The Need for Institutional Review Boards
The system may be flawed, but dismantling it altogether is certainly not the answer.
Books
Pobre México
The millions of Mexicans who have evaded the legal immigration system work dangerous and dirty jobs for a fraction of American wages—and that's a national disgrace. But the end of cheap, vulnerable immigrant labor is near.
Heavy Metals
A new book traces our dependence on rare elements—and the environmental costs of a revolution in global mining.
Domestic Overlords
The 250-year precedent for deploying the United States military to police the nation's citizenry.
The Influential Druid
David Brower has slipped into semi-obscurity over the years, but he deserves a place in the pantheon of environmental heroes.
The Serious Side of Comedy
By tracking the evolution of American humor, Kliph Nesteroff proves that comedians can do more than make us laugh. They can show us who we really are.
History From Behind the Green Line
A military historian and former Israeli soldier argues that Israel's occupation of disputed territories is among the cruelest in history.
The Social Justice League
Did the age of progressive politics in American comics really end in the 1990s?
Breaking Out of Inequality’s Rhetorical Trap
In his new book, economist Anthony B. Atkinson shatters the conventional wisdom that economic inequality is a natural result of free markets and argues that it is, instead, a willful political choice we should stop making.
More Than Just the Numbers
When we treat people as collections of statistics, we ignore important aspects of their humanity.
A Safe Haven for Whom?
Advocates argue that safe haven laws prevent mothers from abandoning their newborns, but the policy abandons mothers upon dropoff.
Give Me That Old-Time Religion
From ISIS to the Christian right, three new books explore the modern urge to go back to an original, uncorrupted version of faith.
The Tribal Rites of Motherhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side
Wednesday Martin channels Jane Goodall as she attempts to gain access to a very select group.
What Was Famine?
The political economy of mass starvation, and why it is largely a thing of the past.
The Dangers of Spiritual Amateurism in America
Much of the forbidden, obscure, and esoteric knowledge that once made Buddhism and other religions difficult to study has now become accessible—with potentially dangerous results.
The Enigma of Survival
How does one tell the untraumatized majority about the conditions that constitute the underworld of trauma?