Kate Wheeling, Author at Pacific Standard

Why Is the Death Penalty So Popular in Alabama?

Judges in Alabama frequently override jury’s sentences of life without parole to impose capital punishment.

The idea that drugs and biology are to blame for addiction has done more harm than good.

Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.

Community groups are posting bail for indigent defendants, undermining the original principles of bail, and pushing for criminal justice reform.

Coral ecosystems around the globe are collapsing thanks in large part to human activities. How far should we go to save them?

Vaccine skepticism is as old as the idea of inoculation itself, but the recent politicization of vaccination is putting us all at risk.

Energy efficient dehumidifiers could cut energy use in grow houses by up to 60 percent.

Two juveniles have been charged for starting the wildfire that killed 14 people in Tennessee earlier this month. Should they be tried as adults?

Princess Cruise Lines will pay $40 million for deliberate pollution, but even more virtuous cruise companies produce huge amounts of waste.

Is the aviation industry’s new emissions plan a game changer, or merely a political statement? We consider all the possibilities.