How the Census Bureau Stood Up to Donald Trump’s Meddling
The failed attempt would have benefited Republicans by sapping electoral strength from Democratic-leaning areas.
August 12, 2021
The Pandemic Shrank Our Social Circles. Let’s Keep It That Way.
You don’t need to rekindle your friendship with your kid’s soccer teammate’s father if you don’t want to.
April 23, 2021
Pandemic-Proof Your Habits
Too many people are still longing for their old routines. Get some new ones instead.
November 28, 2020
Boeing’s 737 Max Is a Saga of Capitalism Gone Awry
A corporate culture that privileged profits over safety had terrible consequences.
November 24, 2020
Trump Has Called His Supporters ‘Disgusting.’ Do They Care?
“The people Trump despises most love him the most,” Howard Stern has said. But that may be beginning to change.
October 10, 2020
The Private Sector Can’t Pay for Everything
With stimulus delayed amid waffling by President Trump, employers have been left to fend for themselves. The results have been troubling.
October 9, 2020
We’re All Socially Awkward Now
Deprive people of interactions with peers, and their social skills will atrophy. This is yet another side effect of the pandemic.
September 1, 2020
The Coronavirus Generation
The virus doesn’t sicken kids as much as adults. But it can still destroy their futures. A child allowance would help.
August 22, 2020
I’ve Been to Every Convention Since ’88. Here’s What’s Missing This Year.
What is American politics without a bit of schmoozing?
August 21, 2020
The Real Reason the American Economy Boomed After World War II
How expanding opportunity for women, immigrants and nonwhite workers helped everyone — and why we need to do so again.
August 6, 2020
To Break a Horse, and a Woman
How do prey animals stay safe in a world out to get them? And how would I?
August 2, 2020
A.O.C. and the Daughter Defense
Sorry, Ted Yoho. Having daughters doesn’t get you a sexism free pass.
July 25, 2020
Your Ancestors Knew Death in Ways You Never Will
Some say we’re doomed. But science and public spending have saved us from pandemics worse than this one.
July 15, 2020
The Surprising Origin of Our Modern Nation of Immigrants
The landmark 1965 immigration law prioritized family ties, but originally as a way to keep America white.
June 13, 2020
A ‘Glorious Poetic Rage’
This time is different. Here’s why.
June 5, 2020
Contact Tracing Is Harder Than It Sounds
An elite cadre of 20th-century syphilis hunters can teach us a lot about what it takes to stop infections.
May 23, 2020
Did Closing Schools Actually Help?
Researchers have a plan to find out.
May 2, 2020
Why Zoom Is Terrible
There’s a reason video apps make you feel awkward and unfulfilled.
April 29, 2020
When Asian-Americans Have to Prove We Belong
This isn’t the first time we’ve been treated as a threat.
April 10, 2020
I Am Hospitalized With the Coronavirus
As a generally healthy 45-year-old, I didn’t seem like a probable Covid-19 candidate.
March 27, 2020
Why America Will Never Get Medicare for All
Forget politics or money. Racism explains why the country lacks the safety net its citizens deserve.
March 14, 2020
The Rise and Fall of M.B.S.’s Digital Henchman
He was the Saudi crown prince’s secret weapon — until he went too far.
March 13, 2020
The Open Borders Trap
Trump won’t stop talking and tweeting about them. But when it comes to immigration, what do Democrats actually believe?
March 5, 2020
Why Democrats Are Still Not the Party of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
In contests for party control between progressives and moderates, electoral and governing results speak for themselves.
March 5, 2020
To Take On the Coronavirus, Go Medieval on It
Quarantines and restrictive measures served a purpose in the old days. They can now, too.
February 28, 2020
What Does It Mean to Have a Serious Drinking Problem?
Alcohol was my stress reducer, my reality fighter, the conferrer of artificial joys. It was also wreaking havoc on my life.
January 31, 2020
‘Sesame Street’ Is Opening Up to Syrian Refugees
What happens when the people who invented educational television try to reinvent humanitarian aid?
January 31, 2020
Pay Attention to How Trump Talks About Investigations
The president and his allies have developed a pattern for politicizing Justice Department inspector general reports.
December 13, 2019
Apocalypse Got You Down? Maybe This Will Help
Searching for a cure for my climate crisis grief.
November 15, 2019
The Impossible Alchemy of Barneys at Saks
Is mixing these brands a brilliant idea? Or is it like putting Burger King inside McDonald’s?
November 9, 2019
The Government Protects Our Food and Cars. Why Not Our Data?
The United States is virtually the only developed nation without a comprehensive consumer data protection law and an independent agency to enforce it.
November 2, 2019
Are We Living in a Post-Happiness World?
With happiness harder to come by these days, people are grasping at any moment of joy they can get.
September 28, 2019
Imagine Jair Bolsonaro Standing Trial for Ecocide at The Hague
A group of activists already has.
September 21, 2019
Trust Our Weather Forecasters, Not Trump
What if you knew a skyscraper was going to topple in the wind, but no one believed you?
September 14, 2019
Brett Kavanaugh Fit In With the Privileged Kids. She Did Not.
Deborah Ramirez’s Yale experience says much about the college’s efforts to diversify its student body in the 1980s.
September 14, 2019
What Makes an American?
I took reassurance this past week in a Texas immigration story that suggests America’s powers of assimilation remain formidable.
August 9, 2019
Who Owns Theodore Roosevelt?
From Elizabeth Warren to Mike Pence, politicians want to claim America’s 26th president as their inspiration. They might want to reconsider.
July 27, 2019
It Was Never About Busing
Court-ordered desegregation worked. But white racism made it hard to accept.
July 12, 2019
2019 Belongs to Shirley Chisholm
A feature film. A monument. Tattoos in her honor. People looking for a hero have found one in this one-woman precursor to today’s progressive politics.
July 6, 2019
Everyone Wants a Rescue Dog. Not Everyone Can Have One.
“You get a maltipoo in here and you’re likely to see a blood bath,” a shelter director said.
June 29, 2019
This Economy Is Not Aging Gracefully
The American population is getting older, and that has devastating consequences for the economy. Could robots save us?
June 15, 2019
Why Do You Grab Your Bag When Running Off a Burning Plane?
As passengers fled a burning plane in Moscow, some stopped to get their luggage. Don’t be too quick to judge.
May 11, 2019
Why Don’t Women Get Comebacks Like Tiger Woods?
His story is a reminder of whose transgressions can be set apart from their redemption stories.
April 20, 2019
If Prisons Don’t Work, What Will?
The Democratic presidential candidates should look at what a growing number of prosecutors are doing to end mass incarceration.
April 5, 2019
We’re All Stuck Inside George and Kellyanne’s Marriage
Are we watching a life partnership fracture on Twitter, a casualty of Donald Trump?
March 30, 2019
The Story Behind a 2,600-Year-Old Seal
Who was Natan-Melech, the king’s servant?
March 30, 2019
The Lost History of One of the World’s Strangest Science Experiments
The hummingbirds were dying. Cockroaches were everywhere. And then Steve Bannon showed up.
March 29, 2019
How Powerful Is Vladimir Putin Really?
Russia today doesn’t seem like “a properly run dictatorship.”
March 23, 2019
Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good
Screens used to be for the elite. Now avoiding them is a status symbol.
March 23, 2019
New Zealand Confronts an American Export: Mass Shootings
The country’s leaders want a solution, not just the problem, to become a global phenomenon.
March 22, 2019
‘Women Here Are Very, Very Worried’
Afghan women used to be championed by almost everyone. Now they’re all but forgotten.
