Andrew Sabl
17 February 2016
Hillary Clinton and the audacity of political realism
What Clinton is relearning in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire is that there's nothing audacious about hope. Hope is the one commodity every voter wants to buy. It's pragmatism that you can't sell.
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein
16 February 2016
The Republican establishment can fix its problems by picking a name out of a hat
In the language of game theory, this is a focal point problem. If all the establishment voters/donors could agree on one of the “establishment four” candidates, that candidate could be a viable competitor to Trump and Cruz. But establishment voters/donors are uncertain about which one of the four that will be — and so votes and money get split.
Joshua Tucker
Joshua Tucker
15 February 2016
12 February 2016
City Upon A Hill: A History Of American Exceptionalism [audio]
In his final State of the Union address, President Obama called America "the most powerful nation on Earth," saying, "When it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead—they call us." President Obama is hardly the first leader to talk about American exceptionalism. But just how "exceptional" is America? And why does it matter? In this episode of BackStory, we'll go behind the rhetoric to unpack the history and meaning of the term and assess the changing meanings of "American exceptionalism" over time.
BackStory
BackStory
11 February 2016
How to Talk to Bill Belichick
Do: Ask about the kicking game. Don’t: Ask him if he cares to elaborate on that.
Andrew Kahn and Josh Levin
Andrew Kahn and Josh Levin
09 February 2016
08 February 2016
Why we fight about Iran
The debates are so vicious because they're not really about Iran — they're about much deeper disputes.
Max Fisher
Max Fisher
05 February 2016
The Theory of Everything and Then Some
In complexity theory, physicists try to understand economics while sociologists think like biologists. Can they bring us any closer to universal knowledge?
David Auerbach
David Auerbach
04 February 2016
03 February 2016
02 February 2016
01 February 2016
29 January 2016
28 January 2016
27 January 2016
26 January 2016
25 January 2016
22 January 2016
21 January 2016
20 January 2016
19 January 2016
18 January 2016
Retiring members of Congress illustrate the problems with the campaign finance system
And here's the problem: Regardless of what you think about the influence of campaign contributions on policy outcomes, or about the free speech value of money, fundraising clearly takes up an awful lot of members' time.
This is time they could be spending reading briefing binders, attending hearings, getting to know colleagues — exactly the kinds of things you'd expect members of Congress to do. Instead, they spend countless hours depressingly dialing for dollars, listening sympathetically to wealthy and generally partisan donors.
Perhaps even worse, who the hell wants to sign up for this job in the first place? Who wants to self-telemarket for hours on end? It takes abnormal amounts of narcissistic hubris, which most thoughtful people just don't have. Frankly, Congress could probably use a little more self-doubt. It might open up members to more alternative viewpoints.
15 January 2016
14 January 2016
13 January 2016
12 January 2016
11 January 2016
Making And Using Models
What, after all, are economic models for? They are definitely not Truth. They are, however, a way to make sure that the stories you tell hang together, that they involve some plausible combination of individual behavior and interaction of those plausibly behaving individuals.
Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
08 January 2016
07 January 2016
Jon Meacham: Live at Politics & Prose [audio]
Jon Meacham discusses his book Destiny and Power, and takes questions from the audience. Live at Politics & Prose is a co-production of Slate and Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C.
Live at Politics & Prose
Live at Politics & Prose
06 January 2016
The elusive 2% inflation target
The FRED Blog
To anyone who believes that the inflation target of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is actually 2%: Conscience Warrior has a bridge for sale in Brooklyn...
To anyone who believes that the inflation target of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is actually 2%: Conscience Warrior has a bridge for sale in Brooklyn...
05 January 2016
04 January 2016
01 January 2016
This is a crucial and underappreciated point about why defeating ISIS is so difficult
"Every country in the Middle East is at war with ISIS. Yet none of them see ISIS as their primary enemy. In their view, Knights explains, the war against ISIS is merely a precursor to what they believe will be far more important battles to come, often against one another. 'In many cases actors are fighting the Islamic State purely to better position themselves for these other conflicts,' he writes. 'The many wars within the war against the Islamic State ... are already beginning.'"
Max Fisher
Max Fisher
31 December 2015
30 December 2015
29 December 2015
28 December 2015
25 December 2015
24 December 2015
23 December 2015
22 December 2015
21 December 2015
One depressing quote perfectly sums up our relationship with gun violence
The regularity of mass killings breeds familiarity. The rhythms of grief and outrage that accompany them become — for those not directly affected by tragedy — ritualised and then blend into the background noise. That normalisation makes it ever less likely that America's political system will groan into action to take steps to reduce their frequency or deadliness.
Those who live in America, or visit it, might do best to regard them the way one regards air pollution in China: an endemic local health hazard which, for deep-rooted cultural, social, economic and political reasons, the country is incapable of addressing.
This may, however, be a bit unfair. China seems to be making progress on pollution.
The Economist, via Christopher Ingraham
Those who live in America, or visit it, might do best to regard them the way one regards air pollution in China: an endemic local health hazard which, for deep-rooted cultural, social, economic and political reasons, the country is incapable of addressing.
This may, however, be a bit unfair. China seems to be making progress on pollution.
The Economist, via Christopher Ingraham
18 December 2015
The Price We Pay for Liberty?
America must not value the liberty to own a gun over the liberty to live free from violence.
Mark Joseph Stern
Mark Joseph Stern
17 December 2015
16 December 2015
15 December 2015
14 December 2015
11 December 2015
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