CATEGORIES

Courts Are Coming for Digital Libraries

IN SEPTEMBER, A federal appeals court dealt a major blow to the Internet Archive-one of the largest online repositories of free books, media, and software-in a copyright case with significant implications for publishers, libraries, and readers.

Pearl Clutchers in Hot Spring County

IS THE FILM Night of the Living Dead too racy for daytime television? What about double entendres about \"spotted dick\" pudding? Or a travel documentary about Paris featuring burlesque dancers and a museum with nude paintings? These were just some of the federal obscenity complaints that made Hot Spring County, Arkansas, the most prudish place in America.

Q & A: Jane Coaston

JANE COASTON IS a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times who describes herself as having “libertarian tendencies.”

Censorship on Campus

LAST YEAR, STUDENT-LED protests over the Israel-Hamas war broke out at dozens of college campuses. With the new school year well underway, student demonstrations have begun again in earnest.

There's More to the 'Motherhood Penalty'

IS MOTHERHOOD BAD for women's careers? Conventional wisdom says \"yes,\" but a new study suggests \"maybe not.\"

Citizen Journalism Under Threat

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Modern Crafters Rediscover an Old Sweater

YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE been picking up fiber arts such as knitting in recent years, spurred by social media trends and pandemic-era boredom. Knitting forums now feature young crafters not just rediscovering traditional patterns but reinventing them for modern times.

A Psychedelic Ban Would Disrupt Important Research

YOU HAVE PROBABLY never heard of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), much less worried about its possible abuse. Yet the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wants to ban this synthetic psychedelic, a promising research chemical used in more than 900 published studies, by placing it in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), which defeated a previous DEA attempt to ban DOI in 2022, is determined to stop the agency's interference with science again.

What Is the 'Working Class'?

REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS alike want to be seen as champions of the working class-understandably so, since that cohort of Americans is understood as essential to winning several presidential swing states.

Gimme Shelter - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs

But so is everyone else.

AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate

With help from AI, doctors can focus on patients.

Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI

Left alone, AI could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.

A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars

THE FIRST PAR AGR APH of the book jacket lays it out: “There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past.

FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT

THE AUTHORS OF FOUR NEW BOOKSWITH 24 KIDS BETWEEN THEM-SAY THE AMERICAN FAMILY NEEDS A COURSE CORRECTION.

"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'

Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on hero worship and moral assumptions in the study of the past

Cutting Off Israel

ENDING U.S. AID WOULD GIVE WASHINGTON LESS LEVERAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S WHY IT’S WORTH DOING.

WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?

GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT, NOT SENTENCING REFORM OR SPARSE SOCIAL SPENDING, DESERVES THE BLAME.

States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the “strange bedfellows” cliché when reading about the criminal justice reform movement in the 2010s.

Florida's Citrus Slaughter

MANY SOUTH FLORIDA residents remember with grief a day in the early ’00s when the government came for their citrus trees.

Q&A Bryan Caplan

BRYAN CAPLAN IS known for his unconventional approach to tackling big issues.

Republican Defenders of Abortion in Arizona

THOUGH STILL ON the books, Arizona’s near-total ban on abortion was buried deep in the state’s history—until recently.

New York's Predictable Legal Pot 'Disaster'

AS OF EARLY May, more than three years after New York legalized recreational marijuana, just 119 licensed dispensaries were serving that market in the entire state.

The Black Panther Who Was Banned From the Ballot

DONALD TRUMP WAS not the first celebrity presidential candidate who could reasonably be accused of insurrection against the United States.

SWAT Goes to College

A GRAY-HAIRED DARTMOUTH professor was tackled, zip-tied, and detained on May 1 along with about 90 other protesters.

50 Years of D&D: You Can't Copyright Fun

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the granddaddy of tabletop role-playing games and one of the urtexts of nerd culture.

The Alzheimer's Test You're Not Allowed To Have

MILLIONS FACE THE shadow of Alzheimer’s, a disease that steals memories and devastates lives.

An Early Test for Alzheimer's

SHOULD YOU BE allowed to take a blood test that could tell you if you’re already at risk of Alzheimer’s disease? Last year, Quest Diagnostics began offering a consumer-initiated blood test for $399 (not covered by insurance) that detects the buildup of proteins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s in customers’ plasma.

Caging Lab-Grown Meat

LAB-GROWN MEAT IS a scientific marvel. We’ve managed, through pure human ingenuity, to create something that looks like meat, cooks like meat, tastes pretty much like meat, and comes from animal cells—yet doesn’t require the slaughter of a single living animal.

The 'Migrant Crime' Wave, Debunked

“THE UNITED STATES is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime,” said former President Donald Trump during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in February. “It’s a new form of vicious violation to our country.”