Society

The Russian empire is made up of many nations, forced under authoritarianism to exist under a single state. Some Ukrainians believe Ukraine won't be safe until Russia's empire is broken apart.

It’s hurricane season, but the government is placing ‘trade secrets’ above public safety

I dissect how neoclassical economics treats (neglects) natural resources, and discuss ways to fix it.

Each state has a unique constitution, separate and apart from the U.S. Constitution and from all other states. Many states confer more rights to their citizens than the federal government does, and the protections and structure within each state constitution are distinctive. This tool shows how different state constitutions compare to one another and the […]

In a recent interview with Jordan Peterson, Elon Musk stated that one of his values was “meritocracy, as much meritocracy as possible, so you get ahead as a function of your skill, and nothing else.”  “Meritocracy” is often framed by liberals as a thing that would be good if we actually had it, as opposed...

Fourteenth in the News Commons series. The main work of journalism is producing stories. Questions following that statement might begin with prepositions: on what, of what, about what. But the prep…

Now that AI is a huge thing, it’s worth visiting what intelligence is, and how we mismeasure it—for example, by trying to measure it at all. I’ve been on this case for a while now, most…

For Bloomberg, Elena Mejía and Shawn Donnan use a transitioning cartogram to show how immigration might play a role in the upcoming election: In the battleground states that will decide this Novemb…

Any day is a good day for a map of predominant commercial chains. For The Washington Post, Kevin Schaul and Jaclyn Peiser show the most common grocery owners, creating territories within the United…

It's about debt on zombie office towers.

His vainglorious $44bn takeover backfired on investors, employees, users – and the world’s richest man himself.

The evidence is convincing: The betting industry is ruining lives.

How can anyone still support this guy?

‘One-third of all Americans killed by strangers are killed by police.’

The strategy comes at a cost for the planet.

Inside violent US far-right groups, the role played by military veterans and the threat they pose to democracy.

Populism is on the rise around the world but the forms it takes can vary widely. Populists can align with the traditional left or right an...

I have six new shorts and poems up at Flaming Hydra this week. Unforeseen DifficultiesFiction by Luke O’Neil The guilt He was in the garage jigsaw-puzzling the architecture of the bones. After some doing he looked upon his works and thought well that’s spooky. Nothing crazy but still.

No.325 — To understand Mississippi with a 480-year-old map ⊗ Once Upon A Future ⊗ Computational reproducibility

Renewable technologies are gathering speed, putting the world within reach of falling greenhouse gas emissions. Climate experts say they "struggle to wrap their heads around" the sheer size, scale and speed of the current transition.

How did the CIA become what it is?

Did the US armed services refuse to execute an order by Biden, which would amount to a coup, or is the story more complex?

US dairy farms are disappearing, down 95 percent in terms of numbers since the 1970s—milk price rules are one reason why.

As a freelance software engineer with 25 years in the trenches of the tech industry, I’ve witnessed firsthand the slow, insidious death of…

The groundbreaking Lalonde Report – which promoted the idea that socioeconomic determinants of health are most important – is more relevant than ever