The idea that you need to save up a certain amount of money before having kids is so common it can feel almost like a moral law.  But it isn’t, and I said as much recently when a reader wrote in to my advice column asking if she’s too poor to have a baby. I […]

Jonathan Malesic knows burnout firsthand. He was working his dream job, teaching at a small Catholic college in Pennsylvania. He was publishing papers, working toward tenure — doing all the things on the professor checklist. He was happy; until one day, he wasn’t. “I was constantly exhausted. I dreaded going to work,” Malesic told Explain […]

This month, Rep. Eric Swalwell faced a flood of sexual misconduct allegations, pushing him to drop out of the California governor’s race. But the scandal’s blast radius has also ensnared Sen. Rubén Gallego of Arizona, a potential presidential candidate in 2028 and one of Swalwell’s close allies before the stories broke. Gallego had endorsed Swalwell’s […]

Devon Fritz had his midlife crisis a little early.  He spent his 20s writing tax software, staying on track to hit all the life targets he’d set for himself: house, kids, financial security. And then, one day, he did the math and projected forward what the next 20 years of his life would look like. […]

Immigration enforcement was once one of President Donald Trump’s strongest issues, driving his victories in the 2016 and 2024 presidential contests. But these days, most Americans seem to hate just about everything Trump’s administration has done to actually address the issue.  Polls show Americans have shifted dramatically on immigration since Trump returned to office — […]