The Curious Engineer

Slow Boring

2023–2024

1,310 posts

← 2020–2022 2025–2026 →

2024 665

December 2024

  1. New Years Eve Thread
  2. How to get slightly better at things
  3. Monday thread
  4. Predictions for 2025
  5. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  6. Saturday thread
  7. Friday thread
  8. Eight nights of mailbag
  9. Thursday thread
  10. My five favorite movies of 2024
  11. Christmas thread
  12. Tuesday thread
  13. You smashed our goal
  14. Monday thread
  15. Liberalism not socialism
  16. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  17. Saturday thread
  18. Friday thread
  19. AOC deserved the Oversight job
  20. Thursday thread
  21. The case for clinical trial abundance
  22. Wednesday thread
  23. From the veal pen to The Groups
  24. Tuesday thread
  25. Are place-based policies targeting the wrong distressed areas?
  26. Monday thread
  27. What the US and Europe can learn from each other
  28. Sunday thread
  29. Saturday thread
  30. Friday thread
  31. Mid-December Mailbag
  32. Thursday Thread
  33. End the Medicare For All wars
  34. Wednesday thread
  35. Have experts really gotten worse?
  36. Tuesday thread
  37. Bad news from the New Cold War
  38. Monday thread
  39. Common Sense Manifesto #4: Identity politics won't save us
  40. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  41. Saturday thread
  42. Friday thread
  43. Another post-election mailbag
  44. Thursday thread
  45. The new politics of evasion
  46. Wednesday thread
  47. Have I been running the Biden Administration?
  48. Tuesday thread
  49. You can help the poorest people in the world
  50. Monday thread
  51. We need reality-based energy policy
  52. Sunday thread + Mailbag

November 2024

  1. Saturday thread
  2. Friday thread
  3. Thanksgiving Thread
  4. Thank you for reading :)
  5. Wednesday thread
  6. Pre-thanksgiving mailbag
  7. Tuesday thread
  8. Trump's economic team is on a collision course with reality
  9. Monday thread
  10. Liberalism and public order
  11. Sunday thread + mailbag
  12. Saturday thread
  13. Friday thread
  14. New hat, new mailbag
  15. Thursday thread
  16. Can we have a family friendly high rise?
  17. Wednesday thread
  18. How Trump can lead on vaccine development, again
  19. Tuesday thread
  20. What if the first Gulf War never happened?
  21. Monday thread
  22. A common sense economic agenda
  23. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  24. Saturday thread
  25. Friday thread
  26. Not-so-cold November mailbag
  27. Thursday thread
  28. How Donald Trump could succeed
  29. Wednesday thread
  30. Four years of boring hard boards, slowly
  31. Tuesday thread
  32. A Common Sense Democrat manifesto
  33. Monday thread
  34. When Trump wins, so does the media
  35. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  36. Saturday thread
  37. Friday thread
  38. Post-election mailbag
  39. Thursday thread
  40. Breaking down the election results
  41. Wednesday thread
  42. A tale of two machines
  43. That went poorly
  44. Uh oh...
  45. Tuesday thread
  46. It's Election Day!
  47. Monday thread
  48. My toughest vote of 2024
  49. Sunday thread
  50. Saturday thread
  51. Friday thread
  52. Pre-election mailbag