March 22, 2019
Don’t Fight the Robots. Tax Them.
Many companies invest in automation because the tax code encourages it, not because robots are more productive.
February 23, 2019
Can Peer Pressure Defeat Trump?
In 2020, Democrats need millennials to turn out. Vote shaming apps can help.
February 22, 2019
Do American Women Still Need an Equal Rights Amendment?
We’re already living in Phyllis Schlafly’s nightmare.
February 16, 2019
The ‘Some of My Best Friends Are Black’ Defense
It’s a myth that proximity to blackness immunizes white people from doing racist things.
February 16, 2019
Is This the Right Way to End a War?
Many experts worry that the U.S. is repeating the mistakes of Vietnam in Afghanistan.
February 2, 2019
The Age of Big Leaks
A terabyte of data — 100 million pages or 1,000 hours of video — can be shared on a thumb drive. But stolen secrets come with complications.
February 2, 2019
What Is the Blood of a Poor Person Worth?
Desperate people can make $30 donating plasma, up to 104 times a year, in this $20 billion industry.
February 1, 2019
The Transcendent Incompetence of the L Train Fiasco
No single individual is to blame for the reality of New York’s subway.
January 12, 2019
Is America’s Political Future in San Antonio?
Julián Castro wants to make that case.
January 5, 2019
American Jews and Israeli Jews Are Headed for a Messy Breakup
Is the world ready for another Great Schism?
January 4, 2019
John Chau Wanted to Change Life on North Sentinel Island. Was He Wrong?
The death of a young American missionary on a tropical island at the hands of an indigenous group has left us to wonder: Are they better off with us or without us?
November 30, 2018
These Americans Are Done With Politics
The Exhausted Majority needs a break.
November 17, 2018
There’s No Nice Lady Caucus in Congress
With 100-plus women heading to the House, let’s examine some myths.
November 10, 2018
Trump Has Only Sticks, No Carrots
This administration’s entire foreign policy relies on sanctions. But that’s not coercing anyone — it’s isolating America.
November 10, 2018
Who Says Allie Kieffer Isn’t Thin Enough to Run Marathons?
Success that shows we might be able to achieve even more when we break all the rules.
October 27, 2018
Down With the Year of the Woman
We need to normalize female politicians, not act as though they’re unicorns. And if someone says “pink wave” again, I’m going to dry heave.
October 20, 2018
Is Trump on a Collision Course With Impeachment?
Democrats are largely ducking the topic on the campaign trail, but few people in Washington doubt that it will be on the table if they win the House.
October 13, 2018
Women Don’t Think Alike. Why Do We Think They Do?
Conservative supporters of the president and Brett Kavanaugh aren’t betraying their gender — they’re sticking with what they believe.
October 12, 2018
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the Anti-Trump of American Politics
A public official who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind without perverting reality.
October 11, 2018
Naomi Osaka, a New Governor and Me
Is Japan becoming more welcoming to mixed-race people?
October 6, 2018
A Year of Reckoning
To move forward, we have to excavate the past.
October 6, 2018
Why Trump Will Win a Second Term
Reality TV has always been the guidebook for this presidency. And most popular series last for six seasons.
September 29, 2018
More Evidence That Nutrition Studies Don’t Always Add Up
A Cornell food scientist’s downfall could reveal a bigger problem in nutrition research.
September 29, 2018
Just Don’t Call It Privacy
Amazon, Google and Twitter executives are heading to Congress. Should legislators give consumers control over the data companies have on them?
September 22, 2018
The Last Thing Mom Asked
I am not a doctor. I am not very brave. But I want to do what she wants.
August 31, 2018
Why Manafort and Cohen Thought They’d Get Away With It
It shouldn’t take a special counsel to uncover white-collar crimes, but it does.
August 24, 2018
The White House and the Strongman
How the Obama administration watched the demise of Arab democracy — and paved the way for Trump’s embrace of dictators.
July 27, 2018
Maggie Haberman: Why I Needed to Pull Back From Twitter
The viciousness, toxic partisan anger and intellectual dishonesty are at all-time highs.
July 20, 2018
Forget a Fast Car. Creativity Is the New Midlife Crisis Cure.
Who needs a Ferrari when you can pick up a paintbrush?
July 14, 2018
Why Hackers Aren’t Afraid of Us
The United States has the most fearsome cyberweaponry on the planet, but we won’t use it for fear of what will come next.
June 16, 2018
Miss America Gets to Dress Herself
Women can pick what they want to wear, but no one should pretend what they’re wearing doesn’t matter.
June 9, 2018
When Spies Hack Journalism
Reporters usually care little about a source’s motives, provided their information is true and newsworthy. But what if the source is a foreign spy agency?
May 12, 2018
Can Weak Unions Get Teachers More Money?
What walkouts show about the real power of organized labor.
May 5, 2018
Excavating My ’90s-Era Childhood Bedroom
I found Troll dolls, Seventeen magazine and evidence of the person I am now.
April 28, 2018
‘They Were Never Going to Let Me Be President’
Covering Hillary Clinton’s campaign from before it started to the very last moment.
April 20, 2018
Mom Is Running for Office
A new generation of female politicians campaign on the raw realities — and credentials — of motherhood.
April 14, 2018
Separate Is Not Equal in the Marine Corps
I learned at Parris Island that the Marine Corps has lower expectations of its female recruits.
March 31, 2018
Anti-Semitism Is Rising. Why Aren’t American Jews Speaking Up?
The leaders of major Jewish organizations have been focused on Israel, not the brewing storm in our own country.
March 17, 2018
The Poison Putin Spreads
The long-serving Russian leader, who is about to be re-elected for a six-year term, has become a model for the modern autocrat.
March 17, 2018
Money Is Power. And Women Need More of Both.
There’s a gender gap when it comes to earning, or wanting to earn, at the highest levels.
March 10, 2018
What if Republicans Win the Midterms?
Anti-Trump anger is an unexploded bomb, its volatility contained by anticipation of a huge Democratic wave in November. What if there isn’t one?
March 3, 2018
Why People Love to Jump Off Cliffs
High-risk sports enthusiasts say that the thrills are worth the danger.
February 24, 2018
Russia Isn’t the Only One Meddling in Elections. We Do It, Too.
America has long used cash and propaganda to try to steer the outcome of foreign votes.
February 17, 2018
Trump, Tell Us About Your Flu Shot
Our germophobic president must do more to protect American health.
February 9, 2018
The ‘Manly’ Jobs Problem
Could sexual harassment be linked to work we define as masculine?
February 8, 2018
Hillary Clinton Ignited a Feminist Movement. By Losing.
She was poised to lead and now is on the sidelines.
January 13, 2018
A Chinese Empire Reborn
The Communist Party’s emerging empire is more the result of force than a gravitational pull of Chinese ideas.
January 5, 2018
Dad Believed in U.F.O.s. Turns Out He Wasn’t Alone.
My father and the Pentagon seemed to agree. There could be life out there.
December 30, 2017
The College Sports Tax Dodge
A loophole written when collegiate athletics were a trivial business allows billions of dollars in revenue to go untaxed.
December 28, 2017
When Saying ‘Yes’ Is Easier Than Saying ‘No’
Sexual consent can be more complicated than a one-word answer.
December 16, 2017
Why Russia Tried to Cheat Its Way to Glory
Russia’s election meddling and its Olympic doping are at the heart of President Putin’s effort to recapture his country’s past.
