Culture
Shake Shack Received a $10 Million Small Business Loan. They're Giving It Back.
The company says it will return the money after it was announced that the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of funding.
Federal Regulations Are Making the Grocery Store Supply Crunch Worse
The FDA has relaxed some labeling laws in order to allow restaurants to sell groceries, but it could do more.
Will COVID-19 Help Americans Break the Habit of Deferring to Centralized Authority?
We may find that we like making our own decisions.
In Sweden, Will Voluntary Self-Isolation Work Better Than State-Enforced Lockdowns in the Long Run?
There’s a lot of debate over the Swedish model of coronavirus response, but there are good reasons to think a Hippocratic approach to policy may pay off.
COVID-19 Is Coming for Your Burgers
Plus: sensitive cellphone data swept up in coronavirus containment efforts, and more...
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The focus on seemingly minor everyday questions of propriety makes the show's 10th season as insightful as it is funny.
Elon Musk Donates Breathing Machines to Hospitals and the Media Pounces
No, they’re not frontline ventilators. Yes, they’re useful.
COVID-19 and the Collapse of Complex Societies
Sometimes pressure causes breakdowns, but sometimes it causes breakthroughs.
Trump's School Lunch Changes Lead to a Pointless Food Fight
"It's unconscionable that the Trump administration would do the bidding of the potato and junk food industries," noted one critic. But Trump's changes are relatively minor.
What The New York Times' 1619 Project Gets Wrong About Capitalism: Phillip Magness
In a new collection, the economic historian documents how classical liberals pushed for abolition and equality in 19th-century America.
The Pandemic Brings Out Americans' Inner Snitches
Setting the cops on social-distancing scofflaws is dangerous to public health and a free society.
Even in a Pandemic, 'Constitutional Rights Still Exist'
A federal judge defended religious freedom by blocking a misguided ban on drive-in Easter services.
Boston Restaurants Want To Sell Groceries. Bureaucrats Say No Way.
The city said that food-packaging regulations stand in the way. That's not true.
New York Times Editor Excuses Paper's Slow Tara Reade Coverage: 'Kavanaugh Was a Running, Hot Story'
Dean Baquet's argument for proceeding cautiously with Joe Biden but not with Brett Kavanaugh isn't very persuasive.
Father Can't Be Ordered "to Comply With the Cultural Norms of Hasidic Judaism" During His Visitation Time with Children
So holds a New York appellate court.
Some Backstory on the Louisville Free Exercise Clause / Drive-in Church Services Case
Did Louisville actually purport to ban drive-in church services, or was it just asking people to voluntarily refrain? And what notice did the City have about the temporary restraining order request?
COVID-19 and Its Accompanying Restrictions Continue to Harm World Food Supply
Ill workers in processing facilities, the forced death of restaurants, and national and international storage and shipping disruptions all threaten our food supply.
Religious Freedom Clashes With Public Health Enforcers
Plus: Signal will leave the U.S. market if EARN IT passes, Justin Amash blasts Michigan shutdown orders, and more...
The New York Times Is Extremely Skeptical of Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Accusation Against Joe Biden. Imagine That.
"We found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable."
Churches, Shutdown Orders, and Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (in Kansas and Elsewhere)
If people are allowed to go to bars, restaurants, libraries, schools, and factories (with suitable social distancing), should they also be allowed to go to church?
"On Holy Thursday, an American Mayor Criminalized the Communal Celebration of Easter"
A federal judge blocks the Louisville ban on drive-in church services.
Huge Legislature-Governor Conflict in Kansas, Over Emergency Powers (Stemming from Religious Freedom Dispute)
A "drafting snafu" with the Legislature's concurring resolution, which endorsed the Governor's initial emergency order, is casting many things in doubt.
David French: 'I Think the Protection of Liberty Is a Common Good'
The Dispatch senior editor on the value of liberalism and the problems with the new nationalist right
Mississippi City Bans Drive-in Church Services
That violates the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and probably the freedom of assembly and association.
Is Quibi the Next Revolution In Small Screen Streaming Video?
The new service was built for a world that no longer exists. Yet it may still end up being relevant to the one we now inhabit.
Karl Hess: From Republican Speechwriter to New Left Radical to Libertarian Homesteader
Friday A/V Club: Daniel Tucker discusses his documentary Local Control: Karl Hess in the World of Ideas—and we also screen the movie itself.
Rick Doblin: 'People Should Have the Fundamental Human Right To Change Their Consciousness'
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is making MDMA and other drugs medically legitimate and socially acceptable.
Is Passover the Most Libertarian Holiday?
The annual retelling of the Exodus story reminds us not to take freedom for granted.
Joe Biden Sexual Assault Allegation Made Alyssa Milano Backtrack on 'Believing All Women'
Under fire for refusing to support Tara Reade, Milano says she never thought #MeToo would "destroy innocent men."
From Drafting Doctors to Stealing Equipment, Politicians Violate the Limits of a Free Society
A pandemic becomes an excuse for treating people as playing pieces in a game.
Is the American Dream Dead?
When Americans feel like the future will be worse than the past, reactionary and socialist ideologies ascend.
New Wyoming Law Lets Local Ranchers Sell Cuts of Meat Directly to Consumers
Wyoming’s first-and-best-in-the-nation food freedom law just keeps getting better.
Dump the FDA for a Healthier America
The agency has hampered widespread COVID-19 testing and the production of both protective gear and hand sanitizer.
These 10 Underappreciated Movies Make for the Perfect Quarantine Viewing Experience
Offbeat options for waiting out the apocalypse.
How Long Can an All-Food Economy Stay Stable Under Shadow of COVID-19?
Stores seem full now, but both illness and legal barriers could interfere with the economy of food production and distribution.
L.A. Tried—and Mostly Failed—To Fix Bad Permit Rules for Restaurants That Want To Sell Groceries
First, they didn't have grocery permits. Now they are not allowed to take any walk-ins.
L.A. Bureaucrats Shut Down Restaurants for Selling Groceries Without a Permit
"You cannot just decide you want to sell groceries," said Barbara Ferrer, the director of L.A. County Public Health.
