Ideas

What’s the Justice Department Actually For?

A Senate hearing for President Biden’s attorney-general nominee is surfacing some big questions.

• David A. Graham
• February 22, 2021

Texas Pays the Price of the Culture War

Instead of focusing on governance, Republican politicians in the Lone Star State spent their time inflaming grievances.

• Adam Serwer
• February 22, 2021

Death Is Nothing to Celebrate

Even after the passing of a figure you revile, it’s best to refrain from dancing on the graves of the dead.

• David Wolpe
• February 22, 2021

The Democrats’ Last Chance to Save Democracy

Expand the Court now.

• Michael Klarman
• February 22, 2021

The 5 Trump Amendments to the Constitution

The 45th president profoundly altered our system of government.

• Jonathan Rauch
• February 22, 2021

The Government Needs to Find Big Tech a New Business Model

Facebook and Google want to keep playing three roles: essential infrastructure, publisher, and targeted-ad mogul. That’s impossible.

• Zephyr Teachout
• February 22, 2021

How to Launch the Next Great Era of Black Prosperity

Historically black colleges are the institution best positioned to deliver greater racial equality throughout America. They just need support.

• Michael Lomax
• February 21, 2021

The Prices on Your Monopoly Board Hold a Dark Secret

The property values of the popular game reflect a legacy of racism and inequality.

• Mary Pilon
• February 21, 2021

A Real Place Deserves Real Rights

Statehood for Washington, D.C., is a matter of justice.

• Anne Applebaum
• February 21, 2021

Inside the Strange World of the Police

A photographer and a writer look back on their time embedded with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1994.

• Richard Rayner
• February 20, 2021

The Border Mess That Trump Left Behind

Reversing the previous administration’s cruelties isn’t the same as an unconditional welcome.

• Juliette Kayyem
• February 19, 2021

Remember Trump’s Accomplices

Americans must not forget the 147 members of Congress who advanced the former president’s lies, then ignored his culpability in inciting a coup.

• Christian Paz
• February 18, 2021

Ted Cruz Is No Hypocrite. He’s Worse.

The senator’s error is not that he was deliberately shirking his duty, but that he couldn’t think of any way he could help.

• David A. Graham
• February 18, 2021

Don’t Read This If You Were a Rush Limbaugh Fan

The talk-radio host, who died this week, hurt the conservative movement.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• February 18, 2021

The Evolution of Trump’s Threat to America

From Russiagate to the insurrection at the Capitol, Trump’s crises followed a clear trajectory.

• Quinta Jurecic
• February 18, 2021

The U.S. Puts Its Greatest Vulnerability on Display

Runaway partisanship endangers the United States more than foreign enemies do.

• Kori Schake
• February 18, 2021

I’m Freezing Cold and Burning Mad in Texas

The state’s power outages have revealed the difference between performative governance and actually governing.

• Andrew Exum
• February 17, 2021

COVID-19 Cases Are Dropping Fast. Why?

Four reasons: social distancing, seasonality, seroprevalence, and shots.

• Derek Thompson
• February 17, 2021

Republicans Back Trump Because of the Insurrection, Not Despite It

The former president’s ruthlessness remains central to his appeal.

• David A. Graham
• February 17, 2021

What the Fear of China Is Doing to American Science

A campaign against Chinese scientists threatens the openness that defines U.S. universities.

• Rory Truex
• February 16, 2021