When Religious Violence Can’t Escape Exemption
A recent case of violence in a small, closed church highlights the role of religious exemptions in the American legal system.
The Math Behind the World’s Great Bird Migration Routes
Birds consider wind patterns when they choose how to fly south for the winter, a new study finds.
These Numbers Bust the Model Minority Myth
There's a problem with thinking all Asian Americans are smart and wealthy.
California Needs More Vaccine Coverage and Easier Voter Registration; Nobody Needs Microbeads
Your guide to California's progressive new laws.
Hello, El Niño: The Pacific Ocean Is Looking a Lot Like It Did in 1997
Forecasters say we have a 95 percent chance of having an El Niño event this winter, but predicting its local effects is iffier.
How California Stacks Up Against the Worst States for Women Workers
Pacific Standard tries an exercise in schadenfreude.
A Fix for Social Science
Drawing on experience, one pair of young social scientists offer a way to cut down on mistakes in their field.
Affirmative Action Helps Everyone, Abortions Are Safe, and Felons’ Votes May Matter More Than Ever
Your research guide to the hottest American politics of 2015 and 2016.
Transgender Americans Have Been Registering Their Transitions With Social Security Since 1936
Very few surveys ask people if they're transgender. One economist managed to mine American government data for clues to the transgender American experience over the last seven decades.
Most Women Get Breast Cancer Gene Testing Without Essential Counseling
Thanks to Angelina Jolie and other cultural forces, many American women are now aware of the BRCA test. But they're still unaware of the genetic counseling that should come with it.