Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
Even if the president was joking in both cases, he already has used his powers to punish people whose views offend him.
Culture
Amateur Hour Is Over: College Athletes Can Get Paid by Schools
Everything you need to know about the House settlement and the new rules governing payments to college athletes.
The Best Democracy Is Anarchy
"Anarchism and democracy are—or should be—largely identical," wrote the anthropologist David Graeber.
FTC Pivots From Competition to Children
The result is the same: attacks on tech companies and attempts to violate Americans' rights.
Debating the Science and Ethics of IVF: Emma Waters vs. Ruxandra Teslo
A genomics PhD and conservative bioethicist debate the ethics of in vitro fertilization and discuss recent scientific advancements in reproductive medicine.
Unanimous Supreme Court Affirms That There Is No 'Good' Discrimination
The court ruled on Thursday that a heterosexual woman shouldn't have to clear a higher bar than a gay colleague to sue for discrimination.
That Time the FBI Conspired To Get George Foreman an Award for Boxing
In 1968, the feds thought that the boxing champion—and future grill salesman—could be a potent weapon against the left.
Review: There Are No Top-Down Solutions to the Problems Depicted in Adolescence
The limited-run Netflix series is fueling a real-life push for the British government to protect kids from online dangers.
Review: A Comic Book Villain Runs for Mayor of New York in the New Daredevil Series
Daredevil's nemesis Kingpin runs up against local government bureaucracy.
Is the Supreme Court Really That Divided? The Facts Say No.
Unanimous rulings on discrimination, guns, and religion once again challenge the common media narrative that the Court is hopelessly polarized.
If Viewers Love PBS So Much, Let Them Pay for It
A new study on the trustworthiness of PBS fails to persuade.
Nathan Fielder's 737 Stunt Involved Elaborate Workaround of Ridiculous 1,500-Hour Rule
In order to perform his famous 737 stunt, Fielder had to navigate around flight-hour requirements that critics say don't improve safety but do cause a shortage of pilots.
Standard for Proving Title VII Violation Same for Majority Plaintiffs as for Minority Plaintiffs
The Court rejected some federal circuits' rules that a majority-group plaintiff must "present[] evidence of 'background circumstances' suggesting that the [defendant] was the rare employer who discriminates against members of a majority group."
A Car Hit and Killed Their 7-Year-Old Son. Now They're Being Charged for Letting Him Walk to the Store.
Letting children walk alone isn’t a crime. But in North Carolina, prosecutors are treating it like one.
Mountainhead Is a Shallow Satire of Tech Billionaires
A zippy script can't make up for a lack of insight.
A First Amendment Right To Preach Orgasm?
As the prosecution rests in the OneTaste case, the defense lays out the free speech implications if the government succeeds.
Texas Legislature Bans LGBT Student Clubs in K-12 Schools, Violating the Constitution and Federal Law
Signaling legislative contempt, one sponsor called the student groups "sex clubs." But in targeting the content of student speech the bill probably infringes First Amendment free speech rights and tramples the Equal Access Act of 1984
Female Nude Spa in Washington Can't Bar Transgender Clients With Male Genitalia, Federal Court Rules
Olympus Spa had sued on First Amendment grounds.
The Taliban Banned Chess
Since retaking power, the Taliban has banned certain music, barred women from parks, and now outlawed chess. Authoritarians don’t just crush dissent—they criminalize joy.
The SEC (the Sports One) Is Acting Like It's Invincible
Plus: Sports teams are writing it off, motorsports documentaries, and the NBA and Stanley Cup finals.
Did Bill Buckley Really Lead a Successful Revolution?
You can hear echoes of Buckley's early career in more than one MAGA crusader's rhetoric today. That's not a sign of a man who won.
Nevada Becomes the 21st State To Strengthen Donor Privacy Protections
A new law prohibits the state from requiring nonprofits to disclose the personal information of their supporters, protecting Americans’ First Amendment right to free association.
Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools
The Lone Star State's bill is already facing legal challenges.
Wait, Lilo & Stitch Is About Medicaid and Family Separation?
A strange sort of policy logic powers the new Disney remake.
Review: The Wild Adventures of Women in Anthropology
Anthropology was once built around freewheeling interactions with alien peoples in far-flung lands.
Original Sin, the Biden Cover-Up Book, Is Better Late Than Never
Even readers who are profoundly distrustful of Jake Tapper should pick up a copy.
Is Buying OnlyFans Content Now Illegal in Sweden?
Swedish authorities voted to criminalize the purchase or procurement of online sex acts, in a move targeting customers of webcam platforms and sites like OnlyFans.
He Escaped North Korea—Twice. Now He Warns People About Socialism.
"Just go to North Korea for 10 days and you'll know how bad it is," says Charles Ryu.
An "Ugly Tax" in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill"
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby rightly decries the GOP's inclusion of a tax on remittances immigrant workers send to their families, in the "Big Beautiful Bill."
Can We End Racism by Ending the Idea of Race Itself?
Author Sheena Michele Mason offers an alternative vision for anti-racism.
A Split Supreme Court Says Oklahoma Can't Have a Religious Charter School
The deadlocked court doesn't provide much clarity to sticky questions about the limits of religious freedom.
Review: The Free Market Comes to The Sims 4
Even simulated entrepreneurs aren't free from the burdens of business registration fees.
Review: Was Charles Manson Carrying Out a CIA Experiment?
Errol Morris' new Netflix documentary explores alternative theories of the Manson cult's infamous 1969 murders.
Supreme Court Orders Maine Legislator Censured for Social Media Post Must Get Voting Rights Back
On Monday, the court granted an emergency injunction allowing Rep. Laurel Libby to resume voting and speaking after she was censured for a post criticizing trans women in women's sports.
Pope Leo's Childhood Home Faces Eminent Domain as He Relocates to a More Eminent Domain
The last Pope Leo denounced state seizures of private property as "emphatically unjust."
ICE Helps Round Up Sex Workers in Florida
In Operation Fool Around and Find Out, 244 "human trafficking" arrests, but no human trafficking.
New Article on Eugene Volokh's Amicus Briefs Regarding Compelled Speech and Antidiscrimination Law
Volokh's view gave breathing room for individuals' speech interests while leaving plenty of space for government to protect people from discrimination
Brian Brushwood: Why We Fall for Scams
Magician and podcaster Brian Brushwood talks about deception and skepticism while exploring historical hoaxes, the psychology of magic, the libertarian dystopia of Epcot, and the story behind World’s Greatest Con.
In Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise Does What the U.S. Government Can't
To protect America, maybe what we really need to fund is more Tom Cruise.
Judge Rules in Favor of New Hampshire Bakery in Fight Over Donut Mural
Conway, New Hampshire's attempt to force a local bakery to take down the mural "does not withstand any level of constitutional scrutiny," a judge ruled this week.
How To Kill Draft Lotteries Without Encouraging Tanking
Plus: the tush push, Pete Rose, and Eddie Vedder.
Americans, Especially Women, Feel Less Free. They're Not Wrong.
Unfortunately, the data supports Americans’ take on the state of freedom in the world.
Are the News Media in Their Onion Era?
The lessons "America's Finest News Source" could offer the rest of the press.
Alton Brown on Cultural Appropriation, Ozempic, and the USDA
"If a Greek family starts a pizzeria, if a Chinese family straight from Beijing opens a hot dog shop, are they appropriating or are they just smart?" says the Food for Thought author and former Good Eats host.
