Politics & Current Affairs

Listen to a recording of students’ excoriating an NSA recruiter.

The coup that ousted Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood suggests that Islam still has no stable footing on which to shoulder the responsibilities of modern governance, according to professor Olivier Roy.

What is that classic phrase?  The one we use to describe a system that is seemingly moving forward, but always ends up moving backwards?  Is it “one step forward, two […]

A recent demonstration of technology used to detect bridge stresses leads writer Stacey Higginbotham to speculate on what a connected infrastructure could mean for society.

Despite data indicating that rhesus macaques exhibit many of the same traits that caused the recent reconsideration of chimpanzee use in research, it’s unlikely that another scaling-back will take place any time soon.

One of the ideas ranking among the top ten in American history, is the creation of public schools and the public education system. 

Thomas Jefferson’s metaphor of “a wall between church and state” remains as sturdy and impenetrable as ever, even as it is dangerously ignored.

In addition to making “offensive comments” illegal, a recently-approved electronic crimes bill outlaws stalking, identity theft and the distribution of child pornography, among other activities.

The top 200 chief executives at America’s largest public companies received an average pay raise of 16 percent for fiscal year 2012. Their companies’ returns rose by an average of 19 percent.

The group displays photos of inappropriate behavior in the hope that doing so will end a longstanding tradition of exploiting freshmen that has led to injuries and deaths.

This week, The Supreme Court of The United States will hand down decisions on a number of major issues. Here is what you need to know to stay up to date with the three biggest ones: 1) The court already ruled today on its Affirmative Action case, you can read the majority opinion here. A prospective student sued the University of Texas on the grounds that she had been denied admission in place of somebody who had allegedly been admitted based on racial factors. Supporters had hoped that a broad ruling might illegalize the practice of factoring race into admission across the board. The takeaway from the ruling is not negligible but is not the sweeping change many people expected. By and large, the court kicked the decision back down to a lower court.  The other two each regard gay rights. 2) DOMA, The Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996, is under fire in the case of United States V. Windsor. The court did not offer a ruling, but one is expected soon, most likely Tuesday morning. The government is being sued on the grounds that married gay couples do not receive the same federal benefits as straight couples. You can read about the relationship to political policy here. 3) Proposition 8, the controversial California ballot issue, is also being challenged in the case of Hollingsworth V. Perry. While the legal matter is ostensibly a voting rights issue, this is being viewed as primarily an issue with same-sex marriage in America’s most populous state. Depending on which way it goes, and what the majority opinion dictates, this could have ramifications for the legality and the illegality of gay marriage in other states as well. You can read more of our coverage on the development of this case here and here.

The people who think that it is a choice to be gay think that it is a bad choice. It isn’t.

Eric Liu puts forward a “modest proposal” in this month’s Atlantic: instead of being awarded citizenship upon birth, perhaps Americans should have to pass a citizenship test just like immigrants to […]

One way or another: This week the agency announced an ambitious plan to locate and monitor any asteroid — even the relatively small ones — that could pose a danger to the planet.

In an act of defiance against poachers and traffickers, the government will destroy five tons of seized ivory worth millions on the open market.

Turkey’s Standing Man is inspiring protesters across the country.

A rejoinder to the author of the Neurobonkers blog post criticizing my take on Edward Snowden. 

The election of moderate Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rohani represents an opportunity for the West to engage Iran with fresh negotiations over its nuclear energy program.

In 2013, an American prisoner fought for an execution: “for” not “against”. The question is whether we should have allowed him to commit suicide and/or receive help in doing so. In […]

Continued high unemployment among younger workers — and the potential for explosive social consequences — are causing officials to think about retiring older workers. However, many economists say this is (still) a bad idea.

Yes, the kitten with four eyes, two noses and two mouths is real. She was born on Tuesday and answers to, cue the pun, “Deucy.” What does Deucy have to […]

A Pew Research Center/Washington Post poll released on Monday showed that for a majority of Americans, catching terrorists is more important than intrusions on personal privacy.

Former CIA data operative Edward Snowden has claimed responsibility for leaking the NSA’s massive phone and Internet surveillance program to American journalist Glenn Greenwald.

For Leon Wieseltier, the corrosive effects of modern technology spell the demise of humanity as we know it. I’m not so sure.

The Monster Dreamer uses a sensor-equipped headset to interpret children’s reactions to various creatures and create a 3D-printed toy that contains the features they find most interesting.

According to current policy, when a child under 12 qualifies for an adult-sized organ, they’re often placed on the bottom of the adult list, even if their condition is more critical, because of a lack of comparative data.

Optimistic reports of the recovering American economy, 70 percent of which relies on domestic consumption, overestimate the extent to which consumer spending is on the rebound.

This is not a moral appeal. This is not a political appeal. This is a linguistic appeal.

With severe and potentially deadly weather continuing tonight in the central United States, an important reminder of what not to do from a post on last fall’s tornadoes in Oklahoma: […]

While other European countries are up in arms over what they say are Google’s invasions of privacy, Lithuania is using Street View to uncover and go after citizens with unreported taxable assets, such as buildings and cars.