October 2024

  1. Thursday thread
  2. Robert Moses's ideas were weird and bad
  3. Wednesday thread
  4. I changed my mind
  5. Tuesday thread
  6. 27 takes on the 2024 election
  7. Monday thread
  8. Is the Democratic Party "hollow"?
  9. Sunday thread + Mailbag
  10. Saturday thread
  11. A Democratic Senate could need more independents
  12. Friday thread
  13. Biden's foreign policy disappointment
  14. Thursday thread
  15. Bring back the IPO
  16. Wednesday thread
  17. A positive case for Kamala Harris
  18. Tuesday thread
  19. Ta-Nehisi Coates's prophetic vision
  20. Monday thread + Poll
  21. Democrats need to talk about their good issues
  22. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  23. Saturday thread
  24. This economic myth needs to go away
  25. Friday thread
  26. The era of close elections
  27. My chat with Nate Silver
  28. The electorate is becoming less racially polarized
  29. Wednesday thread
  30. Can we rescue comprehensive immigration reform?
  31. Tuesday thread
  32. Tradeoffs are real
  33. Monday thread + Poll
  34. Live Matt Yglesias / Nate Silver video dialogue on Wednesday
  35. The history of third parties in America
  36. Sunday Thread + Grab Bag
  37. Saturday thread
  38. Friday thread
  39. Election mailbag
  40. Thursday thread
  41. All the stuff expiring next year, explained
  42. Wednesday Thread
  43. Media organizations are blowing their endorsements
  44. Tuesday thread
  45. The Protestant Reformation was a really big deal
  46. Monday thread
  47. A year later
  48. Sunday thread +Mailbag
  49. Saturday thread
  50. How the government can help increase housing supply
  51. Friday thread
  52. The state-owned enterprise America needs
  53. Thursday thread
  54. How to win men's votes without backing down on women's rights
  55. Wednesday thread
  56. Housing policy isn't that complicated
  57. Tuesday thread
  58. Trump’s incredibly dumb economic mistake

September 2024

  1. Monday Poll + Thread
  2. Noah Smith is too down on nuclear energy
  3. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  4. Saturday Thread
  5. Congress needs to invest in itself
  6. Friday thread
  7. Social media regulation beyond antitrust
  8. Thursday thread
  9. Same-party transitions are surprisingly difficult
  10. Wednesday thread
  11. Shackling the state
  12. Tuesday thread
  13. The candidates who need your money the most
  14. Monday thread + Poll
  15. Trump's tax plans mean higher mortgage interest rates
  16. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  17. Saturday thread
  18. How Democrats and Republicans Plan to Flip Key Seats
  19. Friday thread
  20. In defense of soft, weak Zoomers
  21. Thursday thread
  22. Let foreign airlines fly domestic routes
  23. Wednesday thread
  24. Harris is right on the merits about fracking
  25. Tuesday thread
  26. The tired dance of the demagogue
  27. Monday thread + Poll
  28. Prequels are bad
  29. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  30. Saturday thread
  31. How frontline Republicans talk to swing voters
  32. Friday thread + happy hour info
  33. Housing and the population slowdown
  34. Thursday thread
  35. Can new data solve an immigration puzzle?
  36. Wednesday thread
  37. Sixteen thoughts on a great debate
  38. Concepts of a plan
  39. Tuesday thread
  40. The federal government should unleash DC housing
  41. Monday thread + Poll
  42. How to think smarter about taxes
  43. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  44. Saturday thread
  45. How frontline Democrats talk to swing voters
  46. Friday thread
  47. A patriotic revival?
  48. Thursday thread
  49. A simple swap to boost growth and improve national security
  50. Wednesday thread
  51. To fight wokeness, vote Harris
  52. Tuesday thread
  53. What if Hillary Clinton had won in 2008?
  54. Monday Thread + Poll
  55. Against the "price gouging" theory of inflation
  56. Sunday thread + Grab Bag

August 2024

  1. Saturday thread
  2. Friday thread
  3. Addressing America's traffic death crisis
  4. Thursday thread and save the date!
  5. The crank realignment is bad for everyone
  6. Wednesday thread
  7. Voters care about issues, even lobstermen
  8. Tuesday thread
  9. The promise and peril of Obama's YIMBY turn
  10. Monday Thread + Poll
  11. The coming world of ubiquitous price discrimination
  12. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  13. Saturday thread
  14. Ben's Convention Mailbag
  15. Friday thread
  16. Riding the vibes to victory
  17. Thursday thread
  18. What the AI debate is really about
  19. Wednesday thread
  20. What everyone is getting wrong about crime in DC
  21. Tuesday thread
  22. Neoliberalism and its enemies IV
  23. Monday thread
  24. The election is extremely close
  25. Mailbag + Sunday Thread
  26. Saturday thread
  27. Can an AI health coach fight chronic disease?
  28. Friday thread
  29. Localizing politics in a nationalized world
  30. Thursday thread
  31. The poverty of proceduralism
  32. Wednesday thread
  33. Global warming, local benefits
  34. Tuesday thread
  35. Politicians should talk to the press more
  36. Monday thread + Poll
  37. Bring back the revolving door!
  38. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  39. Saturday thread
  40. Online sports betting hurts consumers
  41. Friday thread
  42. The overblown military-industrial complex
  43. Thursday thread
  44. What’s better than calling Trump weird?
  45. The declining significance of race, quantified
  46. Wednesday thread
  47. Neoliberalism and its enemies, Part III
  48. Tuesday thread
  49. Thirteen ways of looking at Tim Walz
  50. Reds in the family
  51. Monday thread + Poll
  52. The politics of weirdness
  53. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  54. Saturday thread
  55. Friday thread
  56. Bye bye UBI?
  57. Thursday thread
  58. Latin America has Bukele-fever

