Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

Donald Trump is a globalist

The defining photo of the recent White House Ukraine summit will likely turn out to be one depicting five European leaders plus the leaders of the European Commission and NATO smooshed in around the Resolute Desk, seemingly listening to a soliloquy by the unseen President Donald Trump.  The photo was impossible for observers not to […]

The Covid revenge policy

In his first term, President Donald Trump touted the “medical miracle” of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine that he helped deliver to market through the unprecedented public-private partnership known as Operation Warp Speed. In its second term, the Trump administration is dismantling the signature health achievement of his first term by sowing doubt about the safety […]

Why China can build so quickly and America can’t

America has a hard time building stuff. Roads. Trains. Light rail. Bridges. Housing. Everything takes seemingly forever, if it even happens at all.  Meanwhile, there’s China. A country that builds much faster — high-speed trains, solar panels, electric cars, bridges, ports, drones — all churned out at breakneck speed. Why can China do this, and […]

The real problem with kids’ diets today

This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox’s newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions. Are American kids eating the wrong foods? It’s a question parents and policymakers have worried over for generations, but it’s become especially fraught in recent months as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make American Healthy Again movement […]

Is AI lying? (And other reader questions, answered.)

For the last few years, we’ve been asking Future Perfect newsletter readers what their biggest questions are. And while we usually answer privately, we figured we’d try something new: a reader mailbag! This week, we’ve answered questions from three readers on classic FP issues: artificial intelligence, animal welfare coverage, and, of course, altruistic kidney donations. […]