What the Leaked Abortion Opinion Gets Wrong About the Founding Era
Understanding state regulatory powers at the time of the founding.
History
When Ted Kennedy Was Pro-Life and Ronald Reagan Was Expanding Abortion Access
The forgotten abortion politics of the pre-Roe era
![book1 | Photo: Uncle Sam rounding up men labeled “Spy,” “Traitor,” “IWW,” “Germ[an] money,” and “Sinn Fein,” with the United States Capitol in the background](https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c331x186-w331-q60/uploads/2022/03/book1-331x186.jpg)
Speaking Freely Through the Ages
As long as there have been laws, there have been attempts to silence people.
The Northman Is a Bloody, Brutal, Brilliant Viking Revenge Epic
No moral judgment, just Viking honor, pagan ritual, and inevitable death.
Don't Expect Unions To Make a Comeback
Despite the recent win against Amazon and Joe Biden's full backing, Big Labor is fading because workers are making progress without unions.
Carl Hart: Legalize All Drugs Now!
The controversial Columbia neuroscientist, Air Force vet, and author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups believes deeply in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Dr. Carl Hart: 'I Am Better for My Drug Use'
The maverick Columbia neuroscientist explains why America should embrace drug legalization for all.
In Defense of Online Anonymity
Jeff Kosseff's The United States of Anonymous makes a strong case for letting people hide behind the First Amendment.
Jeff Kosseff: Why Anonymous Speech Is Good—and Constitutional
The author of the definitive history of Section 230 is back with a controversial new book, The United States of Anonymous.
The 1619 Project Unrepentantly Pushes Junk History
Nikole Hannah-Jones' new book sidesteps scholarly critics while quietly deleting previous factual errors.
Are We Always on the Verge of Civil War?
All that Civil War II talk is overblown—but that isn't the only sort of political violence to worry about.
Steam Engines Are Perpetuating Racism, Apparently
The National Museum of Wales is suggesting that 19th-century innovations that enabled economic development are somehow tainted by slavery.
Why Hate Speech Laws Backfire
A new history of free speech argues the best way to defeat hate speech is by openly confronting it in the public square.
It's the End of the Neoliberal Era, and We Still Don't Know What Neoliberalism Is
Politics is filled with words that mean different things in different mouths, but "neoliberalism" is an especially tangled case.
P.J. O'Rourke, R.I.P.
"At the core of libertarianism is the idea that people are assets."
Chris Stewart Wants February To Be 'Uncomfortable History Month'
Nearly 90 gag-order bills would ban schools from teaching the grisly particulars of American history. This activist is fighting against the censorship and for school choice.
Expanding Our Understanding of the Revolution
Despite all the controversy it has courted, Woody Holton's newest book doesn't stray very far from other scholarly interpretations of the American Revolution.
Biden's False Gun Claims Are a Lousy Basis for Law
Already abused for political purposes, the power of government shouldn’t be expanded based on lies.
When Humanitarianism Prolongs the Inhumane
"A future of bloodless global discipline is a chilling thing."
The History and Politics of Public Radio
James T. Bennett's libertarian critique argues that noncommercial radio can be detached from the state—and that it's better that way.
Deng Xiaoping and the Communist Party Don't Deserve Credit for Chinese Economic Power
China's economic reforms were bottom-up, not top-down.
George Will Loves To Argue About America
The octogenarian columnist has a lot to say about happiness and history in the United States.
Foucault in the Panopticon
How Michel Foucault's encounters in Poland's heavily policed gay community informed his ideas
Rachel Laudan: Why Thanksgiving Dinner Is Served All at Once
The Cuisine and Empire author dishes on the anti-French origins of Turkey Day, why she hates "organic" food, and the genius of Julia Child.
John McWhorter: 'Woke Racism' Has Betrayed Black America
Forget Robin DiAngelo, Ibram X. Kendi, and The 1619 Project. Start with ending the drug war, says the Columbia University linguist.
No, the United States Has Not Always Paid Its Debts
There are five instances of the Treasury defaulting on the debt.
John McWhorter: How To Defeat 'Woke Racism'
The New York Times columnist and Columbia University linguist on the "new religion" he says has "betrayed Black America."
Red Markets
Sometimes communist countries had to tolerate a little economic liberty just to survive.
The Uses and Disadvantages of Soviet History for Life
It is hard to comprehend the scarcity and existential dread that was humanity's constant companion during the Cold War.
The Kinks vs. the People in Grey
Happy 50th birthday to Muswell Hillbillies, a concept album about nostalgia, conformity, and the evils of urban renewal programs.
Boston Officials Want to Know if You Think This Dilapidated Shack Is Historically Significant
The city's solicitation of public input on the demolition of shacks, sheds, and boarded up homes is an invitation for NIMBYism.
40 Years of Trillion-Dollar Debt
Forty years from now, it'll be much, much, much higher.
Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More Free
The Harvard linguist says Enlightenment reasoning and critical thinking are behind massive increases in material and moral progress.
The First Semiconductor Trade War
What Reagan's tariffs in the '80s can teach us about today's foreign-made semiconductors
California Returns Beach Property Wrongly Taken From Black Family via Eminent Domain
The government confiscated Bruce's Beach at racists' behest.
'Equity,' 'Multiculturalism,' and 'Racial Prejudice' Among Concepts That Could Be Banned in Schools by Wisconsin Bill
A bill touted as banning "critical race theory" in schools would actually ban a huge array of speech around culture, race, and sex, its sponsor says.
George Will vs. 1619 Project: The U.S. Founding Is 'the Best Thing That Ever Happened'
The Washington Post columnist says President Joe Biden isn't a progressive but "will go where the [Democratic] party goes, and the party is being driven by other people."
Walking the Delicate Line Between Reporter and Activist
Telling a century's worth of stories about the people who had done creative things on the radio dial—and their opponents
George Will: Why He's Against Biden, Trump, and the 1619 Project—And Bullish on the Future
When government "gets out of the way, we're going to see again, the creativity of the American people," says the 80-year-old optimist.
50 Years After Attica, Prisons Are Still the Problem No One Wants To See
The men of Attica said they had "set forth to change forever the ruthless brutalization" of U.S. prisoners. For all the horror and bloodshed, not much has changed.
Could the CIA and FBI Have Stopped 9/11?
We may have misinterpreted 9/11 as a harbinger, when it was really just an outlier.
Documentary on CIA's Hunt for Bin Laden Doesn't Truly Pull Back the Curtain
As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, prepare for the many, many looks back.
Governments Love a Media Cartel—As Long as They're in Control
Friday A/V Club: Some people are against concentrated media power. Some just want to bend it to their will.
Why Welfare Reform Worked
Work, not dependency, was what lifted many people up out of poverty.
Howard Mortman: Why Does Congress Pray Every Day?
The When Rabbis Bless Congress author and C-SPAN honcho on a weird political tradition and the glorious death of legacy media
The Unsinkable City
A new book explores how New York has transformed itself since the crises of the 1970s.