July 2024

  1. Wednesday thread
  2. How to fix presidential primaries
  3. Tuesday thread
  4. Twisters' nonsensical villain
  5. Monday Thread + Poll
  6. Kamala Harris should shake the Etch-A-Sketch
  7. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  8. Saturday thread
  9. The most interesting ballot measures of 2024
  10. Friday thread
  11. What to make of the global far-right
  12. Thursday thread
  13. Make the VP selection on the merits!
  14. Wednesday thread
  15. The eternal return of conservative populism
  16. Tuesday thread
  17. Neoliberalism and its enemies
  18. Monday Thread + Poll
  19. Rent control is not the answer
  20. 17 thoughts on the transformation of the race
  21. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  22. Saturday thread
  23. The most money goes where it matters the least
  24. Friday Thread
  25. Midsummer mailbag
  26. Thursday thread
  27. The VP is clearly the stronger candidate
  28. Wednesday thread
  29. Trump's tariffs mean big opportunities for corruption
  30. Tuesday thread
  31. We have more agency than we like to admit
  32. Monday thread + Mailbag
  33. The economic policy implications of a Republican landslide
  34. Sunday Thread
  35. Saturday thread
  36. What happens when party leaders step aside?
  37. Friday thread
  38. Can we do better than partisan primaries?
  39. Thursday thread
  40. What was neoliberalism?
  41. Wednesday thread
  42. The promise and peril of tourism booms
  43. Tuesday thread
  44. Twenty-seven more thoughts about the state of the race
  45. Robotaxis should be a wakeup call for cities
  46. Monday thread + Poll
  47. I was wrong about Biden
  48. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  49. Saturday thread
  50. Friday thread
  51. Lisbon mailbag
  52. Thursday thread
  53. Human history in the very long run
  54. Wednesday thread
  55. The strange history of osteopathic medicine
  56. Tuesday thread
  57. What we learned from the Slow Boring reader survey
  58. Monday thread
  59. The case against municipal fragmentation

June 2024

  1. Sunday thread
  2. Saturday thread
  3. The NBA has an audience problem
  4. Friday thread
  5. Emergency Debate Pod: Bye Bye Biden?
  6. Honor demands Joe Biden step aside
  7. Thursday thread
  8. China is huge, not rich
  9. Wednesday thread + Mailbag!
  10. Elite misinformation is an underrated problem
  11. Tuesday thread
  12. The history of third parties in America
  13. Monday thread + Poll
  14. High-pressure youth sports is bad for America
  15. Sunday Thread + Grab Bag
  16. Saturday thread
  17. We need to fix the organ transplant network
  18. Friday thread
  19. Can Uncle Sam fix the cost of living?
  20. Thursday thread
  21. The Bush-era origins of NYC congestion pricing
  22. Wednesday thread
  23. Are "ultra-processed" foods really the problem?
  24. Tuesday thread
  25. Rebooting the care agenda
  26. Monday Thread + Poll
  27. Trump's presidency was a huge mess
  28. Sunday thread + Grab Bag
  29. Saturday thread
  30. A better approach to forest management
  31. Friday thread
  32. The benefits of immigrant workers
  33. Thursday thread
  34. The truth about profits and inflation
  35. Wednesday thread
  36. Biden is doing the right thing on asylum
  37. Tuesday thread
  38. Mad Max's implausible post-oil eco-dystopia
  39. Monday Poll + Thread
  40. New York's congestion pricing disaster
  41. Grab Bag + Sunday Thread
  42. Saturday Thread
  43. Tackling the college presidency crisis
  44. Friday Thread
  45. How China plays western companies against each other
  46. Thursday Thread
  47. The current era of age polarization is unusual
  48. Thursday Thread
  49. Most young people aren’t liberals
  50. Tuesday Thread
  51. What if Italy joined the Central Powers in World War I?
  52. Monday thread + poll
  53. Moderate donors should do something that isn't stupid
  54. Grab Bag + Sunday thread
  55. Saturday thread
  56. Africa needs malaria vaccines as soon as possible

