With the nation lurching from one crisis to the next, many Americans believe that something fundamental has gone wrong. Why aren’t college graduates able to achieve financial security? Why is government unable to face the disaster of climate change? And why do experts tell us that the economy is strong even though the majority of Americans are struggling? In the new book The Quiet Coup, we see that the system is in fact rigged toward the powerful ..read more

University campuses across America are the scenes of protests and counterprotests. There are encampments and law enforcement moving in to arrest protestors who they say have gone too far. What are the rights of students for free speech and expression? How can that expression be protected without infringing on the rights of others ..read more

It’s comforting to think that we can be successful because we work hard and get what we deserve, but each of us has been profoundly touched by randomness. Dumb luck plays a crucial role in shaping outcomes across history and in our everyday lives. How do luck and chance guide our lives and how can we use the lessons of luck to guide our lives and public policies ..read more

We are approaching another grim remembrance of the school massacre at Robb Elemetary School in Uvalde. And there is still critical information about that day that the state of Texas refuses to release to the public and the families of the dead. We check in as we wait for possible indictments to come from a grand jury ..read more

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is planning to install new stadium lighting along part of the border wall in Texas. These massive lights will be directed toward the Rio Grande and brightly shine every hour of every night, harming wildlife ..read more

Mexico is not immune to the scourge of drug addiction and has developed its own response: anexos. Based on over a decade of research, a book by Angela Garcia delivers a powerful, moving work of narrative nonfiction that illuminates the little-known world of the anexos of Mexico City, the informal addiction treatment centers where mothers send their children to escape the violence of the drug war ..read more

America can be divided between the blue cities and the red counties. Life in the Republican voting rural parts of the nation is largely a mystery to most of the liberal voting urban dwellers. There is very real rural-urban gap, but is there White Rural Rage in America? And what explains the political loyalty to the Republican party when it doesn’t have many policies that addresses the unique needs of Rural America ..read more

Donald Trump is selling autographed bibles and comparing himself to Jesus while asking for political contributions. And this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many in the Religious Right because Trump could deliver a Christian Nationalist agenda. How did a fringe viewpoint grab the center of American politics and what happens if they gain power ..read more

Delta-8 products have exploded in popularity and are easily accessible to people 21 and over. Some argue that it helps with chronic pain and stress while others are pushing for a statewide ban ..read more

Just this week it was announced that an advanced computer chip manufacturer is coming to central Texas and creating thousands of jobs. The Biden Administration passed the CHIPS Act to bring that technology back to the U.S. for economic growth and national security. The next global conflict could be decided by who has access to the best silicon chips ..read more