Reading List

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

This deadly bacteria was once an “only in New York” problem. Not anymore.

Air conditioners have been working overtime this hot summer, from those tiny window units to the massive AC towers that serve the tightly packed apartment buildings in major cities. And while they bring the relief of cool air, these contraptions also create the conditions for dangerous bacteria to multiply and spread. One particularly nasty bacteria-borne […]

The scandalous literary classic we’ve never stopped arguing about

When Lolita first appeared 70 years ago, in 1955, it was so controversial that no American publisher was willing to touch it. Today, Lolita is hailed as a classic, a masterpiece, one of the great novels of the English language. Yet Lolita also comes with a sense that it is still, perhaps, too controversial to […]

Why the DOJ is looking into DC crime stats

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: As President Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington, DC, continues, his Justice Department is launching an investigation into whether DC police falsified crime data.  What is […]

A federal court took 2 years to figure out that gay people have First Amendment rights

Spectrum WT v. Wendler is one of the easiest First Amendment cases the federal courts heard this year — or in any other year. The question is whether a government official can ban drag shows. The obvious answer to this question is no. The government cannot ban drag for the same reason it cannot ban […]

Why Ukraine won’t just give up its territory

Ukrainian forces still control 2,550 square miles of the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas, an area roughly the size of Delaware. For many, including President Donald Trump, who met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday at the White House, that might seem like a small price to pay for ending a war […]