The Signal

Sep 17, 2021 by Michael Bluhm

Yes, We Have No Bananas

Is the U.S. headed for continuing shortages and rising prices? Dean Baker on how the American economy has held up to the disruptions of the pandemic.

Economy 12 min read

Sep 16, 2021 by Graham Vyse

Loyal Opposition

Just how much influence does Donald Trump still have over his party? Tim Miller on why the former president’s enduring appeal is such a problem for the Republican leadership and conservative elites.

Democracy 15 min read

Sep 15, 2021 by Michael Bluhm

Observe and Report

Could Texas’s new abortion law create a nation of bounty hunters? Amanda Hollis-Brusky on how deputizing citizens as enforcers could turn America into a failed state.

Democracy 14 min read

Sep 14, 2021 by Graham Vyse

Chinese Idols

What’s behind Beijing’s crackdown on celebrity fan culture and online gaming? Ian Johnson on the Communist Party’s new push to enforce traditionalist values.

Democracy 11 min read

Sep 10, 2021 by Michael Bluhm

The Cartography of Power

Could next year’s U.S. elections be decided by how state legislators redraw maps? Lee Drutman on geographic sorting, partisan polarization, and zero-sum voting.

Democracy 12 min read

Sep 9, 2021 by Graham Vyse

Burning Bright

Why have schools become so central in America’s culture wars? Jonathan Zimmerman on a continued history of conflict over “nothing less than the definition of the nation itself.”

Democracy 12 min read

Sep 7, 2021 by Michael Bluhm

Nothing Is Easy

Just how secure is the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan? Benjamin Hopkins on foreign subsidies, the drug trade, and civil war.

14 min read

Sep 3, 2021 by Graham Vyse

Calculated Risk

How safe is in-person schooling as the coronavirus resurges? David Rubin on the public-health challenges of trying to return to normalcy in American education.

Health 12 min read

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