletes
State lawmakers should be more skeptical of overly broad laws, too.
Florida Governor Candidate Proposes 50 Percent Tax on OnlyFans Creator Revenue
"I will not allow a generation of smart and capable young women to sell their bodies online," said Republican gubernatorial hopeful James Fishback.
The Company Behind the 'Steroid Olympics' Wants To Make Enhanced Pro Athletes Mainstream—and Amateurs, Too
The Enhanced Games are letting athletes take performance enhancing drugs—and they want their events to be big as the Super Bowl.
The Trump Administration's Deportation Reels Keep Getting Copyright Strikes for Using Music Without Permission
Without any real consequences for copyright infringements, the Department of Homeland Security doesn't have much incentive to follow the law.
No Other Choice Is a Dark Satire of Capitalism and Masculinity
Is the problem big corporations? Or the modern man?
Review: Why You've Probably Never Heard of James Garfield's Assassin
The Death by Lightning miniseries dramatizes the assassination of a president who left little lasting impact on Americans' lives.
Transgender Athletes, Guns, and the Federal Reserve: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch in January
The Supreme Court’s January docket is packed with big cases.
A Recent Book Shows Why Invading Greenland Would Be a Dumb Idea
Polar War demonstrates how difficult it is for armies to operate in the high north—and just how far America is behind Europe in Arctic warfare.
Americans Love Individualism. So Why Does Hollywood Demonize It?
"When it comes down to it, my life belongs to me," says Timothy Sandefur, author of the new book, You Don't Own Me.
How the Trump Administration Quietly and Quickly Took Over 3 Golf Courses in Washington, D.C.
Plus: Thank capitalism for the best parts of college football bowl season
Minnesota Daycare Fraud, Mamdani's Takeover, and the X-Men Movies
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Nick Shirley's viral video about Minnesota day care fraud, then dig deeper into how Tim Walz has little respect for American taxpayers.
Why America's Inequality Story Doesn't Add Up
Taxes, benefits, and household data make America look more unequal than it is.
Betty Boop Enters the Public Domain, but Only as a Dog
The cartoon's bizarre saga illustrates what's wrong with modern copyright law.
With Eddington, Hollywood Finally Starts To Reckon With the Madness of 2020
Ari Aster’s pandemic satire is the movie of the year.
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.
6 Ways Sports and Politics Will Collide in 2026
From college sports to league expansion, politicians are going to have plenty of sway over sports next year.
Zohran Mamdani Didn't Run on 'Affordability.' He Ran Against Prices.
Price controls don't solve economic problems; they disguise them. Prices are messages, and Mamdani wants to shoot the messenger.
This 1,300-Page Anticapitalist History Gets a Few Things Wrong
Sven Beckert's Capitalism: A Global History is...not a reliable history.
Research Suggests People Who Work From Home Are Having More Babies
"Flexibility at work has the power to drive fertility decisions," according to researchers running a survey in the U.S. and 38 other countries.
The John Galt of Comic Books
The co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange later created some failed Ayn Rand–inspired superheroes.
From Nixon to Trump, the 'War on Drugs' Has Been a Disaster for Americans' Freedom
The Trump administration's chest-pounding approach is costing lives and eroding freedoms.
Review: A Novel About Masculinity and Weightlifting
Muscle Man offers a subtler commentary than any thinkpiece about the bro-ification of the right.
When Washington Crossed the Delaware on Christmas 1776, It Wasn't in the Name of Christian Nationalism
America was not founded to be a theocracy and it should not strive to become one.
How Tariffs and Inflation Are Hitting Holiday Sweets
The Trump administration’s trade war has made home-baked and store-bought treats more expensive.
How Robert Crumb Inspired the Underground Comix Movement
Crumb's work was called sexist, racist, and obscene, but even his critics often acknowledged that he was hilarious and original.
