How Inflation Breaks Our Brains
From salt riots to toilet paper runs, history shows that rising prices make consumers—and voters—grumpy and irrational.
Features
Trump Doubled Down on Authoritarianism by Selecting J.D. Vance
The Ohio senator doesn't want to limit government power. He wants to use it against his political enemies.
Project 2025 Is No Match for MAGA Dysfunction
Trump promised to hire "only the best people," yet his presidential plans were repeatedly thwarted by his staff. Will a second term be different?
The Afghan Allies Left Behind in the Graveyard of Empires
Thousands of people who helped the U.S. in Afghanistan are still looking for an escape.
Congress 'Can Regulate Virtually Anything'
How legislators learned to stop worrying about the constitutionality of federal drug and gun laws by abusing the Commerce Clause
Why Did Americans Stop Caring About the National Debt?
Both parties—and the voters—are to blame for the national debt fiasco.
Child Welfare Systems Are Trapping Innocent Families
Georgia parents were accused of child abuse after they took their daughter to the doctor. Does the state's story add up?
Does Miami Have the Answer to Homelessness?
There may not be a perfect solution to ending homelessness, but there are some clear principles to reduce the friction for those working to do so.
What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
What Caused the D.C. Crime Wave?
Don't blame criminal justice reform or a lack of social spending for D.C.'s crime spike. Blame government mismanagement.
The Mirage of China's I.P. Theft
As allegations of intellectual property theft swirl, a deeper look reveals a tale of phony numbers and twisted data.
American Small Businesses Are Desperate for Foreign Workers
The number of job openings far exceeds the number of unemployed Americans. Seasonal businesses can't get the foreign labor they need.
Rethinking the 5-Paragraph Essay in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence writes a pretty good analysis of George Orwell's 1984.
The Great Black Pope and Asian Nazi Debacle of 2024
Exciting new AI tools are still being shaped by human beings.
AI Warfare Is Boring but Deadly
Bureaucrats in cubicles will kill more people than Terminator robots will.
Will Antitrust Policy Smother the Power of AI?
Left alone, artificial intelligence could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.
AI's Cozy Crony Capitalism
Regulating artificial intelligence presents a "Baptists and bootleggers" problem.
AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate
With help from artificial intelligence, doctors can focus on patients.
The Future of Porn Is Consensual Deepfakes
OnlyFans let women distribute their own porn. Artificial intelligence will give them even more control.
The Night I Asked ChatGPT How To Build a Bomb
Yes, you can trick the bot into giving you information it's supposed to keep to itself. No, that isn't something to worry about.
'AI Bullshit' Makes Poets Mad
Is AI-written poetry cheating if you laboriously trained the AI?
The Future of AI Is Helping Us Discover the Past
Historical teaching and research are being revamped by AI.
Not Even Artificial Intelligence Can Make Central Planning Work
Revolutionary AI technologies can't solve the "wicked problems" facing policy makers.
The Case of the AI-Generated Giant Rat Penis
How did an obviously fabricated article end up in a peer-reviewed journal?
In the AI Economy, There Will Be Zero Percent Unemployment
AI developer Andrew Mayne explains why technology could create more jobs and lead to unprecedented economic growth.
Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Progress, Rediscovered
A new movement promoting scientific, technological, and economic solutions to humanity's problems emerges.
What if America Runs Out of Bombs?
The U.S. is dispensing munitions to Ukraine and Israel faster than they can be replaced.
How Capitalism Beat Communism in Vietnam
It only took a generation to go from ration cards to exporting electronics.
How 1990s Libertarians Laid the Groundwork for Cryptocurrency
Economist Friedrich Hayek inspired an early foray into electronic cash.
Don't Let E.U. Bureaucrats Design Americans' Tech
Some Democrats want to mimic Europe's policies on phone chargers and more.
The Future of Immigration Is Privatization
New immigration pathways are letting private citizens welcome refugees and other migrants—and getting the government out of the way.
Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
How Third-World Countries Build Walkable Cities Without Central Planning
Jakarta, Indonesia, shows why you don't need central planners to get pedestrian-friendly urban design.
Why Are Teens Depressed? It's Not Social Media.
Maybe the problem for teens isn't screens, but what they are replacing.
The Real Student Loan Crisis Isn't From Undergraduate Degrees
Misled by a bad law, graduate students are drowning in debt.
The Bankruptcy of Bidenomics
Biden's economic policies gave us three years of excessive, wasteful, and poorly targeted federal spending.
Can Free Markets Win Votes in the New GOP?
As the party grows more populist, ethnically diverse, and working class, will Republicans abandon their libertarian economic principles?
Comic: The Ever-Evolving Robert Nozick
A young philosopher goes from socialist to reluctant libertarian.
Is ESG Already Over?
CEOs are beginning to wonder what to do when environmental, social, and governance factors are at odds with performance.
The Fiscal Hawks Were Right About Debt and Interest Rates
Rosy fiscal expectations based on eternally low interest rates have proven dangerously wrong.
The Post-Neoliberalism Moment
Anyone advocating neoliberal policies is now persona non grata in Washington, D.C.
Universities Use DEI Statements To Enforce Groupthink
DEI statements are political litmus tests.
Freedom Towns: A Vast but Largely Forgotten Movement of Black Self-Rule
Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida, was one of the first all-black municipalities incorporated in the U.S.
Florida Is Shunning the People Who Helped Build It
The state can thank immigrants for much of its recent economic success, but now they're getting the cold shoulder.
How Florida Fixed Its Vote-Counting Problem After the 2000 Election
Ballots should be counted quickly and accurately.
The Villages Is America's Boomer Boomtown
The Florida master-planned retirement community spans 33 square miles and counting.