December 8, 2017
In China, the Brutality of ‘House Arrest’
A new book provides first-person accounts of rights activists and political dissidents detained in secret prisons under China’s criminal code.
November 25, 2017
When the Right Pushes Fake Jews
“Bernie Bernstein” makes a robocall in deep-red Alabama.
November 18, 2017
No One Knows What Britain Is Anymore
An island nation comes unmoored.
November 4, 2017
$1.3 Million for That?
Whatever Paul Manafort may or may not have done, he robbed us of a “lavish lifestyle” fantasy.
November 4, 2017
The Survivor’s Guilt of a New American Citizen
I no longer live in the shadows, but the fate of my fellow Dreamers is uncertain.
October 14, 2017
Xi Jinping and China’s New Era of Glory
Many of the Chinese president’s aggressive plans are underpinned by an idealistic view that China’s 200-year eclipse is ending.
October 13, 2017
The World’s Most Powerful Woman Won’t Call Herself a Feminist
Angela Merkel doesn’t need you to call her one either.
September 16, 2017
When History’s Losers Write the Story
Supporters of Confederate memorials airbrush slavery out of the Civil War. It reminds me of the Russians who view Stalin fondly.
September 15, 2017
Well, What Should Hillary Clinton Do Now?
She is not going to be off on an indefinite hike in the Chappaqua woods.
September 9, 2017
Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were
It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers.
July 21, 2017
What Gucci Can Teach the Democrats
Voters are consumers now, browsing for the best or most appealing deal.
July 8, 2017
Can Trump Destroy Obama’s Legacy?
The president seems determined to define his time in office by demolishing what his predecessor did.
June 23, 2017
Will the Presidency Survive This President?
Mr. Trump’s recklessness may force Congress or the courts to constrain him, diminishing the power of the office.
May 20, 2017
Roger Ailes, Hillary Clinton and Me
The former head of Fox News liked journalists who looked like models and hated women who acted like Hillary Clinton. Which one was I going to be?
May 20, 2017
Drinking Fanta With Islamist Militants
Visiting Mogadishu in the fall of 2006, I was prepared to confront angry Islam. What I saw stunned me, but not in the way you might expect.
May 13, 2017
The Women Who Still Like Trump
“He doesn’t care what you think. I’m kind of that way, too, so I can respect that.”
April 29, 2017
These Guys Really Like Trump
It’s only been 100 days. Give him time, they say.
April 29, 2017
Syria Changed the World
The West tried to ignore “Muslims killing Muslims,” but the war in Syria has engulfed us all.
April 21, 2017
Imagining Melania’s Fashion Line
The first lady says she isn’t starting one. But there’s a reason people believed she might.
February 11, 2017
One Country, Two Tribes
I spent 15 years covering political conflicts overseas. Now the same kinds of angry divisions are tearing at America.
January 28, 2017
Barnum & Bailey Make Room for a New Ringmaster
Like Nero and even P.T. Barnum, Donald Trump will eventually have to deliver bread along with the show.
January 21, 2017
Don’t Gloat, Democrats
Whether or not Clinton wins the election, the Democratic Party will need to confront its formidable ideological schisms.
November 5, 2016
The Ethics of Hunting Down ‘Patient Zero’
The debunking of an AIDS myth raises a moral question: When is justifiable to seek out the source of a disease outbreak?
October 29, 2016
Does This Flag Make You Flinch?
To protest police violence, an artist resurrected an old N.A.A.C.P. flag about lynching. I wondered if provocative art could help a divided nation confront its past and present.
July 14, 2016
Bribery and Corruption, or ‘Honest Graft’?
A case before the Supreme Court could determine if Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos go to jail.
June 18, 2016
Finding Hope in a Wildfire’s Ashes
For the survivors of wildfires in Alberta and Arizona, lives as well as homes need to rebuilt from scratch.
May 28, 2016
Sorry, We Don’t Take Obamacare
The growing pains of the health care act are frustrating patients.
May 14, 2016
Giving a Name, and Dignity, to a Disability
Society has long struggled to find the proper terminology for people with intellectual disability.
May 7, 2016
How the $15 Minimum Wage Went From Laughable to Viable
Led by New York and California, several states are planning the increase.
April 1, 2016
The World Has a Problem: Too Many Young People
They may put pressure on the global economy, sow political unrest and spur mass migration.
March 5, 2016
Ask Your Doctor if This Ad Is Right for You
How advertising promotes expensive drugs and treatments you may not need.
February 27, 2016
Can Health Care Providers Afford to Be Ready for Disaster?
Many critical medical facilities are minimally prepared for disasters.
February 13, 2016
Everybody’s a Critic. And That’s How It Should Be.
To be a critic is to be a defender of the life of art and a champion of the art of living.
January 30, 2016
In Danger in Afghanistan, Unable to Flee
Under threat of an honor killing, a young couple cannot get a visa to leave Afghanistan.
December 5, 2015
Notes on the China I’m Leaving Behind
Eight years of bearing witness to the nation’s patchwork progress.
November 28, 2015
Teaching Peace in Elementary School
Many educators believe that children need to learn emotional intelligence to reach their full academic potential.
November 14, 2015
The Mystery of the Vanishing Pay Raise
Despite economic recovery, the share of corporate income going to workers has sunk to its lowest level since 1951.
October 31, 2015
So Will Processed Meat Give You Cancer?
The newest announcement implies that all risks are equal, and they are not.
October 31, 2015
Don’t Fear the Robots
Attention is better directed toward the promise and peril of artificial intelligence software.
October 24, 2015
Gamblers, Scientists and the Mysterious Hot Hand
New research shows how we can be fooled by our instinctive belief in patterns.
October 17, 2015
So What Is Th@ Thing, Anyway?
The world can’t agree on what to call an everyday symbol.
October 3, 2015
Visit France Next, Pape François
The country is still largely Roman Catholic, but there is much work that could be done.
October 3, 2015
Putin’s Credo: Never Let Them See You Sweat
To the Russian president, any display of weakness is a fatal flaw.
September 26, 2015
Why Russians Hate America. Again.
Back after a decade away, a reporter finds more wealth — and loathing.
September 12, 2015
Are Western Values Losing Their Sway?
The global embrace of liberal democracy is far from inevitable.
September 12, 2015
The Collateral Victims of Criminal Justice
An arrest, whether or not a conviction follows, has long-term consequences for a defendant’s family.
September 5, 2015
The Art of the Presidential Exit
Obama’s second act may be more like Clinton’s than the Bushes’.
August 29, 2015
Vacation in Rome? Or on That Oil Rig?
From scuba diving schools to prisons, new ideas for old offshore platforms.
August 15, 2015
‘Hamilton’ and the Republican Hopefuls
Brash characters abound in the musical “Hamilton” and the Republican debate.
August 1, 2015
Protecting the Untamed Seas
Because no one or everyone is responsible for what happens on the high seas, it’s in many ways a free-for-all.
July 31, 2015
Did Reddit Boss Coverage Cross a Line?
More than ever, Times reporters are going beyond just the facts. But problems can occur when analysis overtakes the news.
July 18, 2015
Addicted to Your Phone? There’s Help for That
There’s new technology to save us from technology.
July 11, 2015
The Medical Bill Mystery
Why can’t receipts say what the charges are for?
May 2, 2015
Push, Don’t Crush, the Students
In Silicon Valley, mixed messages fuel a best-in-class mentality.
April 24, 2015
Where Are the Teachers of Color?
A majority of public school students are nonwhite but more than 80 percent of teachers are white.
April 11, 2015
Layers of Loss in New York City
I got the toys I’d thought were defunct at a store that’s closed in a building that’s now destroyed.
