Category: Etcetera

Doug Nelson, a 73-year-old grandfather and Vietnam veteran, had just finished his late shift at the US Postal Service. He pulled into his driveway a little after midnight and was getting out of his car when he suddenly found himself with a gun to his head. The carjackers demanded his keys, which he promptly handed … Continue reading How Washington, DC Carjacked an Elderly Couple

The Federal Trade Commission recently released a report that details its investigation into the repairability of various tech products. It found that many devices are intentionally designed to be difficult or impossible to repair, and that the reasons companies gave for these design choices were unsubstantiated. “For several years, tech companies have made it difficult, … Continue reading Here’s the Real Reason Why You Can’t Repair Your AirPods

Japan was the first country to run scheduled passenger trains faster than 125 miles per hour. Since then, France has run faster trains and China has built more miles of high‐​speed rail lines, but Japan is still considered a model for a nationwide high‐​speed rail system. Yet there is a dark side to Japan’s bullet trains. Japan’s economy ground to a halt in 1991 and … Continue reading The Dark Side of the Bullet Trains

Jim Bell, Arizona State University Editor’s note: On Feb. 18, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission arrived at the red planet and successfully landed the Perseverance Rover on the surface. Jim Bell is a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University and has worked on a number of Mars missions. He … Continue reading Bringing Mars rocks back to Earth: On Feb. 18, Perseverance Rover landed safely on Mars – a lead scientist explains the tech and goals

A person falling into a black hole and being stretched while approaching the black hole’s horizon. Leo Rodriguez and Shanshan Rodriguez, CC BY-ND Leo Rodriguez, Grinnell College and Shanshan Rodriguez, Grinnell College Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it … Continue reading Could a human enter a black hole to study it?

No matter how trapped we young people feel in our own lives, how insecure we feel about our futures, there is always reason to have faith in the goodness of others and to have optimism for the future.

(Note: This article is dedicated to the memory of Carl Watner, who died on December 8, 2020 at the age of 72. A long-time defender of individual liberty and free markets, his 1976 article in Reason magazine, “California Gold, 1849-65,” helped renew awareness and appreciation for private money in American history). Put the federal government … Continue reading A Georgia Gold Rush Story: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Private Gold-Coin Mint

On Thursday night, Joe Biden rolled out a sweeping proposal for $1.9 trillion more in COVID-19 relief and stimulus spending.  "I believe we have a moral obligation," Biden said during a speech in Delaware announcing the plan. "In this pandemic in America, we cannot let people go hungry, we cannot let people get evicted, we … Continue reading 3 Glaring Problems with Joe Biden’s New Multi-Trillion COVID Package

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into force on 1 January, 2021. Once it becomes fully implemented and operational by 2030, the AfCFTA could be the world’s biggest fully-realized free-trade zone by area. The bloc has a potential market of 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion. This … Continue reading Africa’s New Free Trade Agreement Could Mark the Dawn of a New Era