FEATURES
The Youngest Casualties in the War on Obesity
School-based nutrition and BMI screenings are meant to improve the health of students, but emerging evidence shows that, not only aren’t they helping, they also appear to be triggering deadly eating disorders in children. Now, a small group of activists is taking on the system—and making a difference.
By Carrie Arnold
The Disappearing Soldier
The story of the Australian serviceman with PTSD who flew halfway around the world to die alone on the side of a mountain.
By Kathryn Joyce
Thirty Under 30
The top young thinkers in economics, education, political science, and more.
By Avital Andrews & Natalya Savka
PROSPECTOR
The Last of the California Quail
Why San Francisco, a city known for its innovative thinking and environmental leadership, has been unable to save its official bird.
By Jimmy Tobias
Justice, Interrupted
Some Colombian paramilitary leaders accused of brutal human rights violations will not face justice—or their victims’ families—until they’ve served sentences for American drug charges.
By Murray Carpenter
The Coyote Whisperer
As more and more coyotes move into San Francisco’s urban core, one woman is bent on teaching the city how to peacefully co-exist with the animals.
By Shelby Carpenter
The Long Road to Equality
Long-haul truck driving is thriving in the United States, and remains one of the surest ways into the middle class, but minorities say discrimination is rampant.
By Rick Rojas
ESSAYS
What Motivates Extreme Self-Sacrifice?
New work in the field of anthropology says violent extremism isn’t really motivated by religion—but by fusion with the group.
By Harvey Whitehouse
The Worst of the Worst
How will California wean itself from solitary confinement?
By Jessica Pishko
BOOK REVIEWS
Pobre México
The millions of Mexicans who have evaded the legal immigration system work dangerous and dirty jobs for a fraction of American wages—and that’s a national disgrace. But the end of cheap, vulnerable immigrant labor is near.
By Jakub Wrzesniewski
The Function of—and Need for—Institutional Review Boards
The system may be flawed, but dismantling it altogether is certainly not the answer.
By Iain Brassington
Heavy Metals
A new book tracks our dependence on rare elements—and the environmental costs of a revolution in global mining.
By Tim Heffernan
SHELF HELP
- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
- The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
- The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation
DEPARTMENTS
Research Spotlight: Mary Paglieri
Human-animal conflict consultant
By Kate Wheeling
There’s a Name for That: Euphemism Treadmill
By Michael Fitzgerald
Research Gone Wild: Moral Fervor
By Pacific Standard Staff
Quick Study: Force the Vote, Lift the Left?
By Tom Jacobs
Subculture: Prison Girlfriends and Wives
By Julie Morse
In the Picture: Feeling It
By Pacific Standard Staff
Quick Study: Stacked Deck
By Tom Jacobs
Five Studies: How to Talk Constructively About Mental Illness
By Rachel Nuwer
Life in the Data: Are My Emotions Making Me Sick?
By Manjula Martin
ETC.
- Masthead
- Editor’s Letter: Our Best Hopes for a Brighter Future
- 7 Things you Would Have Learned If You Read PSmag.com
- Social Networking
- Our Favorite Tweet
- Snapshots From Our Instagram
- Contributors
- A Look at What’s Coming Up: Our First-Ever Special Issue on Water
- Since We Last Spoke: The Future of Foster Care
- Since We Last Spoke: In the Name of Research?
- Since We Last Spoke: A Most Important Case
For more from Pacific Standard, and to support our work, sign up for our free email newsletter and subscribe to our print magazine, where this piece originally appeared. Digital editions are available in the App Store and on Zinio and other platforms.