April 11, 2015
Thomas Cromwell, a Man for All Centuries
He was a right-hand man well versed in political skulduggery.
April 4, 2015
Learning to See Data
Developing instinctual learning can help scientists see patterns in the digital universe.
March 27, 2015
America Needs Its Own Emojis
There’s so much we can’t express because the symbols don’t exist: no Vulcan salute, no pickup truck, no bacon.
March 7, 2015
What Iran Won’t Say About the Bomb
Should it have to say how much it knows about bomb design?
March 7, 2015
Please Don’t Thank Me for My Service
Some veterans wince at reflexive gratitude.
February 21, 2015
Insured, but Not Covered
New health insurance policies have many Americans scrambling.
February 7, 2015
Surviving the Nazis, Only to Be Jailed by America
“Displaced persons” were still behind barbed wire and under armed guard.
February 7, 2015
Why Judges Tilt to the Right
Politics shape the bench, even though most lawyers are liberal.
January 31, 2015
Is the War Crimes Court Still Relevant?
The Palestinian situation is only the latest challenge.
January 10, 2015
The Next Battle for Ukraine
A new activist generation seeks a shift in the way society and the state interact.
January 3, 2015
Ebola Should Be Easy to Treat
Ebola can be battled back, but conditions in Sierra Leone make it very, very hard.
December 20, 2014
The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation About Race
My African-American son’s appearance affords him the option to check “other” on the race card.
December 13, 2014
Where Tech Giants Protect Privacy
Regulations on personal data are tougher abroad.
December 13, 2014
The Golden Age
Hoarding gold is the economy’s comfort food.
December 6, 2014
British Noses, Firmly in the Air
What snobs really think about the little gits and plebs.
December 5, 2014
Pain Is Colorblind
What color was the trigger finger? Wrong question.
November 29, 2014
Studying for the Test by Taking It
The process of testing can deepen learning.
November 22, 2014
Medical Records: Top Secret
Patients face a tortuous process to obtain their own information.
November 8, 2014
Which President Cut the Most Nukes?
Hint: It’s not the one who just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
November 1, 2014
Mired in Mediocrity
The “meh” generation taps into the zeitgeist of cultural dullness.
October 31, 2014
The Big Bang of Social Networking
It is still early days in the mission to rebottle personal privacy.
October 25, 2014
The World’s Dissidents Have Their Say
Get depressed about a lot more than Ebola and the Islamic State.
October 25, 2014
The Ebola Conspiracy Theories
Some say it’s a military bioweapon, others a ploy by Big Pharma.
October 18, 2014
The Challenge of Defining Rape
States are redefining the scope of sexual misconduct.
October 11, 2014
Object Lessons in History
Tracing defining moments through an AIDS poster, a musician’s trumpet, a light bulb.
September 27, 2014
Judges on the Campaign Trail
Does spending on judicial elections corrupt the courts’ impartiality?
September 27, 2014
Can a Computer Replace Your Doctor?
Do state-of-the-art gadgets really help patients?
September 20, 2014
Are Liberal Jewish Voters a Thing of the Past?
The Hasidic population boom is transforming the religion’s traditional profile in New York.
September 13, 2014
We’re All Nerds Now
Geek obsessions are increasingly becoming totems of mainstream cool.
September 13, 2014
Why Don’t More Men Go Into Teaching?
A change in the gender imbalance could sway the way teaching is regarded, and help it attract the best candidates.
September 6, 2014
Are Police Bigoted?
Whether racial bias is a significant factor in shootings is an open question, and there are no reliable numbers which can provide the answer.
August 30, 2014
Dealing With Digital Cruelty
The web encourages bad behavior, and it’s part of our nature to focus on the negative. But there are smart ways to respond.
August 23, 2014
The War of Words in China
After a lull in xenophobia, anti-Western invective is back.
August 2, 2014
When Thrill Rides Are Real Risks
No one knows for certain whether amusement park rides are getting safer or more dangerous.
July 26, 2014
Why the U.N. Can’t Solve the World’s Problems
The trouble is not that the major powers don’t care. It is that they care too much.
July 26, 2014
Beleaguered Blue Helmets
Tensions over the role and pay of United Nations peacekeepers have recently escalated, with deeper grievances just below the surface.
July 12, 2014
A Damaging Distance
Israelis and Palestinians once worked and socialized together. Increasing separation has made them strangers who distrust and fear each other.
July 11, 2014
The Health Care Waiting Game
We think we get medical appointments quickly, but that’s not always true.
July 5, 2014
Britain’s Strange Identity Crisis
The vote on Scotland’s referendum to stay in or leave the United Kingdom will bring major change, either way.
June 28, 2014
Hacker Tactic: Holding Data Hostage
Cybercriminals are finding new ways to breach firewalls and hold data hostage.
June 21, 2014
Orchestrated Conflict
Russian television has been whipping up anti-Kiev sentiment with unsettling effectiveness.
June 13, 2014
View, Interrupted: The Spoiling of Manhattan’s Skyline
Buildings rising along the Lincoln Tunnel helix are blocking my good-night kiss to the twinkling city across the Hudson.
May 31, 2014
Deterrence Revisited
Do our adversaries feel free to ignore the rules of global order?
May 24, 2014
Are We Ready for H.I.V.’s Sexual Revolution?
Modern antiretroviral drugs could alter the epidemic much as birth control changed the culture in the ’60s.
May 23, 2014
Medicine’s Top Earners Are Not the M.D.s
Overseeing the business of medicine is big business.
May 17, 2014
For Drugs That Save Lives, a Steep Cost
Cost is the great taboo in U.S. health care. And we pay dearly.
April 26, 2014
So These Professors Walk Into a Comedy Club ...
An algorithm identified Chicago as the nation’s funniest city.
April 19, 2014
Torment on the Stand, but Is It an Act?
Oscar Pistorius is either a traumatized person or a good actor. His histrionics are hard to read.
April 19, 2014
Reclaiming the Words That Smear
Female politicians make dismissive words work for them.
April 12, 2014
Note to Republicans: Channel Jack Kemp
For success in 2016, the G.O.P. needs to convey a positive message.
April 5, 2014
How Businesses Use Your SATs
Grades are to getting in to college as test scores are to getting a job.
March 29, 2014
Spreadsheets and Global Mayhem
Researchers in several countries are designing mathematical models to predict atrocities and war.
March 22, 2014
Erin Go Drinking
Does St. Patrick’s Day merchandise further a “pernicious stereotype,” or is it all in good fun?
March 15, 2014
Israel Reaches Out to the Diaspora
It feels more comfortable asking for help and more supportive of Jews abroad.
March 15, 2014
When Health Costs Harm Your Credit
A minor medical bill could block your mortgage.
March 8, 2014
The Cuban Evolution
As Raúl Castro introduces a dash of private enterprise, a new have/have-not dynamic is rising through the cracks of Communism.
March 1, 2014
A History Lesson That Needs Relearning
The Cold War was less a carefully structured game between masters than a frightening high-wire act.
March 1, 2014
Can God Make It in Hollywood?
Can Hollywood still find common ground with religious audiences?
February 22, 2014
Social Media, a Trove of Clues and Confessions
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and MySpace are creating new challenges for the legal system.
February 15, 2014
Will Saving on Health Care Hurt the Economy?
Health care spending and employment have been down, hurting the recovery.
February 8, 2014
Romance at Arm’s Length
When the messy parts of us aren’t on display from the beginning of a relationship, it’s hard to catch up.
