Liberty: Hard to Achieve, Easy to Squander
Reading Time: 16 minutes A distinguished MIT economist looks at how today’s events line up with how liberty dies.
Watchdogs Challenge Surveillance in Berkeley
Reading Time: 16 minutes In a bastion of America’s progressivism, authorities are secretly spying on the public.
It Takes a Whistleblower to Know One
Reading Time: 14 minutes CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou weighs in on the Ukraine scandal.
Is This the End of the Republican Party?
Reading Time: 16 minutes The GOP has waged a losing battle against social modernity for decades. Next year Republicans will start paying for it, renowned pollster Stanley Greenberg predicts.
An Important Conversation With Climate Change Pioneer Bill McKibben
Reading Time: 13 minutes Big carbon and mass apathy are the existential double whammy, warns veteran climate campaigner Bill McKibben.
Are We All Cult Members Now?
Reading Time: 19 minutes One of the leading experts on cults gives a new perspective on today’s politics — and some of its frightening implications.
Detention Camps and Deadlock: US Immigration Policy Is in Disarray
Reading Time: 13 minutes Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) shares insights from his early visits to detention facilities and his legislative proposals to address the horrors he witnessed.
Should Twitter Suspend or Ban Trump?
Reading Time: 17 minutes President Donald Trump’s tweets often violate Twitter’s standards, but the company has taken no action to restrict or block them. A conversation with Mark Karlin and Russ Baker.
The Epstein Story Is Not About Celebrities and Shiny Objects
Reading Time: 15 minutes An examination of why we should be outraged that justice is not being served in the Epstein case.
Trump Even Screws Up Conspiracy Theories
Reading Time: 15 minutes Questioning accepted narratives is a healthy feature of an open society. But today’s conspiracists come without any evidence or sources — only a motive.
America’s Long History of Hating Immigrants
Reading Time: 15 minutes A look at how things like the Chinese Exclusion Act, eugenics, and white America’s desire for racial purity have historically been far worse than what we are seeing today — at least so far.
Everything You Know About Charles Manson Is Wrong!
Reading Time: 26 minutes The stunning results of a 20-year investigation into Charles Manson, the CIA, corrupt prosecutors, and the secret history of the Sixties.
Cyber Armies Are on the March
Reading Time: 15 minutes The current reality may be far more dangerous than past nuclear threats: Richard Clarke, the first White House official placed in charge of US cybersecurity policy, looks at the dangers of cyber warfare today.
Paul Krassner: The Life of an Investigative Satirist
Reading Time: 18 minutes Upon the death of Paul Krassner this week, we are sharing part of a conversation WhoWhatWhy podcaster Jeff Schechtman had with him back in 2009.
The Supreme Court’s Recent Decisions Cement Minority Rule
Reading Time: 16 minutes Gerrymandering expert David Daley explains the connection between partisan redistricting and Trump administration efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Big Business
Reading Time: 14 minutes The leader of an LA-based nonprofit talks about the trafficking of children — a growing scourge.
Truth Decay Part 2: News in a Digital Age
Reading Time: 14 minutes A conversation with the author of RAND’s new follow-up report on the diminishing role of facts and data in the news.
We’ve Just Doubled Down On Revolutionary War Mythology
Reading Time: 13 minutes A look at what we don’t understand about the Revolutionary War, and why that’s so important today.
Why Election Integrity Is the Whole Ballgame
Reading Time: 13 minutes A look at why a dysfunctional world needs American democracy to work.
The Frightening Rise of Algorithms
Reading Time: 13 minutes Why and how algorithms are taking over our lives, why we should care, and what we can do about it.