COVID: Zero stars. Not recommended.
Foreign policy and politics: Read Dan Drezner’s Substack. Read Heather Cox Richardson’s on domestic politics.
Dan Drezner, America Has Changed Since “NYPD Blue” Aired:
In today’s more polarized environment, I don’t know if a mainstream audience can buy a character who starts out bigoted and ends up being a more constructive member of society. For progressives, the initial racism would be too much; for conservatives, it would be viewed as woke culture run amok. Which is a shame — because the United States could use more characters like Andy Sipowicz. The country is littered with flawed human beings trying to be better. However the show has aged, NYPD Blue understood that compelling point.
Andrew Spencer, Hope for a Humane Agricultural Future: A Review of Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future:
Once someone accepts the significant human contribution to climate change, there are two possible options. The first option is to assume that things are too far gone so that exercising restraint is pointless. Based on this defeatist thinking we should either ride out the coming storm, hoping for the best, or accept that human extinction would be the best thing for the planet. The second option for those who recognize that the current form of human civilization is damaging the environment is to do something about it. What that something should be, however, is the subject of fierce debate.
Juliette Kayyem, What Your Insurer Is Trying to Tell You About Climate Change: Insurers are trying to send a message. The government is trying to suppress it.:
As climate-related disasters grow in frequency and intensity, major home insurers in some locations are concluding that no premium—or at least no premium that customers are willing to pay and state regulators are likely to permit—will cover the potential losses. Earlier this year, Allstate and California’s largest insurer, State Farm, announced that they would hold off on writing new policies for homes in the state.
Jonathan Adler, Conservatives Need to Engage in Climate Policy Debate:
Even if one believes the likelihood of catastrophic climate change is small, the consequences are sufficiently grave to justify prudent measures to reduce the likelihood and magnitude of adverse events. You don’t install smoke alarms, acquire fire extinguishers, and buy home insurance because you expect a house fire. Rather, you recognize the value of insuring against low-probability/high-magnitude events. The costs and dislocation resulting from your house burning down are sufficiently grave that they justify prudent investments that will reduce the likelihood and the consequences of such an event.
Judy Woodruff, Frank Carlson and Connor Seitchik, How the loss of local newspapers fueled political divisions in the U.S. [Ed.: PBS NewsHour story, 14 minutes]
Tyler Austin Harper, Ibram X. Kendi’s fall is a cautionary tale — so was his rise:
As one of a number of left-wing commentators who have been critical of mainstream anti-racism — and who believe the movement is little more than self-help for White people that runs interference for corporations and wealthy universities — I’ve watched the Kendi crisis unfold with a touch of schadenfreude. Yet though this public reckoning feels long overdue, I can’t help but also have a smidgen of empathy for the embattled anti-racism guru.
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie? [Ed.: Yes. The forensic analysis of their ‘data’ clearly shows they did. That stated, the author tells an important story that goes well beyond faking data. I can’t do justice to it with an excerpt. Read it. It’s very good.]