February 6, 2014
The Shopping List as Policy Tool
The government can use its purchasing power to promote social goals.
January 25, 2014
The Kugel Family: Big in Brazil
How did our Thanksgiving photo end up on a 15-foot ad in the Amazon?
January 10, 2014
Why Everyone Seems to Have Cancer
As heart disease and stroke are beaten back, cancer vies to become the final killer.
January 4, 2014
Need-Blind Justice
How can we make sure lawyers defend poor clients with vigor and care? Experiments in two states are trying to offer solutions.
January 4, 2014
A Reading List for Feuding Republicans
Republican factions need to work their differences out now, not during the 2016 presidential election.
December 21, 2013
Health Care’s Road to Ruin
There are ways to lower costs. Is there the will?
December 21, 2013
Surveillance: Cozy or Chilling?
Some see a small-town atmosphere, some see Big Brother.
December 14, 2013
The Bitcoin Ideology
To its creators and numerous disciples, bitcoin is a mostly ideological undertaking, more philosophy than finance.
December 14, 2013
Who Is Watching the Watch Lists?
After almost eight years, a case involving terrorist watch lists is going to court.
November 30, 2013
Fear of the Dark
Energy is something people like to worry about, and grid failure is the latest target of that anxiety.
November 9, 2013
Good Deals on Pills? It’s Anyone’s Guess
It’s hard to be a smart shopper for prescriptions, or any kind of health care.
November 9, 2013
Women’s Flexibility Is a Liability (in Yoga)
Those extreme yoga poses that feel like they’re pulling your hips out of the sockets? They might.
November 2, 2013
Nothing Personal: They Want to Eat You
Sick of zombies? There’s a new wave of evildoers waiting to step in: cannibals.
October 26, 2013
The Information-Gathering Paradox
Despite the outcry over N.S.A. data tracking, commercial surveillance has been booming.
October 26, 2013
My Selfie, Myself
Posting photos of ourselves online is an inviting and informative way to keep in touch.
October 19, 2013
Are the Roma Primitive, or Just Poor?
After centuries of persecution and living on the fringes of society, can the Roma ever integrate into Western Europe?
October 19, 2013
How Activist Is the Supreme Court?
The Roberts court is less activist than any in the last 60 years.
October 12, 2013
Why the Bad Rap on Generic Drugs?
Generics pack the same punch as brand-name drugs, for less. So why can’t they get more respect?
October 5, 2013
The Benefits of Intransigence
Tea Party obstruction may not be as crazy as many traditional conservatives think.
October 4, 2013
I’ll Have What She’s Thinking
Researchers confirm the spontaneous orgasm.
September 28, 2013
‘Affordable Care’ or a Rip-Off?
Americans will begin signing up next week to buy insurance. Will the policies deliver care at manageable prices, or will “affordable” seem like a hollow promotion?
September 28, 2013
Ominous Signs, Then a Cruel Attack
With Kenya’s growing affluence and the mayhem next door in Somalia, the attack on the mall in Nairobi was inevitable.
September 27, 2013
Is This a Hospital or a Hotel?
Hospitals today offer even general amenities for patients, like room service and nail salons, more associated with hotels than health care.
September 21, 2013
Identity Politics, in a Brand-New Form
After the mayoral primary, students of New York politics already pronounced identity politics dead. But is it?
September 14, 2013
Is Suburban Sprawl on Its Way Back?
Does the return of the housing market mean the return of suburban sprawl?
September 14, 2013
The Hands-Tied Presidency
In asking that Congress be heard, President Obama might have been acknowledging that he holds office at a time when the presidency itself has ceded much of its power and authority to Congress.
September 7, 2013
Tripping on His Own Red Line?
President Obama’s own caution about foreign interventions put him in this box.
August 31, 2013
Golden Rice: Lifesaver?
The fight over genetically modified crops has gone global. Is hysteria impeding science?
August 24, 2013
Monopoly Goes Corporate
Monopoly, the board game, started as a critique of capitalism.
August 24, 2013
Is Big Data an Economic Big Dud?
Some economists are questioning whether Big Data will ever have the impact of the first Internet wave, let alone the industrial revolutions of past centuries.
August 17, 2013
I Flirt and Tweet. Follow Me at #Socialbot.
Socialbots are being designed to sway elections, to influence the stock market, even to flirt with people and one another.
August 10, 2013
Life in a Toxic Country
My wife and I worry about how China’s bad air and food will affect our child.
August 3, 2013
A Washington Riddle: What Is ‘Top Secret’?
The government is stumbling in its efforts to protect its secrets in the Internet age.
August 3, 2013
When Politics Catches Up With ‘Portnoy’
Jewish politicians’ sex scandals are raising religious questions that could decide the outcome of races.
August 3, 2013
Fighting Back Against Wretched Wages
Low-wage workers’ pay has flatlined while median pay for chief executives at the nation’s top corporations jumped 16 percent last year.
July 27, 2013
The Hype Over Hospital Rankings
What does the annual-hospital-rankings exercise mean for patients? And what does it say about American health care?
July 27, 2013
What Do New Yorkers Want?
Arguably every New York election for a new mayor over the last century was won by a candidate who offered a clear alternative to his predecessor.
July 20, 2013
Being Legal Doesn’t End Poverty
It is hardly a given that citizenship is a route to better jobs.
July 20, 2013
Art That Turns Both Heads and Stomachs
Seeking thrills in entertainment that makes us faint, swoon or vomit.
July 13, 2013
Why Abortion Is Not Like Other Issues
The Republican-Democrat duel over abortion seems to favor neither party.
July 13, 2013
Testing the Consequences of Male Misbehavior
Are women really outraged over the Spitzer and Weiner candidacies?
July 12, 2013
Has ‘Caucasian’ Lost Its Meaning?
An obsolete term survives, often as a last resort for people who are uncomfortable talking about race.
July 6, 2013
Why Healthy Eaters Fall for Fries
American consumers, even otherwise healthy ones, keep choosing caloric indulgences rather than healthy foods at fast-food restaurants.
June 29, 2013
The End of Car Culture
Has America passed peak driving?
June 29, 2013
Profiting From Pain
Narcotic painkillers can be helpful, but they can also have serious consequences.
June 22, 2013
Facebook Made Me Do It
We have become one another’s virtual enablers.
June 15, 2013
A Golden Age for Intervention?
Don’t expect Samantha Power and Susan Rice to lead a new humanitarian crusade.
June 8, 2013
When It May Not Pay to Be Famous
For legal standards, there’s a vast gray area between First Amendment protection and an individual’s right of publicity.
June 1, 2013
What Mideast Crisis? Israelis Have Moved On
Instead of focusing on what is said to be their central challenge — how to share this land with another nation — Israelis are largely ignoring it.
May 25, 2013
Up, Up and Away
Helium prices are headed for the stratosphere, and Congress is part of the reason.
May 25, 2013
The Government’s Worst Face
Many Americans, left and right, feel ambivalence not just toward the I.R.S. but toward the federal government and the outsize part it plays in our daily lives.
May 18, 2013
Is It Time to Bag the Plastic?
Some cities have done away with the plastic shopping bag, but much of America seems more addicted than ever.
May 18, 2013
The Commencement Controversy
Pomp, circumstance and the perennial debate over free speech on campuses.
May 11, 2013
The Idled Young Americans
The United States has gone from having the highest share of employed 25- to 34-year-olds among large, wealthy economies to having among the lowest.
May 3, 2013
Hispanics, the New Italians
We already know a great deal about how Latinos are faring with the challenge of assimilation: they are meeting it.
