The Big Idea
Outside contributors’ opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture.
“Proportional” voting would reduce party polarization and the number of wasted votes.
The investigation brought indictments and convictions — but little long-term damage to Reagan.
As demand in the US for children to adopt surged, Russian officials focused on cases of abuse and neglect.
LBJ agonized over whether to reveal Nixon’s backchannel diplomacy.
When people leave churches, do they drift toward Trumpist populism?
The Better Care Reconciliation Act fails to fix the flaws of Obamacare that conservatives most often complain about.
Researchers wield a new tool called the “efficiency gap” to put Wisconsin’s district map into context — nationally and historically.
It’s treated as an all-purpose symbol of evil, not a series of historical events to be reckoned with.
Wall Street shrugs off Trump’s recklessness and unpredictability. There’s a lesson in that.
The US shouldn’t follow Europe’s lead in seeking to criminalize bogus reports.
Analysts who say health insurance doesn’t affect mortality are wrong.
He’s adding a dark chapter to the modern history of presidential concealment of information.
For churches, state money can be a poison pill.
A little-noticed provision could be a stalking horse for further dismantling of the health care system.
The House and Senate have been holding fewer and fewer hearings on policy issues since the 1970s — and they’re less substantive.
People have irrational sympathy for cows and pigs. Animal rights activists should appeal to that impulse.
Our response to criticisms.
Efforts range from charging people for the costs of policing to making “boisterous” actions an offense.
Several bombshell news reports this month reveal our vulnerability.
It’s not open and shut, but a constitutional scholar says the evidence is mounting.
Pessimists on the left describe a future of dead-end jobs and robot workers. They’re wrong.
A lesson for the Cosby trial?
Comey’s hearing hit almost all the familiar tropes of how those who allege sexual harassment are treated.
It knocks out two pillars of post-2008 financial reform.
Practically every paragraph is rooted in a falsehood.
The extremist group tailors its recruitment messages to women and justifies attacks on young girls.
Done right, tests can do more than evaluate: They can teach.
A new Voting Rights Act could target the wave of state-level vote suppression.
Trump’s Justice Department still has way too much control over the Russia investigation.
With his assault on the rule of law, President Trump has undermined his legitimacy.
Policy has a limited ability to make a difference.
Except for J. Edgar Hoover, history shows the position rarely comes with job security.
From immigration to the role of government, there’s a continuing shift toward liberal views.
The media innovator built a network that anoints presidents and ignores scandals.
Podcaster and author Sam Harris is the latest to fall for it.
Like Trump, Nixon was distrusted by the right — until the press picked up the scent of Watergate.
South Africa and Brazil, among others, could give the US tips.
Bush paid a price for violating the department’s independence — and so should Trump.
Coups are out. The erosion of the rule of law more typically occurs through the curbing of watchdog agencies.