When the truth is inconvenient, create your own! — On September 14th, a plane full of Venezuelan migrants landed in Martha’s Vineyard. By all accounts, the community there was not expecting their arrival and rushed to respond. But that is where the accounts begin to differ. …

It is 2022 — why is public policy still based in guesswork? — Very broadly, political debates can be sorted into two categories: What should the world be like? How do we make it that way? Arguments of the first type are intractable. No amount of science or data will tell us which rights we have. Science may tell us that people are…

Winning progress in the face of conservatism. — I was in high school when gay marriage was legalized by the Supreme Court. When the decision came down — complete with a rainbow-colored Whitehouse and media fanfare — it felt like a confirmation of the story I had been told my entire life: progress is inevitable. Young and unengaged…

Calls for civil protest will destroy our future — This is an open letter written in response to this article published by the WaPo editorial board. Hello, I am emailing you in response to the recently published opinion by the editorial board calling for an end to protests at the homes of SC justices. I will do my best…

While conservatives claim to fear for kids, they adopt policies, elect leaders, and foster cultures dedicated to child abuse. — In the last weeks the anti-trans bigotry, panic, and legislation that has been brewing for years has crescendoed not only with the very public and widespread slandering of trans people as threats to children, but the return to America’s long history of brutal homophobia.

A thought experiment. — Today, income and wealth inequality are at their highest levels in at least 50 years, with almost half of all income in the United States going to just 10% of the population. In the last two years, Covid-19 has exasperated this inequality as even the IMF has acknowledged: “The severe…

On intentions and politics — This is the first of a series I am calling “asides,” which will be shorter and relevant to one or two topics on my mind. I do not intend to share these widely, so if you are interested please be sure to follow me or join my mailing list. A…

After the Golden Age — I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. My oldest memory of the show is peering from behind the couch (I was barely taller than it) as my dad watched. It captured my imagination. From then on, I was hooked. In the time before Netflix, I could only watch…

Human nature is ours to decide — “If we’re going to be damned, let’s be damned for what we really are.” — Jean-Luc Picard We live in a time of crippling awareness. Though our ecological footprint is increasing, our knowledge of the damage we’re causing has far outpaced it. Every American alive has been exposed to some…