Why Kids Don’t Go Anywhere Anymore
The Institute for Family Studies released a survey showing a sharp decline in unsupervised mobility for American children. Only a quarter of 11‑year‑olds are allowed to leave the house without adult supervision, and younger kids are even more restricted. Parents cite safety concerns and peer norms, while many children rarely exercise the freedom the survey suggests they could. The trend marks a cultural shift away from independent play toward indoor, screen‑based activities.
Thursday Discussion Post
Slow Boring’s Thursday discussion post highlights a provocative tweet by Matthew Yglesias that links Betty Friedan’s 1963 classic The Feminine Mystique to a claimed rise in Korean War prisoner‑of‑war deaths, arguing that 1950s housewives raised softer sons who performed poorly...
Matt and Jerusalem Read Betty Friedan’s Classic, “The Feminine Mystique”
In this episode of The Argument, hosts Jerusalem Dempsis and Matthew Iglesias discuss Betty Friedan’s 1963 seminal work, The Feminine Mystique, after reading it for the first time. They unpack Friedan’s concept of the "problem that has no name"—the widespread,...
Are We Kind of Being Pricks?
A recent Marblehead, Massachusetts town meeting sparked a heated debate over a proposed affordable‑housing project tied to MBTA zoning reforms. Residents, framed as NIMBYs, voted against the plan, highlighting local resistance despite statewide pressure to increase housing supply. At the...
We Should Pay More for the Best Teachers
A new study by political scientists David Broockman and Josh Kalla finds that a centrist stance on teacher compensation—making it hard to fire teachers while rewarding high performers—significantly boosts a Democratic candidate’s vote share. The research compares this effect to...
Thursday Discussion Post
Governor Janet Mills announced she is exiting the U.S. Senate race in Maine, leaving the contest between oyster farmer Graham Platner and long‑time Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner, a first‑time candidate with a farming background, is positioning himself as the...
A Strong Month in a Fragile Market
A survey of 14 build‑to‑rent (B.T.R.) developers shows the sector posted its strongest month in years, with unit deliveries up 8% and occupancy holding at 95% in June. Despite a fragile broader housing market—driven by soaring mortgage rates and a...
Housing Policy Keeps Running Into the Same Problems
The latest housing policy debate in the United States has moved beyond whether supply is constrained to which regulatory barriers should be lifted first. A federal housing bill aimed at expanding affordable construction remains stalled in Congress, while state and...
When More Housing Becomes a Hard Sell
The White House estimates the United States is missing about 10 million homes, a gap created by the post‑2008 building slowdown and rising population and incomes. Home prices have surged 82 percent since 2000, far outpacing wage growth, intensifying affordability concerns. Local...
We Should Plan for Success
Washington, D.C.’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM) is a planning tool that advises the Zoning Commission on discretionary allowances, separate from the by‑right zoning map. The Office of Planning’s 2024 draft update was widely criticized as too modest, failing to...
The NBA's Problems Are so Much Bigger than Tanking
The NBA is confronting criticism that its draft lottery incentivizes teams to lose, prompting Commissioner Adam Silver to explore anti‑tanking reforms that would weaken the link between season records and draft odds. At the same time, the league plans to...
The Girlboss Was Never a Feminist Ideal
Sophia Amoruso’s self‑styled "girlboss" started as a rebellious memoir about anti‑capitalist hustling, later morphing into a Netflix series and a cultural meme. The show, released in 2021, framed her rise from dumpster‑diving to fashion empire as a triumphant narrative, but...
Thursday Discussion Post
Johns Hopkins Clinical and Translational Research Institute announced a clinical trial for a combined Shigella and ETEC vaccine aimed at preventing traveler’s diarrhea. The study will enroll volunteers for outpatient and inpatient arms, offering compensation of up to $5,100. The...
Should Race Matter in College Admissions?
In this episode of The Argument, hosts Matthew Iglesias and Jerusalem Demsus debate whether race should factor into college admissions, using Harvard’s affirmative‑action policies as a focal point. Iglesias argues that affirmative action is harmful, contending it offers limited societal...
Build, Baby, Build
The Pew Charitable Trusts released a new analysis showing that Austin’s housing boom between 2015 and 2024 added roughly 120,000 units, a 30% increase in the city’s stock. This surge in construction coincided with a measurable drop in average rents,...