An $86 Billion Moral Hazard

The $1.9 trillion emergency spending bill Congress passed in early March was full of items that had little to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, the ostensible justification for the package.

The Pandemic Will Make Kids Or Break Them

The COVID-19 era has worked as a stress test for parents and kids alike, breaking some while bringing out reserves of strength and resilience in others.

Cult Country

Is this a new age of cultism— or a new cult panic?

‘Hero Pay' For Grocery Workers Is Terrible For Grocery Workers

“Hero Pay” Laws, which require big wage increases for grocery store workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, are sweeping the West Coast. Store closures, unemployment, and lawsuits have followed in their wake.

The Last Pandemic

Technological breakthroughs and policy progress mean humanity may never again have to endure a disaster like Covid-19.

'The Intellectual Johnny Appleseed Of The Counterculture'

A conversation with Whole Earth Catalog founder, Merry Prankster, and woolly mammoth de-extinctionist Stewart Brand

The Conversion of Thomas Sowell

IT WASN’T UNTIL HIS THIRTIES THAT THE ECONOMIST STARTED TO TURN FROM MARXISM.

The Right To An Abortion Isn't Going Away

While overturning Roe v. Wade would lead to new restrictions in many states, legal access to abortion would be unaffected in most of the country.

Wartime Rationing Changed How America Ate for a Century. The Pandemic Will Do the Same.

The government tried to stabilize the Nation’s food supply 80 years ago. Its efforts backfired.

Coming Out Of The Chemical Closet

Neuropsychopharmacologist Carl Hart says most of what the public knows about drugs is both scary and wrong.

Beyond Covid

More uses for new mRNA technology

Gov. Andrew Cuomo Clings To His Pedestal

A year ago, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was a pandemic hero.

The Dream Of The '90s Died In Portland

Once an up-and-coming city, Portland was destroyed from within by radical activism and political ineptitude.

A Declassified Case Against Torture

After 9/11, the Bush administration unleashed interrogation methods that were self-sabotaging as well as immoral.

Why We (Still) Shouldn't Censor Misinformation

Trump’s loss in 2020, a majority of his supporters believed the election had been rigged. Some adopted wild conspiracy theories involving Chinese supercomputers, Hugo Chavez, and state-level Republican officials. These beliefs culminated in an attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. To make sense of these events, many officials have argued that platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allowed conspiracy theories to spread unimpeded, leading to erroneous beliefs and deadly behaviors. In other words, they blame misinformation for the violence.

The War On Free Speech Is About To Get A Lot Uglier

One week after being trapped inside the United States Capitol as thousands of pro–Donald Trump marauders attempted to forcibly “stop the steal” of the presidential election, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) suggested one possible federal government response: convening a national commission on media literacy.

Grant McCracken on How To Reengineer the Honor Code

IN THE NEW Honor Code: A Simple Plan for Raising Our Standards and Restoring Our Good Names (Tiller Press), anthropologist, brand consultant to the stars, and past Reason contributor Grant McCracken explores the history and use of the honor code, arguing for its relevance to our private and public lives today.

Africa Tries Free Trade

Economic nationalism has plagued Africa since decolonization. In 2021, that is set to change.

Will Feminists Please Stop Calling The Cops?

The Women’s Liberation Movement has gotten tied to mass incarceration. It needs to break free.

What It's Like To Treat Opioid Addiction in Appalachia

Psychiatrist Sally Satel on her eye-opening year at a clinic in Ironton, Ohio.

This Florida Drug Smuggler Escaped 7 Life Sentences—Twice

Dickie Lynn’s story shows how the drug war warped the Criminal Justice System.

Enchanted New York

A tale of religion in Manhattan in the 19th and 20th centuries

Will New York Lead The Way In Screwing Up School Reopening?

For those of us subject to his misrule, the second week of December did not seem a particularly auspicious week for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to start touting his experience with reopening public schools as a model for the rest of the country.

Is There a Future for Fusionism?

In the years since the Cold War, conservatives have lost sight of the relationship between liberty and personal responsibility.

In 2020, Teachers Unions and Police Unions Showed Their True Colors

It’s time for the left and the right to take a hard look at their favorite public-sector Unions.

Scott Wiener Is California's ‘YIMBY' State Senator

IN NOVEMBER, VOTERS in San Francisco reelected California Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, over his opponent, democratic socialist Jackie Fielder.

The Myth of Antonio Salazar

The integralist right’s foolish crush on the man who once ruled Portugal

The All-American Arms Dealer

Samuel Cummings built a global weapons empire in Washington, D.C.’s shadow.

The Economist who Says Schools Are Safer Than You Think

When the feds failed to track COVID-19, Emily Oster stepped in.

The Not-so-peaceful Transfer Of Power

When I stepped out of the house on the afternoon of January 6 to pick up my kids from their neighborhood pandemic learning pod in Washington, D.C., it was very quiet.