Ideas

A Coronavirus Quarantine in America Could Be a Giant Legal Mess

America’s defense against epidemics is divided among more than 2,000 individual public-health departments, which makes implementing a national strategy very difficult.

• Polly J. Price
• 7:00 AM ET

How Private Equity Ruined a Beloved Grocery Chain

An investment firm was supposed to help Fairway survive. So why is the company now filing for bankruptcy?

• Eileen Appelbaum and Andrew W. Park
• 6:30 AM ET

Evidence That Conservative Students Really Do Self-Censor

Is free speech imperiled on American college campuses?

• Conor Friedersdorf
• 6:00 AM ET

Americans Are Suckers for a Certain Kind of Grifter

For a time, Michael Avenatti fulfilled the left’s most destructive psychological needs—much as Donald Trump has done for the right.

• Graeme Wood
• February 15, 2020

Bloomberg Flunks the Wokeness Test

Stop-and-frisk was awful. But to disqualify the former New York mayor from the presidency on that basis is to risk something more destructive: a second term for Trump.

• John McWhorter
• February 15, 2020

Corporate Landlords Aren’t the Real Culprit

They get away with raising rents in places where local regulations impede the construction of new apartments.

• Jenny Schuetz
• February 15, 2020

It’s Bernie Versus Mike Now

The Democratic field remains crowded, but Bloomberg and Sanders are treating it as a two-candidate race.

• David A. Graham
• February 15, 2020

The Berniephobes Are Wrong

Wall Street fears the rise of the Vermont senator. The rest of America has less to worry about.

• Annie Lowrey
• February 14, 2020

If You Want a Marriage of Equals, Then Date as Equals

Why are many dating practices a throwback to an earlier era?

• Ellen Lamont
• February 14, 2020

With Liberty and Justice for Some

Attorney General Bill Barr seems willing to deploy the law as a weapon, cracking down on crimes by the poor and the foreign-born while going easy on the crimes of the president’s associates.

• David Frum
• February 14, 2020

The Democratic Party of 2020 Is Broken

The primary process rewards whoever arrives at the ballot box with the biggest, loudest base.

• Derek Thompson
• February 14, 2020

A Real Solution for Airport Security

Keep calm and wash your hands.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• February 14, 2020

Now We Know What Kind of Authoritarian Trump Aspires to Be

Over the past week, Trump has showed his commitment to creating Kyiv-on-the-Potomac.

• Franklin Foer
• February 14, 2020

Madison’s Nightmare Has Come to America

The impeachment and subsequent acquittal of President Trump have revealed deep flaws in the constitutional system.

• Michael Gerhardt
• February 13, 2020

America May Be Nearing the End of the Roe Era

June Medical Services v. Russo presents the Supreme Court with the power to green-light extremely restrictive abortion laws.

• Garrett Epps
• February 13, 2020

Did Trump Lose His Big Gamble on Biden?

The president got himself impeached in the frantic pursuit of a candidate who now looks like an also-ran.

• David A. Graham
• February 13, 2020

American Justice Isn’t Impartial Anymore

The Trump administration has been slowly eroding the independence of the Justice Department.

• Kevin Wack
• February 12, 2020

America’s Hopelessly Anemic Response to One of the Largest Personal-Data Breaches Ever

The government has indicted four members of China’s People’s Liberation Army for hacking into the credit-reporting agency Equifax. The question is why.

• Robert D. Williams
• February 12, 2020

Coronavirus Is Spreading Because Humans Are Healthier

Medical advances have dramatically extended life spans worldwide, but investment in basic health care has not kept up.

• Thomas J. Bollyky
• February 12, 2020

Impeachment Will Never Be the Same Again

No longer will presidents live with the possibility of being removed from office. But that’s not to say Congress is powerless.

• Jane Chong
• February 12, 2020