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Public Policy
Jennifer Pahlka, author and Code for America founder, on what comes after Elon Musk’s failed attempt at government efficiency — and how we can modernize federal agencies to improve people’s lives.
After drastic cuts to the NIH, the FDA, the NSF, and the DOE, NASA science faces down its smallest budget ever. All of society will suffer.
Retrofitting America's aging dams for hydropower — while removing ecologically harmful ones — may be a productive path forward.
In many ways, the rising anti-phone fervor in schools mirrors moral panics of the past.
An evidence-based policy movement is arming the fight with tools and programs that are more effective than ever before.
In post-Soviet nations where ministers have a relatively high BMI, corruption tends to be high, too.
On November 25, U.N. members will meet in South Korea to cap off a series of meetings aiming to reduce global plastic pollution.
Philosopher Peter Singer argues it's time to examine a morally dubious practice.
Absence makes the heart (and public opinion) grow fonder.
In the murder trial of Dan White, the defense touched on diet as a cause for White's actions. It has become known as the "Twinkie defense."
Throughout the world, traditional political organizations are increasingly seen as dysfunctional. But can democracies live without them?
A college education currently provides roughly a 10% rate of return, beating the long-term performance of equities.
Hundreds of millions of animals get killed for meat every day.
Simple "nudges" to remind people to show up for court could help keep thousands out of jail.
In the 1960s, politicians and bureaucrats were formulating the Central Arizona Project. Citizens fought back.
Research suggests that employees with criminal records are far less likely to quit their jobs, perhaps due to a greater sense of loyalty.
Walking is rarer in the U.S. compared to similar nations. It is also deadlier: Nearly 7,500 pedestrians were killed in 2021.
Cyberattacks are growing in number and sophistication.
The average age of cannabis users is increasing. Weed may fall out of fashion before it becomes legal everywhere.
When someone attempts to make you afraid of something that hasn't happened instead of a true, present danger, suspect this nefarious ploy.
Even if a balloon flies directly overhead, attempting to shoot it down with a conventional firearm is stupid, ineffective, and dangerous.
Almost 18,000 projects, brought together on one clickable map.
Has the "age of psychopharmacology” shrunk society’s sense of responsibility for mental health?
The “money taboo” is not a single taboo, but rather an amalgamation of several smaller taboos tied to gender and socioeconomic class.
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Does donating relieve that anxiety? Or make it worse?
This is a perversion of justice.
Synthetic biology has the power to cure and kill. Have we learned from our past mistakes?
The minimum wage is a popular policy, but it's not the only way governments have tried to help workers secure a decent living.