The Big Idea
Outside contributors’ opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture.
IQ is real, it’s important, and it’s also unreliable on the individual level.
The UK cut corporate rates and wages still dropped.
Harvey Weinstein and the male cinematic gaze.
“Nudges” aren’t good for democracy.
The owner of the Dallas Cowboys has sworn to do so.
Some kinds of non-disclosure agreements appear to violate federal law.
The Constitution provides no clear answer — and we need a solution.
We tested the theory — which has been put forward by both Democrats and Republicans.
How not to write about “radical” libertarians.
Outrage and disdain waste mental energy and feed into the narrative that sustains the president.
US senator, 1898: Puerto Ricans can’t govern themselves. President Trump, 2017: They “want everything done for them.”
It skimps on crucial details. But we know who will benefit.
The GOP extols a fake kind of “federalism.”
The bill will create powerful opponents among prison guards and prosecutors
The rules governing the right-wing “Free Speech Week” showdown.
There is no “Christian position” on immigration. But religious leaders’ duty to vulnerable people is clear.
A few women seek leadership roles on the alt-right. It’s tricky.
He wants to give a major boost to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
A crackdown on DREAMers will undermine respect for the law, not shore it up.
The data shows that advertising drives enrollment.
There are several routes to universal coverage — some more politically feasible than others.
They focus too much on the last storm they experienced.
We’re trapped in a frightening “doom loop” of mutual distrust.
Americans think they live in a democracy. But their workplaces are small tyrannies.
Courts have for too long tied the hands of workers who dare to criticize their employers.
The Jesus People reshaped both American Christianity and conservatism.
A new analysis takes the focus off the top 1 percent and ignores deeper structural problems.
If a fetus can be transferred to a fabricated womb, can the right to abortion survive?
Medicaid just saved the ACA. Let’s build on it.
Giving states and cities more power is one solution to polarization.
Many were funded privately. The public now deserves a say in their fate.
The city can look like a blue bubble, but it’s full of conflicts and contradictions.
Neo-Nazis have been denied the chance to claim their views are suppressed. Americans are rendering their verdict.
From health care to full employment to college affordability, they’re out ahead of the politicians.
Death, disability, and mental impairment are among the statistically predictable risks.
The debate over the Mariel boatlift, a crucial immigration case study, explained.
“Targeted” aid programs can have staying power.
Congress could just appropriate the money. But Trump and Paul Ryan want a cudgel to use against Democrats.
It’s not clear what Elon Musk is disrupting.
The practice continues despite a federal law mandating research transparency.