The Alt-Currency Martyr
Before the feds feared bitcoin, they feared e-gold.
April 2021
Josh Hawley's Toxic Populism
Is the senator's authoritarian grandstanding the dark future of the GOP?
Features
This Florida Drug Smuggler Escaped 7 Life Sentences—Twice
Dickie Lynn's story shows how the drug war warped the criminal justice system.
Bringing Earmarks Back Won't Fix Congress
Eliminating earmarks didn't make the government smaller. But reinstating them would facilitate legislative corruption.
Interview
What It's Like To Treat Opioid Addiction in Appalachia
Psychiatrist Sally Satel on her eye-opening year at a clinic in Ironton, Ohio
Topics
Biden Goes Big
Somehow, policy makers slid from "never waste a crisis" to "everything is a crisis," a development that is particularly irksome during an actual crisis.
War Zone Washington?
More than 5,000 members of the National Guard descended on Washington, D.C., following the January 6 riot.
COVID-19 Spotlights the Problems With Health Care 'Certificates of Need'
Mississippi's CON law means that physical therapist Charles "Butch" Slaughter (and others like him) can't adapt to the changing circumstances created by the pandemic.
Mexico and Israel Slowly Race To Legalize Pot
Uruguay legalized recreational marijuana in 2013, followed by Canada five years later. Two more countries will soon join their ranks.
Biden Should Nominate Judges Who Battled the Government in Court
More criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and civil rights litigators may soon be appointed to the federal bench.
A Health Care Haven No More
Despite its access to brainpower and financial backing, it had turned out to be harder than expected for Haven to disrupt the health care market.
The War on Free Speech Is About To Get a Lot Uglier
The awful events of January 6 accelerated trends in left-of-center circles, particularly within media and technology companies.
Assange Avoids Extradition—For Now
Under the First Amendment, the question of whether Assange qualifies as a legitimate journalist is irrelevant.
The FDA Stole Your Bucatini
Instead of blocking food imports during a pandemic in which supply chains are strained, the FDA should allow consumers to choose food that will fill them up.
Africa Tries Free Trade
Liberal ideas are beginning to gain traction on the world's poorest continent.
New Hampshire Towns Turn Out Tiny-Home Dwellers
The regulatory pursuit of quality housing means some tiny-home residents actually end up with no housing.
The Great Vaccine Fiasco
Federal predictions that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated by the end of 2020 were off by an order of magnitude.
Say No to More COVID-19 Relief Spending
The scale of the current relief efforts means that many Americans received more income during this pandemic than they did before it.
RIP Mark Schlefer, the Man Who Made FOIA Happen
"In the drafting, we were adamant that you didn't have to have an interest to have access. You could just be a citizen."
Culture
Will Feminists Please Stop Calling the Cops?
The women's liberation movement has gotten tied to mass incarceration. It needs to break free.
Books
Why We (Still) Shouldn't Censor Misinformation
It strains credulity to believe random tweets can lead otherwise normal people to drive across the country and stage an insurrection.
Reviews
History of Swear Words
The most interesting aspect of the series is how it unintentionally reveals our conflicted relationship with profanity.
Wollstonecraft
A new book aims to reveal the rest of Mary Wollstonecraft's worldview beyond her support for women's rights
40 Years a Prisoner
The new HBO documentary looks at what happened before, during, and after the 1978 MOVE shootout in Philadelphia.
Townscaper
A new type of city-building game which will make you feel like you've been administered a digital Valium
ETC.
Alex Tabarrok on 'First Doses First'
"When you push out the first doses faster, you get to herd immunity faster."
Brickbats: April 2021
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