May 2024

  1. Friday thread
  2. Taking irrational voters seriously
  3. Thursday thread
  4. Why Biden lost
  5. Wednesday thread
  6. How I went from left to center-left
  7. Tuesday thread
  8. The surprisingly hard question of who pays taxes
  9. Monday thread + Poll
  10. What to read on Memorial Day
  11. Grab Bag + Sunday thread
  12. Saturday thread
  13. Friday thread
  14. Farewell Maya mailbag
  15. Thursday thread
  16. The failures of Zionism and anti-Zionism
  17. Wednesday thread
  18. Trump scams the people who trust him
  19. Tuesday thread
  20. The economics of the New Cold War
  21. Monday thread
  22. Banning lab-grown meat is really bad
  23. Mailbox + Sunday thread
  24. Saturday thread
  25. Expand higher education opportunities for police
  26. Friday thread
  27. Friday grab bag: The war on complexity
  28. Thursday thread
  29. Housing reform should be bipartisan
  30. Wednesday thread
  31. The geopolitical underpinnings of Sudan's collapse
  32. Tuesday thread
  33. What the right gets right
  34. Monday poll
  35. Did the Vietnam War protests backfire?
  36. Sunday thread
  37. Saturday thread
  38. 🚨 🚨 Trump is TERRIFIED of your grassroots support
  39. Friday thread
  40. Am I an out of touch elitist?
  41. Thursday thread
  42. What I've learned on Substack
  43. Wednesday thread
  44. The misinformation that actually matters
  45. Tuesday thread
  46. How to make a difference in the 2024 election
  47. Monday thread + poll
  48. Making marijuana legalization work better
  49. Sunday thread
  50. Saturday thread
  51. Members of Congress should actually live in DC
  52. Friday thread
  53. Friday grab bag: Breaking the jobs / health insurance link
  54. Thursday thread
  55. Restaurants should charge more for reservations
  56. Wednesday thread
  57. America should spend more on prison management

April 2024

  1. Tuesday thread
  2. What the left gets right
  3. Monday poll
  4. Young voters care about the same stuff as everyone else
  5. Sunday Thread
  6. We must end the litigation doom loop
  7. Saturday thread
  8. Immigration can power American energy
  9. Friday thread
  10. Friday Grab Bag: Taking industrial policy seriously
  11. Thursday thread
  12. Self-driving cars are underhyped
  13. Wednesday thread
  14. George W. Bush was a terrible president
  15. Tuesday thread
  16. College students should study more
  17. Monday poll
  18. Ask how to solve problems, not why they happened
  19. Sunday thread
  20. Saturday Thread
  21. The Take Bakery: How to save local journalism
  22. Friday thread
  23. Jamaican mailbag
  24. Thursday thread
  25. Larry Summers isn’t worried about secular stagnation anymore
  26. Wednesday thread
  27. Why it’s hard to measure antisemitism
  28. Tuesday Thread
  29. The economic research policymakers actually need
  30. Monday Thread + Reader Survey
  31. Our broken global humanitarian system
  32. Sunday thread
  33. Saturday thread
  34. The Take Bakery: Simplifying the income tax code
  35. Friday thread
  36. Friday Grab Bag: American education is ... fine
  37. Thursday thread
  38. Negativity is making everyone miserable
  39. Wednesday thread
  40. A history (and defense) of left vs right
  41. Tuesday thread — and mailbag time!
  42. Smartphones in schools are bad
  43. Monday poll
  44. The case for counterfactual history
  45. Sunday thread
  46. Saturday thread
  47. The Take Bakery: How to reform the sports gambling industry
  48. Friday thread
  49. The pro-social reality TV show we need
  50. Thursday Thread
  51. Fund more climate research
  52. Wednesday thread
  53. Unleash the growth machine!
  54. Tuesday thread
  55. The truth about the Biden economy
  56. Monday poll
  57. The new politics of abortion rights

