There’s a Name for That: Jevons Paradox
The 19th-century British economist Stanley Jevons predicted—correctly—that the invention of more-efficient steam engines would lead to more coal getting burned.
What ‘Stand Your Ground’ Really Means
A new book traces the legal history of self-defense in America—and shows how laws for self-protection have been generally reserved for whites.
Printed Pistols and Racial Panic
When Cody Wilson pioneered 3-D printing for guns, he claimed the technology represented a victory for liberty. In Wilson's new book, it seems "liberty" can also mean "racial purity."
Shelf Help: ‘The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America’
Not the slavery you learned about in high school.
Bleak House
Living among renters in a hotbed of evictions to try to understand this complex—and mostly unknown—driver of poverty.
Shelf Help: ‘The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation’
A look at the powerful forces dividing America's third-largest city into different worlds.
Silicon Valley Outsiders
Our focus on C-suite executives and venture capital-funded unicorns distracts from the underclass that keeps the San Francisco Bay Area running.
There’s a Name for the Material Things You Desire Even More After Their Price Goes Up
And they're called Veblen goods.
Shelf Help: ‘The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome’
Can genetic tests restore lost legacies?