April 20, 2013
Sprinting Toward the End
Is it now obligatory for the terminally ill to work until their final breath?
April 20, 2013
Is It Time for Off-the-Shelf Birth-Control Pills?
Oral contraceptives are arguably safer than many over-the-counter medicines.
April 20, 2013
Think Those Chemicals Have Been Tested?
The overwhelming majority of chemicals in use today have never been independently tested for safety.
April 13, 2013
Remembering an Easter Miracle in Northern Ireland
The Irish peace process reaffirms the possibility that — despite the weight of evidence against human nature — we are all still capable of small moments of resurrection.
March 30, 2013
Immigrant Detainees and the Right to Counsel
Is a lawyer a necessity or a financial drain on the immigration system?
March 30, 2013
Life After Oil and Gas
Wind, water and sun could power the United States. But will they?
March 23, 2013
Reading, Writing and Video Games
The concepts of work and play have become farcically reversed: schoolwork is meant to be superfun and play, like homework, is meant to teach.
March 15, 2013
The Liberals Against Affirmative Action
With most cases before the Supreme Court, liberals would contemplate a 5-to-4 decision with dread. But the affirmative action case comes with a fascinating wrinkle.
March 9, 2013
Suicide, With No Warning
Studies show that lax gun laws contribute to the suicide rate.
March 8, 2013
The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking
The Germans had vastly more work camps and ghettos than anyone knew.
March 1, 2013
Doctors Who Don’t Speak Out
While experts say that doctors have an ethical obligation to warn their peers about bad drugs or medical devices, they don’t always do so.
February 15, 2013
It’s Not Easy Being Green
The strongest argument for a major government response to climate change is the obvious argument: climate change.
February 9, 2013
Raging (Again) Against the Robots
Robots have once again gripped the nation’s imagination, stoking fears of displaced jobs and perhaps even a displaced human race.
February 2, 2013
Who Decides the Laws of War?
Can military tribunals charge people with idiosyncratic offenses that are not war crimes under international law?
January 26, 2013
The Great Giveback
Needless restitution of antiquities makes ancient art less available for the public.
January 26, 2013
Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel
With President Obama declaring climate change a part of his second-term agenda, all eyes are on the United States on the matter of airlines’ carbon emissions.
January 26, 2013
So Long, Lance. Next, 21st-Century Doping.
Advances in bio-enhancers and technology could make steroids seem quaint.
January 19, 2013
The French Way of War
The French, as evidenced by their intervention in Mali, take pride in their military capacity and in their independence of action.
January 19, 2013
The Low Politics of Low Growth
What if it is the weak economy that is driving the fiscal failures in Washington?
January 12, 2013
Our Economic Pickle
The debt-ceiling debate is unlikely to alter one major factor contributing to income inequality: stagnant wages.
January 12, 2013
More Guns = More Killing
Despite the ubiquitous presence of “good guys” with guns, some Latin American countries have among the highest homicide rates in the world.
January 5, 2013
Has Lego Sold Out?
Some worry that Lego’s success diminishes the demand for imagination, which is what made it a success in the first place.
December 22, 2012
Wounded Warrior Pose
Yoga can be dangerous for men, who have more muscle and less flexibility than women.
December 22, 2012
The World’s Worst War
The conflict in Congo is one of the bloodiest since World War II, and each time I come back, I meet a new set of thoroughly traumatized people.
December 15, 2012
How Capitalist Are the Cubans?
Cuba seems to be sputtering, but not roaring, toward capitalism.
December 1, 2012
The Building Blocks of Re-election
How voter groups have swung in presidential elections as far back as 1972, based on exit polls.
November 10, 2012
The Cliff Is a Hard Place to Compromise
The president is entering the coming budget negotiations with some clear advantages — and a couple of important disadvantages.
November 10, 2012
How Science Can Build a Better You
How far would you go to modify yourself using the latest medical technology?
November 3, 2012
The Vanishing Battleground
The shrinking electoral battleground has altered the nature of American self-governance.
November 3, 2012
How Prisoners Make Us Look Good
Does the high incarceration rate of many black men mean that the gains made by blacks in the society at large are statistically overstated?
October 27, 2012
Who Gets Credit for the Recovery?
A bullish economy is likely to strengthen whoever is elected.
October 26, 2012
Getting to Vote Is Getting Harder
New rules cover voters in 13 states. Here are four types of voter laws and where they have been put in place since 2011.
October 20, 2012
The Debatable World
For Mitt Romney, America must again be the unchallenged power in the world. For President Obama, America must live in the moment, pre-eminent but not the sole power.
October 20, 2012
The Opiate of Exceptionalism
Of serious presidential candidates, and even of presidents, Americans demand constant reassurance that their country, their achievements and their values are extraordinary.
October 19, 2012
Rethinking Affirmative Action
Supporters of affirmative action still have a legal path open to them: giving preference based on socioeconomic status.
October 13, 2012
Europe’s Richer Regions Want Out
The euro zone crisis has accelerated calls for independence from the richer regions of member countries, angry at having to finance their poorer neighbors.
October 6, 2012
To Encourage Biking, Cities Lose the Helmets
Does requiring safety gear make a safe activity seem dangerous?
September 29, 2012
Obamanomics: A Counterhistory
What could the administration have done to strengthen a weak recovery?
September 29, 2012
How to Help Iran Build a Bomb
Opinion is strong that an attack on Iran by Israel would not slow Iran’s nuclear program, but speed it up.
September 28, 2012
Free Speech in the Age of YouTube
The worldwide storm over an incendiary anti-Islamic video has stirred fresh debate over what kind of expression is allowed where.
September 22, 2012
How Resilient Is Post-9/11 America?
Can the United States learn resilience without suffering the repeated murderous attacks that have bloodied such nations as Israel and Britain?
September 8, 2012
The Sun Belt, Eclipsed
The Sun Belt remains a force, but the Republican National Convention is a sign that the Republicans’ grip on it is loosening.
August 25, 2012
Romney’s First 100 Days
A Republican sweep of Washington could make possible the change they have been talking about for three decades: a significant shrinking of government.
August 25, 2012
How Long Do You Want to Live?
New biomedical discoveries may bring a steeper increase in life span — but not everyone wants it.
August 25, 2012
The Cost of Cool
If the world’s new city dwellers use air-conditioning the way Americans do, life will be a series of vast blackouts, accompanied by disastrous planet-warming emissions.
August 18, 2012
Trust: Ill-Advised in a Digital Age
How trust is cultivated, destroyed and tweaked in the digital age.
August 11, 2012
The Long, Dry History of the West
Individual droughts in the West, like those in this young century, may be severe, but the bigger picture suggests that the area has endured far drier periods.
August 11, 2012
Why D.C. Is Doing So Well
The success this season of the Washington Nationals mirrors the resurgence of the team’s home city.
August 4, 2012
Which Records Get Shattered?
Swimming makes the biggest splash at the Olympics, but track and field records are the ones that survive the test of time.
July 28, 2012
Israel, When the Lights Go Down
At the Jerusalem Film Festival, seeking insight into Israeli society in the way it presents itself on the silver screen.
July 21, 2012
There’s Still Hope for the Planet
The world’s largest economies may now be in the process of creating a climate-change response that does not depend on raising the price of dirty energy.
July 21, 2012
The Moral Case for Drones
Some moral philosophers, political scientists and weapons specialists believe armed, unmanned aircraft offer marked moral advantages over almost any other tool of warfare.