March 2024

  1. Sunday thread
  2. Saturday thread
  3. The Take Bakery: Make America(n Basketball Prospects) Great Again
  4. Friday thread
  5. Rethinking the opening with China
  6. Thursday thread
  7. 17 thoughts four years after Covid
  8. Wednesday thread
  9. A better way to save water
  10. Tuesday thread
  11. House Republicans' (bad) plan for America
  12. Monday poll
  13. State-level climate targets don't make sense
  14. Sunday thread
  15. Saturday thread
  16. The Take Bakery: Anonymous Congress
  17. Friday thread
  18. Learning from short-term rental bans
  19. Thursday thread
  20. Democrats should try harder to win tough races
  21. Wednesday Thread
  22. What Israel does matters
  23. Tuesday thread + Wednesday happy hour
  24. It’s the right time for austerity
  25. Monday poll
  26. The police are in the wrong places
  27. Sunday thread
  28. Saturday thread
  29. The Take Bakery: A three-day presidential election
  30. Friday Thread
  31. The "spa-fication" of everything
  32. Thursday thread
  33. Smarter ways to boost drug innovation
  34. Wednesday thread
  35. How the federal government can help on housing
  36. Tuesday thread + happy hour details
  37. The case against TikTok
  38. Monday poll
  39. Why Putin wants credit for Belgium's independence
  40. Sunday Thread
  41. Saturday Thread
  42. Why I love Dune
  43. Thursday Thread
  44. AOC's slow boring of hard boards
  45. Wednesday thread
  46. Debbie Downer progressives aren't helping
  47. Tuesday thread
  48. The problem with Poolesville
  49. Monday thread + poll
  50. How Slow Boring plans to cover the 2024 election
  51. Sunday thread
  52. Saturday thread
  53. Alex Ward explains Biden's foreign policy
  54. Friday thread
  55. How IRA results are stacking up to predictions

February 2024

  1. Thursday thread
  2. How we got here
  3. Wednesday thread
  4. Can we NIMBY cars instead of houses?
  5. Tuesday thread
  6. Republicans can't stop swallowing Russian propaganda
  7. Monday Poll
  8. Improve student “tracking” don’t eliminate it
  9. Sunday thread—and a new mailbag era
  10. Saturday thread
  11. 21 thoughts on the Biden age question
  12. Friday thread
  13. End of the mailbag as we know it
  14. Thursday thread
  15. The rise of cosmopolitanism and the crisis of liberalism
  16. Wednesday thread
  17. The high cost of promoting homeownership
  18. Tuesday thread
  19. Socialists or anarchists?
  20. Monday thread
  21. The Super Bowl should've been yesterday
  22. Sunday thread
  23. Saturday thread
  24. Friday thread
  25. President's Day mailbag
  26. Thursday thread
  27. The case for the immigration deal
  28. Wednesday thread
  29. Lots of people lose jobs even in a "good economy"
  30. Tuesday thread
  31. We need to see more Joe Biden
  32. Monday mailbag
  33. America's soft power isn't the problem
  34. Sunday thread
  35. Saturday thread
  36. Friday thread
  37. Super Mailbag
  38. Thursday thread
  39. Joe Biden is currently losing the election
  40. Wednesday thread
  41. Tourism is good, actually
  42. Tuesday thread
  43. Trump's middle class tax hike
  44. Monday mailbag
  45. Trump's foreign policy was a humanitarian disaster
  46. Sunday thread
  47. Saturday thread
  48. Friday thread
  49. Karma mailbag
  50. Thursday thread
  51. How lie detectors exacerbate border problems

