Is AI the answer to life, the universe and everything?
Political analysis, government institutions, policy decisions
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 3 in our series, “The War on Facts: How Political Interference Threatens Core Democratic Institutions.” Read the Series Overview, Part 1: Science and Statistics Under Siege, Part 2: The Memory Wars, Part 4: The Information Warfare Ecosystem, and Part 5: Defending Democracy’s Infrastructure. Introduction: When Politics Trumps Public Safety…
The Scale of American Healthcare Spending In 2023, the United States spent an unprecedented $4.9 trillion on healthcare.1 This figure, confirmed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), translates to an average of $14,570 for every person in the country. It’s a number so vast it exceeds the entire GDP of Japan.2 Yet,…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 2 in our series, “The War on Facts: How Political Interference Threatens Core Democratic Institutions.” Read the Series Overview, Part 1: Science and Statistics Under Siege, Part 3: Regulatory Independence Under Attack, Part 4: The Information Warfare Ecosystem, and Part 5: Defending Democracy’s Infrastructure. Introduction: When History Becomes Ammunition…
The Next Technological Arms Race In the quiet corridors of laboratories and the closed-door meetings of national security councils, a new global competition is rapidly escalating. It’s a race not for territory or traditional military might, but for the mastery of the very building blocks of reality. This is the quantum revolution, and it marks…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 1 in our series, “The War on Facts: How Political Interference Threatens Core Democratic Institutions.” Read the Series Overview, Part 2: The Memory Wars, Part 3: Regulatory Independence Under Attack, Part 4: The Information Warfare Ecosystem, and Part 5: Defending Democracy’s Infrastructure. Introduction: The Email That Shook Washington On…
In the span of one week—August 1–8, 2025—three separate actions from the Trump administration struck at America’s fact-based institutions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner was fired hours after a weak jobs report, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History altered impeachment exhibits, and an executive order placed political appointees in charge of federal research…
The Bridge, Not the Wall Throughout this eight-part series on The Vaccine Paradox, we have journeyed from Edward Jenner’s revolutionary cowpox experiment to the complex psychology driving modern vaccine hesitancy. We have explored the remarkable science of immunization, dissected the anatomy of misinformation, and examined the cultural, religious, and political dimensions that shape vaccine attitudes….
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 7 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID, Part 2: The Science…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 6 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID, Part 2: The Science…
Editor’s Note: This article is Part 5 of 8 in our series, “The Vaccine Paradox”. This series explores the stunning success of vaccination and the parallel rise of a skepticism that threatens to undo one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. Read Part 1: From Cowpox to COVID, Part 2: The Science…