Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

The subtle privatization of Medicare

If you’re signing up for Medicare benefits this open enrollment, odds are you aren’t actually enrolling in the traditional government program that people may envision. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are now choosing an alternative version of the program administered by private companies. Medicare, the paragon of America’s welfare state, is undergoing a subtle […]

Americans are ditching traditional health care for something cheaper — and riskier

Fed up by unaffordable costs and insurance denials, more Americans are fleeing the conventional health care system. Many are seeking to cut out the government and insurers entirely by pooling their money together to cover their own bills, turning to what are called health cost-sharing ministries. Originally a faith-based alternative for those with religious objections […]

Why are my health insurance premiums going up so much?

Many Americans are going to have sticker shock when they sign up for health insurance this year.  For the roughly half of Americans who get insurance through their work, premiums are set to grow by another 6 percent on average, up to roughly $27,000 per year for family coverage. That is a 26 percent increase […]

Are fewer young people identifying as trans?

Are young Americans becoming less likely to identify as trans? This claim is getting a lot of attention on social media after two researchers published survey data appearing to show a shift in youth gender identity. The first analysis came from Eric Kaufmann, a Canadian professor of politics at the University of Buckingham in the […]

The internet’s weirdest stan war

You probably never thought you’d see Malala Yousafzai lip-syncing to a 4 Non Blondes/Nicki Minaj mash-up on TikTok with Jimmy Fallon. And yet the Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent the past couple of months churning out this sort of uncanny, “normie” content on social media. If anything, she’s aware of the irony. “Not me […]