January 2024

  1. Wednesday thread
  2. Unleash the power of bipartisan NRC reform
  3. Tuesday Thread
  4. The two crises in the news business
  5. Monday mailbag
  6. Banning natural gas exports
  7. Sunday thread
  8. Saturday thread
  9. Friday thread
  10. Write-in mailbag
  11. Thursday thread
  12. Rich businessmen remember they're Republicans
  13. Wednesday thread and DC happy hour
  14. Nostalgia politics is a dead end
  15. Tuesday thread
  16. Immigrants need market-rate housing
  17. Monday mailbag
  18. Biden's media problem
  19. Sunday Thread
  20. Saturday thread
  21. Friday thread
  22. Snow day mailbag
  23. Thursday thread
  24. Housing reform should actually add housing
  25. Wednesday thread
  26. The pandemic's lesson on teacher licensure
  27. Tuesday thread
  28. Climate is the problem
  29. Monday mailbag
  30. Why the parties can't decide
  31. Sunday thread
  32. Saturday thread
  33. Friday thread
  34. Mailbags (and movies) need writers
  35. Thursday thread
  36. Misunderstanding antisemitism in America
  37. Wednesday thread
  38. Are index funds killing competition?
  39. Tuesday thread
  40. Dentists are bad
  41. Matt's mailbox
  42. Conservatives' terrible case for more regulation
  43. Sunday thread
  44. Saturday thread
  45. Friday thread
  46. New Year, new mailbag
  47. Thursday thread
  48. William Julius Wilson Thought deserves a comeback
  49. Wednesday thread
  50. How We Got Here
  51. The sports gambling industry needs reform
  52. Tuesday Thread
  53. My 2024 predictions
  54. Matt's New Year Mailbag

2023 645

December 2023

  1. New Year's Eve Thread
  2. Saturday Thread
  3. Friday Thread
  4. Last mailbag of 2023
  5. Thursday Thread
  6. The weirdest academic controversy of 2023
  7. Wednesday Thread
  8. What I learned reading every Harry Bosch book
  9. Matt’s Mailbox
  10. My favorite movie of 2023
  11. Merry Christmas, and thank you!
  12. Sunday Thread
  13. Saturday Thread
  14. The case for proportional presidentialism
  15. Can PR and presidentialism get along?
  16. Solstice mailbag
  17. Thursday thread
  18. A real cost-reduction agenda for the New Year
  19. Wednesday thread
  20. A new podcast!
  21. Malthusian intuitions are destroying our politics
  22. In pursuit of the best comment section on the internet
  23. Black Democrats are moderate
  24. Monday mailbag
  25. Trump won't make lobster tails cheaper
  26. Sunday thread
  27. Midwinter mailbag
  28. Saturday thread
  29. Friday thread
  30. Copyright law is living in the past
  31. Thursday thread
  32. Is it time for a second look at Kamala Harris?
  33. Wednesday thread
  34. “Expedited removal” won’t fix asylum
  35. Tuesday thread
  36. Another brutal year for the media industry
  37. Monday Mailbag
  38. The two-state solution is still best
  39. Sunday thread
  40. Saturday thread
  41. Friday thread
  42. What mailbag used to be
  43. Thursday thread
  44. Obamacare repeal is back, and it's still bad
  45. Wednesday Thread
  46. The tyranny of climate targets
  47. Tuesday thread
  48. How to unleash a trailer home boom
  49. Matt's Mailbox
  50. It's not just Biden
  51. Sunday thread
  52. Saturday thread
  53. Friday thread
  54. Is this mailbag "screen time"?

November 2023

  1. Thursday thread
  2. Obama mostly got things right
  3. Wednesday Thread
  4. Bayard Rustin's ideas matter
  5. Tuesday Thread
  6. Cash transfers work
  7. Matt's Mailbox
  8. The implosion of the climate left
  9. Saturday Thread
  10. Thankful mailbag
  11. Thanksgiving Thread
  12. 17 points to raise with center-right relatives
  13. Wednesday Thread
  14. The truth about Bidenomics
  15. The truth about Bidenomics
  16. Tuesday Thread
  17. Business leaders are ignoring Elon Musk's antisemitism
  18. Matt's Mailbox
  19. Trump would make inflation worse
  20. Sunday Thread
  21. Saturday Thread
  22. Friday Thread
  23. Third anniversary mailbag
  24. Thursday Thread
  25. America needs more "bureaucrats," not fewer
  26. Wednesday Thread
  27. Antisemitism in America
  28. Tuesday Thread
  29. Slow Boring's fourth year
  30. Matt's Mailbag
  31. The parties can't decide
  32. Sunday Thread
  33. Veterans' Day Thread
  34. Veterans Day rerun: The most important election of our lifetime
  35. Thursday Thread
  36. Veterans Day Eve Mailbag
  37. Wednesday Thread
  38. 23 thoughts on the 2023 midterms
  39. Happy hour reminder and hiring news
  40. My grand theory of the left
  41. Matt's Mailbox
  42. America’s two homelessness problems
  43. Sunday Thread
  44. Saturday Thread
  45. Friday Thread
  46. Cold November mailbag
  47. Thursday Thread
  48. Israel's two wars
  49. Wednesday Thread
  50. What happened with Covid NPIs?