July 14, 2012
The Ecology of Disease
A developing model of infectious disease shows that most epidemics — AIDS, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, Lyme disease — are a result of things people do to nature.
July 14, 2012
When the Crowd Isn’t Wise
When seeking predictions, should we trust the experts or the crowd?
July 7, 2012
To Have (It All) and Have Not
With certain adjustments — and ground rules — working mothers can handle positions of power and family responsibilities.
June 30, 2012
What’s a Socialist?
As the industrialized working class gets smaller and smaller, socialism seems to have less and less to say.
June 30, 2012
Iran’s High Card at the Nuclear Table
The Iranians have managed to steadily increase their enrichment of uranium and are now producing a concentrated form close to bomb grade.
June 14, 2012
How Celebrities Come Out Now
For some gay celebrities, there is a new normal that avoids the choreographed tap dance out of the closet.
June 9, 2012
Health Care After the Supreme Court Ruling
Even if the court strikes down the individual mandate, many uninsured people are still likely to receive health coverage.
June 9, 2012
Let’s (Not) Get Physicals
With insurance companies asking patients to pay a greater portion of medical bills, America may need to rethink the annual physical exam.
June 2, 2012
Mutually Assured Cyberdestruction?
Because the United States refuses to talk about its new cyberarsenal, there has never been a real debate in the United States about when and how to use cyberweapons.
June 2, 2012
When Sailing Is Deadly
Landlubbers might be forgiven for wondering if sailboat racing, seemingly such a genteel and boring pastime, hasn’t turned into a rich man’s version of Indy car racing.
May 26, 2012
The Beginning of the End of the Census?
An annual assessment of American households is under attack by Republicans in Congress.
May 19, 2012
The Fight Over Who Fights in Israel
A question of exemption from army service for the ultra-Orthodox has come to a boil.
May 19, 2012
Is There a Romney Doctrine?
Dozens of subtle position papers flow through Mitt Romney’s policy shop, but they seem to have little influence on his hawkish-sounding pronouncements.
May 12, 2012
North Korea’s Performance Anxiety
Repeated failure to launch a nuclear missile could have sexual overtones.
May 5, 2012
Are Oral Arguments Worth Arguing About?
Legal practitioners and Supreme Court justices say it is the rare oral argument that wins or loses a case.
May 5, 2012
Chen’s Final Escape?
Chen Guangcheng has escaped from Chinese government detention before — and he was severely punished. But this time, the world is watching.
May 5, 2012
A Romney Rambler Looks Back
Now that we’re in the next phase of the campaign, things should be getting more exciting any minute.
April 28, 2012
The Post-Cash, Post-Credit-Card Economy
Your smartphone keeps track of where you are, what you like and who your peers are, all of which can be leveraged to sell you things you never knew you needed.
April 28, 2012
Everyone’s Lives, in Pictures
The act of snapping a picture is no longer enough to confirm reality and enhance experience — only sharing can give us that validation.
April 21, 2012
How Broadway Games the Tonys
Bunching up openings warps the rhythm of the theater season.
April 21, 2012
From Flash to Fizzle
Today’s news culture explodes like fireworks, with each topic a burst of light that appears out of nowhere and disappears just as fast.
April 14, 2012
Coming Soon: ‘Taxmageddon’
After this year’s election, major tax increases and spending cuts will come into effect — unless a lame-duck Congress and President Obama can agree on an alternative.
April 13, 2012
Crossing the Ocean, 1912 vs. 2012
The Titanic may have been grand, but today’s cruise ships offer a great deal more.
April 7, 2012
The Autism Wars
A report finds a surge in reported cases, and that produces a surge in skepticism.
April 7, 2012
Where Have All the Neurotics Gone?
The restless, grumbling, needy presence that once functioned in the collective mind as an inner voice that hedged against excessive optimism is slipping into the past.
March 31, 2012
Fighting Terrorism, French-Style
The differences between the methods of France and the United States for fighting terrorism are considerable.
March 30, 2012
Text to Driver: That’s My Space
Squatters in parking spots incite a new kind of road rage.
March 24, 2012
NATO’s Secrecy Stance
NATO has treated the origins and nationalities of aircraft in a Libya raid as strict military secrets.
March 24, 2012
The Electric Car, Unplugged
With high gas prices and environmental awareness, the future would seem to be bright for the electric car. But instead it’s iffy.
March 24, 2012
The Way We Read Now
A book critic’s guide to e-reading devices.
March 17, 2012
The Soul of the New Hacktivist
Critics and defenders argue about how much of what Anonymous does should be treated as political protest — or strictly as crime.
March 17, 2012
Why Was the Designer Raf Simons Dismissed?
The divide between the creative and corporate sides of fashion has widened.
March 3, 2012
The Port Huron Statement at 50
The Port Huron Statement turns 50 this spring but still sounds modern and relevant.
March 3, 2012
Ultrasound: A Pawn in the Abortion Wars
Framing a pre-abortion ultrasound as empowering information, or as a violation of a woman’s dignity.
February 25, 2012
Syria, Iran and the Obama Doctrine
The White House reaction to crises in Syria and Iran sheds light on that ill-defined concept that the administration refuses to call the Obama Doctrine.
February 25, 2012
The Failing State of Greece
Where is the line between a weak state and a failed state?
February 25, 2012
Drawing the Line at Power Lines
Pipelines, trains, trucks and high-voltage transmission lines aren’t pretty, but we will have to choose among these unpalatable options.
February 18, 2012
A High-Tech War on Leaks
Journalists used to have a chance to protect their sources, but advances in surveillance technology have changed that.
February 12, 2012
The Age of Big Data
For those who can make sense of the explosion of data, there are job opportunities in fields as diverse as crime, retail and dating.
February 11, 2012
What Do You Say to an Alien?
A new scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence raises fundamental questions about what to say and expect.
February 11, 2012
Should Personal Data Be Personal?
How do different nations’ laws manage the multinational companies that now govern our digital lives?
February 4, 2012
The 2016 Election, Already Upon Us
Whether Barack Obama wins or loses in November, the Democratic Party’s attention will immediately turn to 2016.
February 3, 2012
To Tithe or Not to Tithe ...
Religious people are more likely to donate to charity.
January 28, 2012
I Disclose ... Nothing
Disclosure has often become an endpoint in the chain of responsibility, an act of compliance with the letter of the law rather than the spirit of transparency.
January 21, 2012
Confronting Iran in a Year of Elections
Every country involved in the dispute over Iran’s possibly acquiring nuclear weapons is calculating how the American presidential election plays to their agendas.
January 21, 2012
History vs. the Tea Party
The Tea Party’s influence is diminishing as conservatives seem to be inching toward nominating Mitt Romney.
January 14, 2012
In Russia, Echoes of Revolution
For those in the news media who covered the slow-motion collapse of the Soviet Union, this moment feels familiar.
January 13, 2012
Get a Midlife
In areas like feeling in control of their lives, having a sense of purpose and supportive social networks, middle-aged people scored high.
January 5, 2012
Be It Resolved
People who are most successful at keeping their New Year’s resolutions set up their lives to minimize temptations.
January 5, 2012
An Imperfect Political Weather Vane
A heartland sampler of statistics is presented to reflect the Iowa caucuses’ vital, sublime and (some might even be tempted to say) ridiculous role in the democratic process.
December 31, 2011
Relying on the Kindness of Strangers
A natural disaster like the tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., is a magnet for those who come to help, to gawk and to take advantage.
December 31, 2011
The Internet Gets Physical
Consumer-based Internet technologies are morphing into new uses in energy conservation, transportation, health care, traffic management and food distribution.
