April 2020
Cover Story
Against the New Nationalism
Individual autonomy is not the cause of our problems and state autonomy is not the solution
Features
Just How Good Is Trump's Economy, Anyway?
While the 2017 tax cuts didn't deliver the results promised by Trump and his magical-thinking supporters, the administration has delivered some economic expansion, some job creation, and some investment growth.
After He Found California's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Wasn't Working, the State Shut Him Down and Destroyed His Research
Psychologist Jesus Padilla was forbidden to complete research that could have set many indefinitely committed people free. He died with the work unfinished.
Interview
The Not-So-Great Society
Historian Amity Shlaes on the good intentions and bad results of LBJ's war on poverty
Topics
Seattle's School System Has Begun Dismantling Its Gifted Programs
Parents should be able to respond to this blunt dismissal of their children's needs by taking their business elsewhere.
Is the FBI Snooping on Political Groups and Ideological Publications?
They have a long history of spying on dissident political groups, from early 20th century socialists and mid-century civil rights leaders to modern environmentalists and Black Lives Matter.
Trump's Quiet War on Iran Gets Loud
The administration has been quietly escalating against Iran and its allies using a selection of counterterrorism laws that allowed it to act without going through Congress or the public.
Federal 'Fair Housing' Policy Set for a Major Overhaul
The new rule would ask localities receiving federal funding to report on their housing market outcomes and propose concrete steps for improving affordability.
A Voice From the Grave
While the earliest recording of a human voice dates to 1860, researchers at the University of London recently announced the recreation of a voice that is much older.
ICE Scam Leads to Student Deportations
The latest sting went to elaborate lengths to target students themselves instead of illicit pay-to-stay visa mills.
California's Gig Economy Is Under Attack
"Companies can simply blacklist California writers and work with writers in other states, and that's exactly what's happening."
The National Interest, C'est Moi
This inability to agree on the nature of the national interest is endemic not just to the new nationalism, but to all of politics.
Culture
Books
Understanding Ellison
In a new collection of letters, the great Invisible Man author is further revealed.
A Kurdish Experiment in Decentralized Governance
The Kurds of Northern Syria are trying something different, for better or worse.
Reviews
The Report
Amazon Prime's new show attempts to dramatize the "enhanced interrogations" that took place under President George W. Bush as well as the Obama administration's failure to hold anybody to account.
'Til Wrong Feels Right
Iggy Pop's new book documents the life of a great individualist who, even more than Sinatra, did things his way.
Sticking It to the Man
A new anthology explores how the counterculture of the '60s and '70s mixed with the mainstream.
ETC.
Christopher Preble Says Killing Soleimani Didn't Make America Safer
"Does this advance American safety and security? Does it make Americans freer and more prosperous? The answer is no."
Brickbats: April 2020
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
