The Tyranny of Convenience

The Tyranny of Convenience:

Convenience is the most underestimated and least understood force in the world today. As a driver of human decisions, it may not offer the illicit thrill of Freud's unconscious sexual desires or the mathematical elegance of the economist's incentives. Convenience is boring. via Pocket

What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick?

What if the Placebo Effect Isn't a Trick?:

The Chain of Office of the Dutch city of Leiden is a broad and colorful ceremonial necklace that, draped around the shoulders of Mayor Henri Lenferink, lends a magisterial air to official proceedings in this ancient university town. via Pocket

Why Democrats Should Not Call the Georgia Governor’s Race “Stolen”

Why Democrats Should Not Call the Georgia Governor's Race "Stolen":

Many Democrats are understandably angry about efforts to suppress the vote in Georgia and elsewhere in the 2018 midterm elections. In the Peach State, there is no question that Gov. via Pocket

Uber and the False Hopes of the Sharing Economy

Uber and the False Hopes of the Sharing Economy:

Not long ago arrived word of a new start-up, Wonderschool, which as its website explains, is a "network of boutique, in-home early childhood programs" — the Airbnb or Rover of preschool. via Pocket

What the Mystery of the Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Could Reveal

What the Mystery of the Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Could Reveal:

One spring evening in 2016, Lee Niegelsky's underarm began to itch. An investment manager, he was doing housework around his condo, and he thought he'd been bitten by a chigger. But within 15 minutes, hives had erupted all over his body. via Pocket

California Shields Big Soda From Local Taxes

California Shields Big Soda From Local Taxes:

SAN FRANCISCO—State lawmakers banned all local taxes on groceries for 12 years in California on Thursday, a major victory for the soda industry, which used the state's ballot-initiative system to force legislators' hands. The ban was signed into law by Gov. via Pocket

The trouble with recycling: It's a plastic paradox

The trouble with recycling: It's a plastic paradox:

Americans were not set up for success in recycling plastics. Even before China stopped accepting plastic refuse from abroad, 91 percent of potentially recyclable plastic in the U.S. ended up in landfills — or worse, in the oceans. Europe does a little better, with 70 percent getting tossed. via Pocket

The Las Vegas Union That Learned To Beat The House

The Las Vegas Union That Learned To Beat The House:

LAS VEGAS ― Monie Stewart-Cariaga recently decided to leave the townhouse she's renting to buy a new home. For a single cocktail server, she couldn't be in a better position to do it. via Pocket

Justice reforms take hold, the inmate population plummets, and Philadelphia closes a notorious jail

Justice reforms take hold, the inmate population plummets, and Philadelphia closes a notorious jail:

This article has been updated to correct a statement by the public defender that initial bail hearings are staffed by lawyers at all times. They are not. via Pocket

A Credible and Bold Basic Income

A Credible and Bold Basic Income:

Thomas Piketty: Is our basic income really universal?: After our call « For a credible and bold basic income » launched by a group of ten researchers  (Antoine Bozio, Thomas Breda, Julia Cagé, Lucas Chancel, Elise Huillery, Camille Landais, Dominique Méda, Emmanuel Saez, Tancrède Voituriez) via Pocket

The Rise and Fall of the Word 'Monopoly' in American Life

The Rise and Fall of the Word 'Monopoly' in American Life:

For several decades, the term was a fixture of newspaper headlines and campaign speeches. Then something changed. If "monopoly" sounds like a word from another era, that's because, until recently, it was. via Pocket

How Child Care Enriches Mothers, and Especially the Sons They Raise

How Child Care Enriches Mothers, and Especially the Sons They Raise:

As many American parents know, hiring care for young children during the workday is punishingly expensive, costing the typical family about a third of its income. Helping parents pay for that care would be expensive for society, too. via Pocket

Paying Taxes Is More Popular Than You Think (Episode 41)

Paying Taxes Is More Popular Than You Think (Episode 41):

Taxes, like death, are inevitable. However, that conception of taxes doesn't reflect how the majority of Americans view their relationship to their local, state, and federal government taxes. via Pocket

The Tortilla Cartel

The Tortilla Cartel:

Several years ago, while researching a story about gourmet tacos, I called Diana Kennedy at her home in Michoacán in Mexico. via Pocket

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses:

PANIPAT, India — Shivam Kumar's failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up. via Pocket

Poisoned, ignored and evicted: The perils of living with lead

Poisoned, ignored and evicted: The perils of living with lead:

The toxic water of Flint, Michigan, reminded us that lead is a very persistent poison. This week, Reveal investigates the lurking threat of lead from the dust of urban demolitions to the wilds of Wyoming. via Pocket

The Real Villain Behind Our New Gilded Age

The Real Villain Behind Our New Gilded Age:

The comedian Chris Rock once said, "If poor people knew how rich rich people are, there would be riots in the streets." Populist revolts throughout the world may not count as street riots, but they do reflect disenchantment with not just our government but also liberal democracy itself. via Pocket

The red line: Racial disparities in lending

The red line: Racial disparities in lending:

It's been 10 years since the great housing bust and lending is back. Not everyone is getting a fair shot at getting a loan. via Pocket

Right-to-Work Laws Have Devastated Unions — and Democrats

Right-to-Work Laws Have Devastated Unions — and Democrats:

Next week's special congressional election in southwestern Pennsylvania will test whether, deep in Trump country, union support can help elect a Democrat running on a middle-class economic agenda. A victory would remind Democrats of the electoral power of organized labor. via Pocket

The Case Against Google

The Case Against Google:

Shivaun Moeran and Adam Raff met, married and started a company — thereby sparking a chain of events that might, ultimately, take down this age of internet giants as we know it — because they were both huge nerds. via Pocket

Phone Security

Phone Security:

via Pocket

Amazon Doesn’t Just Want to Dominate the Market—It Wants to Become the Market

Amazon Doesn't Just Want to Dominate the Market—It Wants to Become the Market:

Chris Lampen-Crowell started to feel the undertow four years ago. Gazelle Sports, the running-shoe and apparel business he founded in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1985, had grown steadily for decades, adding locations in Grand Rapids and Detroit and swelling to some 170 employees. via Pocket