With less than a year to go until the United States of America’s 250th birthday, it is worth standing back and looking with awe at those years. The U.S. did not just become the richest, strongest, and freest country on Earth. It did so while remaining a stable constitutional democracy for 2 1/2 centuries, with […]
Across the United States and Europe, the media is warning of dangerously high temperatures. But this narrative will tell you only a misleading fraction of the...
Most of the time, being British in the United States is riddled with perks. Americans love our accent, routinely ask if we are friends with King Charles, and assume that our intelligence, honesty, and wit are unrivalled — a view debunked by the mere existence of John Oliver. But every year, as July Fourth approaches, […]
There is no time when the Declaration of Independence‘s true meaning is not worthy of deep reflection. But certainly this Independence Day, which marks the beginning of a year of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the declaration’s signing, is a worthy occasion for such reflection. To be sure, there’s no shortage of commentary to spur […]
The United States under President Donald Trump is liked less by the rest of the world than it was during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but it is furtively much more admired. It is also more respected in the way that matters most, which is that other nations know they cannot ignore […]
I learned soon after leaving home for college, after leaving the conservative bubble in which I was raised, that it’s best not to admit you like the Fourth of July. Even after I was quick to quip, “My parents are immigrants, I’m allowed to be patriotic,” this admission was still taboo. Best not to admit […]
Good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods differ in many ways, but the most important may be the trust gap. You can tell a place is nice to live in because children leave their bikes on front lawns, and front doors are often unlocked. Happy countries also differ from unhappy countries in many ways, but trust might […]
The most famous merchant of America, Jeff Bezos, got married in Venice over the last weekend of June. While the world gawked at the $50 million price tag of the festivities, the 90 private jets of 200 fellow billionaires and Hollywood celebrities who descended on the Italian islands, and the gilded and garish parade of […]
Being a liberal bookstore means you must pretend Republicans are “banning” books when you’re the one actually doing it. This is true even if the author is a literary titan. Enter Booksmith, a nearly 50-year-old bookstore in San Francisco that is finished with J.K. Rowling, who wrote the wildly popular Harry Potter series that has dominated entertainment, through books, movies, and […]
People are decreasingly literate and increasingly desperate. Pair that reality with a fast food coupon, and you have modern advertisement. For Jimmy John’s, sub sales are the goal of the beach read campaign accessed through its Summer Menu of Ultimate Temptation, or SMUT. Use a promo code to order one of the four items on […]