December 17, 2011
Goodbye House, Hello Pot Plantation
Foreclosures and home abandonments have inspired creative thinkers, political protesters and civic leaders who envision new uses for homes besides nesting.
December 10, 2011
Consultant Nation
For better or worse, the ethos of the corporate troubleshooter hangs over Mitt Romney’s campaign.
December 10, 2011
The Junking of the Postal Service
Should mail be a guaranteed government service because it is essential to our well-being? Or has it outlived its utility?
December 3, 2011
When the Police Go Military
When the police look military: The Occupy movement brings out the martial character of law enforcement.
December 3, 2011
Family Struggles Over Justice, Charity and Memory
A proposal to help Palestinian refugees sets off a spirited free-for-all among Jewish relatives.
November 26, 2011
Team Obama Gears Up for 2012
President Obama’s formidable organizing network will do its best to see he prevails in key states.
November 26, 2011
Policy-Making Billionaires
A recent outpouring of philanthropy has produced a new breed of philanthropist: the policy-making billionaire.
November 26, 2011
... But There’s a Slim Hope in History
After a region’s upheavals, religious persecution needn’t prove inevitable.
November 19, 2011
‘Anybody but Mitt’
There is a recurrent “anybody but Mitt” drumbeat from right-leaning pundits and media outlets that are responding to and feeding a conservative disaffection with him.
November 19, 2011
A New Era of Gunboat Diplomacy
Recently discovered offshore energy reserves are spurring efforts to dominate the sea.
November 12, 2011
Why a Fallen Angel Is a Centerfold
In an era when nothing is left to the imagination, why would anyone think some glossy photos of Lindsay Lohan were worth a million bucks?
November 5, 2011
Is This the WikiEnd?
Is the WikiLeaks movement, which changed the face of journalism and the entire informational ecosystem, going to go away?
November 5, 2011
America’s Deadly Dynamics With Iran
Many believe America’s shadow war with Iran is about to ramp up dramatically.
November 5, 2011
The Arab Intellectuals Who Didn’t Roar
The Arab Spring has not yielded any intellectual standard-bearers of the kind who shaped almost every modern revolution from 1776 onward.
October 29, 2011
Right, Less Might
Frugal and not so hawkish, post-Bush Republicans channel a legacy of isolationism.
October 22, 2011
In Protest, the Power of Place
Occupy Wall Street is a potent reminder of the ancient civic ideal of public space, and how far we have drifted from it in the modern era.
October 15, 2011
Where Did Global Warming Go?
Even as other countries take action, the issue is fading from the American agenda.
October 15, 2011
College Diversity Nears Its Last Stand
A case involving racial preference in university admissions is headed to the Supreme Court and could mean the end of affirmative action at public universities.
October 15, 2011
The Depression: If Only Things Were That Good
Even when unemployment was very high during the Depression, we were making great technological progress. Now, we suffer from stagnation in business and education.
October 8, 2011
Coming Soon: The Drone Arms Race
The hazard on the horizon is the political and legal challenge posed when another country follows the American example of using pilotless aircraft.
October 8, 2011
Becoming Compassionately Numb
A lowering tide grounds a lot of rescue boats, literally and psychologically.
October 1, 2011
Return of the Indispensable Man
In announcing his return to the presidency, Vladimir Putin made clear that there is no real plan for succession in Russia.
October 1, 2011
The Facts on the Fed
Republican candidates may frown on the Fed chairman, but his record speaks for itself.
September 17, 2011
Israel and Turkey, Foes and Much Alike
Both countries have gone from aggressively secular societies to populist ethno-religious states where standing up to foreigners offers rich political rewards.
September 17, 2011
The Political Provocateur
A new book on Sarah Palin offers a window into the world of 21st-century book promotion.
September 17, 2011
Plugged In at Last, Regretfully
It’s getting harder and harder to leave the digital leash behind.
September 10, 2011
Novelists Predict Future With Eerie Accuracy
A number of recent books foresee futures that seem more than plausible as the nation’s ambient level of weirdness rises.
September 3, 2011
Libya’s Dark Lesson for NATO
The war in Libya raises the question of whether European members of NATO will ever decide to embark on such a mission again.
September 3, 2011
Oh, to Be Warm in Summer’s Heat
Why is the air-conditioning blasting in stores, airports and restaurants and at home?
August 27, 2011
Dissecting the Mind of the Fed
The discussion is very narrow, and some options promoted by respected economists are never considered.
August 27, 2011
Why Washington Really Likes Itself
The nation’s problems extend to its capital, yet Washingtonians seem to always take a surprisingly rosy view of the economic outlook.
August 27, 2011
If You Really, Really Wanted a Girl ...
Early tests to determine the sex of a fetus raise the question of whether couples will abort fetuses of an unwanted sex.
August 20, 2011
Google Goes Hardware Shopping
The Motorola venture, business experts say, promises to educate Google about consumers — and just how cranky and demanding they can be.
August 20, 2011
In St. Louis, I’m a Failure
Amazon now allows writers to check weekly print sales figures from retailers around the country, possibly encouraging an obsession with the statistics.
August 13, 2011
You Want Compromise? Sure You Do
Political deadlock doesn’t exist only in Washington. Americans now tend to live partisan lives.
August 13, 2011
After 9/11, an Era of Tinker, Tailor, Jihadist, Spy
It took years after 9/11 for policy makers to realize they could draw on cold-war-style thinking and skulduggery to protect America from its new global enemies.
August 6, 2011
Paying for News? It’s Nothing New
Paying news sources for their stories has a long history.
August 6, 2011
What’s in a Face at 50?
Your face can reveal a lot medically. Let us count the ways.
July 30, 2011
Jefferson’s Tea Party Moment
The conflict over the federal debt began early on, when Jefferson and Madison formed an opposition party.
July 30, 2011
Finding the Secret 11 Words
The government didn’t want you to read 11 words from the 7,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers.
July 23, 2011
Rude Britannia
Could the Murdoch hacking scandal be a symbol of something more — a society that has lost its way?
July 23, 2011
We’re Spent
We are living through a tremendous bust. It isn’t simply a housing bust. It’s a fizzling of the great consumer bubble that was decades in the making.
July 16, 2011
How to Pull Off a Vanishing Act
Advice for Casey Anthony if she wants to disappear from the public eye.
July 16, 2011
Should Cities Drive Food Trucks Off the Streets?
Cities are trying to balance the cultural good that comes with a restaurant on wheels against all the bad.
July 16, 2011
Gen. Tso’s Default Chicken
If Americans think they can borrow forever without paying higher interest rates, the Chinese say, think again.
July 9, 2011
Shocker! Tabs Won’t Change!
Celebrity gossip-gathering supports a vast economy in which everyone — from major media executives to nightclub doormen — has a stake.
July 9, 2011
When Same-Sex Marriages End
Inconsistent laws will make same-sex divorce difficult. But “straight” disunions were once a lot tougher too. No longer.
July 2, 2011
Setting Sail on Gaza’s Sea of Spin
Instead of helping to clarify what Gaza needs and how it might build a future, the flotilla saga has merely brought out the public relations demons on all sides.
July 2, 2011
Oil Oozes Through Your Life
Reducing oil dependency is a more complicated proposition than some might think.
June 25, 2011
Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off
Skeptics say college is overrated, but those with degrees make more even when their jobs don’t require higher education.
June 25, 2011
Got Twitter? You’ve Been Scored
Companies are scouring social networks, looking for the new “influencers.”
June 25, 2011