Ideas

Israel’s PR-War Pandemonium

The chaotic rise and fall of the anti-Bibi protester who became Israel’s spokesperson

The Problem With America’s Protest Feedback Loop

Mass demonstrations are becoming more frequent but less effective.

The Biggest Way That Elections Have Consequences

Presidents have surprisingly little influence over the economy—except in a single, vital respect: their agencies that issue regulations.

Trump Flaunts His Corruption

The former president’s shakedown of oil executives may not have been illegal, but it is undeniably scandalous.

What You Need to Know About Making a Good Impression

We evolved to form snap judgments about who’s friend and who’s foe, but we need to be more evolved now.

The Nudes Internet

The slow sexualization of everything online

No One Knows What Universities Are For

Bureaucratic bloat has siphoned power away from instructors and researchers.

Taxpayers Are About to Subsidize a Lot More Sports Stadiums

You would think that three decades’ worth of evidence would put an end to giving taxpayer money to wealthy sports owners. Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

The Strange Ritual of Commencement Speeches

Where everything and nothing is at stake

The Stormy Daniels Testimony Spotlights Trump’s Misogyny

It’s not that Trump bore any malice toward Daniels; it’s that she mattered to him only as a vehicle to sex.

The Politics of Fear Itself

Fear is not what’s driving Americans to support Trump—it is, instead, how many justify their support.

Judge Merchan Is Out of Good Options

Is Donald Trump trying to get thrown in jail?

Say Plainly What the Protesters Want

Euphemism serves no one.

The Real Meaning of Divestment

This isn’t a financial issue, but a political one.

The New Propaganda War

Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.

What ‘Intifada Revolution’ Looks Like

Some Columbia students are embracing extreme rhetoric.

When Writers Silence Writers

PEN America and the authoritarian spirit

The Blindness of Elites

Walter Kirn and the empty politics of defiance

What’s Left to Restrain Donald Trump?

If the former president really did order an assassination—as his lawyers argue he could—does anyone believe it would cost him his supporters?

Trump’s Naps Are Actually Worrying

He can’t even seem to stay awake for his own trial.