Who’s Most Optimistic in America? The Answer Will Break Your Heart
This is a finding that has turned up in a number of studies, and it’s always fascinating: Many…
Faces of Debt: Beware “the College Loan Repo Man”
For decades, one of the driving impulses of American liberalism has been to expand people’s access to good things…
Who Will Cry for the Campus Bookstore?
Over at the New Republic, Mark Athitakis plays a very small violin for a threatened institution: the college…
Bowling Alone at the Supreme Court
What happens when your findings get away from you? In 2007, the Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, most…
The Tip Jar Shall be the Downfall of this Great Republic, Evidence from 2012 and 1916
Tipping is an aristocratic conceit — “There you go, my good man, buy your starving family a loaf”…
Things We Know That Aren’t True, Poverty and Terrorism Edition
You might think that poverty breeds terrorism. It’s a fairly intuitive view, and it has been trumpeted by…
Some Thoughts on Julia Child And a Picture of Her Favorite Taqueria
The market for tributes to Julia Child is a crowded one, but on the 100th anniversary of her…
The Weird Future and Weirder History of Life Insurance
When we think of “innovative financial products,” we probably think of credit-default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and other…
Life Expectancy, the Anti-Vaccine Movement, and How Individuals Started to Take Credit for Growing Old
Longer life expectancy is one of the hallmarks of modern American life — one of those facts that…
Sorry Romney: Mediterranean Climate Aside, California Ain’t Greece
Yesterday in Iowa, Mitt Romney made a little joke at the Golden State’s expense. “Entrepreneurs and business people…