Specialty Blogs

The Pope Bracket

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NPR has just put up its March Madness bracket—only it’s for the Vatican, not the NCAA. Go ahead and vote, if you feel so inclined. I’m looking forward to finding out who’s among the Elite Ecclesiasts.

Why Science Writing Matters

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This is why I’m writing a science policy column for the HPR: 95 weekly science sections in newspapers in 1989, 34 in 2005, 19 in 2012. Newspapers once wore science sections as a symbol of pride – everybody knew that they didn’t make money, so having one of good quality meant that your paper was successful, … Read more

Stephen A. Smith is Uncomfortable

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Stephen A. Smith is uncomfortable, and I’m not sure why. The Charlotte Observer recently published an editorial cartoon depicting Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton- who has recently been criticized for pouting on the sidelines– wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt. The cartoon plays off of Newton’s signature celebration, where he mimes Clark Kent ripping open his … Read more

The Shutdown

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Stephen Strasburg’s season is over. Baseball fans will be deprived of the joy of watching baseballs fastest fastballs, sharpest curve balls, and most devastating changeups for the rest of the season. This while Strasburg’s Nationals are fighting to secure their first first place finish ever. What makes this event especially unbearable is that Stephen Strasburg … Read more

Toward a Responsible New Urbanism

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From W.W. Rostow to Edward Glaeser to the editorial staff of this very website, academics and social critics alike have lent their voice to the New Urbanism.  Cities are objectively better than the burbs, we say, civically more vigorous, economically more efficient, and environmentally cleaner. But an article by architect Sarah William Goldhagen in the … Read more

Bloodsport and the NFL’s Bottom Line

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I wrote a couple months ago about how the NFL’s hesitance to release its All-22 footage betrayed the league’s keen awareness of the marketing problems that football’s extreme violence could cause it. Bill Simmons over at Highbrow–Sports-wannabe Grantland penned an incisive send up of the hypocrisy that the recent bounty scandal demonstrates. Simmons eviscerates Commissioner … Read more

Democracy’s Dispositional Problem

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Political characterizations are always relative. It is often said that if David Cameron, or another conservative European leader, were plucked off Downing Street and dropped on Pennsylvania Avenue, he would undoubtedly find his Conservative Party positions on healthcare, postsecondary education, and fiscal stimulus somewhere in line with the leftmost wing of the American Democrats. But … Read more