Ben Rowen, Author at Pacific Standard

Home Archives for Ben Rowen

A long exposure picture of a Perseid meteor crossing the night sky and stars trails.

Social Justice

The Fault in Our Star Names

The International Astronomical Union has established a committee to finalize a list of official star names. Some companies offer unofficial naming rights for purchase. But the voices of certain communities are often left behind.

A newspaper printing press.

Social Justice

Does Naming the Shooter in the Media Lead to More Mass Violence?

Research shows media reporting on mass shootings might incentivize further mass shootings. But it's unclear whether removing the shooter's name from coverage will change that.

President Donald Trump's address about the government shutdown is streamed on a television screen in the Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 8th, 2019.

Education

Is There a Good Way to Fact-Check Public Figures in Real Time?

A recent goof by the Associated Press indicates that real-time fact-checking still doesn't exactly know what it's doing.

News in Brief

Should Animals Win Acting Oscars? A Pacific Standard Investigation.

It's a question of whether animals featured in movies are acting in the first place.

San Felipe is a popular local tourist town located in the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Baja.

News in Brief

Our 20 Most-Read Stories of 2018

Pacific Standard's most widely circulated articles of the past year.

Anatomy of a Fact: When Facts Impose Bias

Anatomy of a Fact is a recurring series exposing how the Pacific Standard research and fact-checking process works.

An unnamed homeless woman poses with her belongings on November 2nd, 2018, in Los Angeles, California.

Social Justice

Here Are All the Measures Addressing California’s Housing Crisis

Though these ballot initiatives address the state's homelessness problem, many homeless people won't be able to vote on them.

Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Danny O'Connor visits the Cup O Joe coffeehouse to thank voters and campaign volunteers and speak to reporters following a special election on August 8th, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

PS Picks: The Hipster Coffee Shop

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers and the National League pitches in the eighth inning against the American League during the 89th MLB All-Star Game on July 17th, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

PS Picks: Baseball Reckons With Racism on Social Media

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

Who Is America?

PS Picks: Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Who Is America?’

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.