‘Weaponized interdependence’
Feature: Why does Europe run on American tech? Filippo Blancato on a bargain that seemed to make sense at the time.
‘Oh, the empire of course’
Feature: Why does nothing in the United Kingdom seem to work? A.G. Hopkins on the decades of self-inflicted wounds that have hollowed out the British state.
‘Engagement, engagement, engagement’
Feature: What’s getting American teenagers off their phones? Ioakim Boutakidis on the strategies parents are using to help kids unplug.
‘They’re going to need it in spades’
Feature: Is the world moving off the dollar? Nicholas Mulder on where it’s slipping—and why the U.S. financial industry has so much riding on it.
‘The world is the sphere of influence’
Feature: Why is the White House calling its political opponents “national security” threats? Andrew Preston on the 86-year history of a curious rationale.
Tracks of uncertainty
Feature: What happened to the “public intellectual”? Raymond Geuss on a role that lasted 70 years—and why he won’t really miss it.
Cars before drones
Feature: Can Europe’s booming defense industry save its dying factories? Sander Tordoir on the problem with the story Germany’s manufacturers are telling themselves.
Humboldt’s gift
Feature: Has politics really killed the humanities in America? Chad Wellmon on a red herring in public debate about the universities—and what you see when you start following the money.
The language of beauty
Feature: Why have buildings gotten so ugly? Samuel Hughes on a status game that’s been playing out in contemporary architecture—and how elite taste may be starting to turn.
‘Someone knew, and someone was trading’
Feature: Why is the U.S. government going so easy on white-collar crime? John C. Coffee Jr. on how the White House is making corruption safe again.