October 2023

  1. Tuesday Thread
  2. Slow Boring DC Happy Hour
  3. The 2020 murder surge wasn't about Covid
  4. Matt’s Mailbox
  5. Do voters like moderate messages more?
  6. Sunday Thread
  7. Saturday Thread
  8. Friday Thread
  9. Spooky mailbag
  10. Thursday Thread
  11. Against murder-suicide politics
  12. Wednesday Thread
  13. Slavery was bad
  14. Tuesday Thread
  15. Israel, Palestine, and the need for principled free speech
  16. Matt's Mailbag
  17. The techno-optimist's fallacy
  18. Sunday Thread
  19. Saturday Thread
  20. Friday thread
  21. Friday Thread
  22. Professional development mailbag
  23. Thursday Thread
  24. Melissa Kearney on "Two Parent Privilege"
  25. A conversation about two-parent privilege
  26. Wednesday thread
  27. Palestinian right of return matters
  28. Tuesday thread
  29. Taking retail theft seriously
  30. Matt's Mailbag
  31. VP selections aren’t taken seriously enough
  32. Sunday thread
  33. Saturday Thread
  34. Friday thread
  35. The best season for a mailbag
  36. Thursday Thread
  37. Democrats should talk more about health care
  38. Wednesday Thread
  39. Radicalization doesn't help anyone
  40. Tuesday Thread
  41. The "Deaths of Despair" narrative is wrong
  42. Matt's Mailbox
  43. The industrial policy dilemma
  44. Sunday Thread
  45. Friday Thread
  46. Frisco mailbag
  47. Thursday Thread
  48. It's time for a fiscal commission
  49. Wednesday Thread
  50. Saturday Thread
  51. Fifteen thoughts on Kevin McCarthy's downfall
  52. Unlocked: The past and future of the city
  53. Matt's Mailbox
  54. When Trump wins, so does the media
  55. Carbon pricing deserves to make a comeback

September 2023

  1. Saturday Thread
  2. Friday Thread
  3. We're hiring!
  4. Farewell Milan mailbag
  5. Thursday Thread
  6. GOP Debate in Review
  7. The policy implications of self-driving cars
  8. Wednesday Thread
  9. The Biden/Harris ticket should try hard to win
  10. Tuesday Thread
  11. Why climate policy is hard
  12. Monday Thread
  13. Loneliness isn't paradoxical
  14. Sunday Thread
  15. Saturday Thread
  16. Friday Thread
  17. Kevlar-strength mailbag
  18. Milan's Mailbag II
  19. Bobby, Nikki, Kamala, Vivek, and me
  20. Wednesday Thread
  21. What I learned losing 70 pounds
  22. Tuesday Thread
  23. Racial polarization is going down, not up
  24. Matt's Mailbox
  25. Trump's new economic plan is terrible
  26. Sunday Thread
  27. Saturday Thread
  28. Friday Thread
  29. Annual booster mailbag
  30. Thursday Thread
  31. What does "broken windows" policing mean?
  32. Wednesday Thread
  33. The Spirit of 2006
  34. Tuesday Thread
  35. Polarization is a choice
  36. Matt's Mailbox
  37. The real reason Biden's child poverty gambit failed
  38. Sunday Thread
  39. Saturday Thread
  40. Friday Thread
  41. Hot town, summer in the mailbag
  42. Thursday Thread
  43. Taking Biden’s oil strategy to the next level
  44. Wednesday Thread
  45. Hostility to immigration isn’t about economics
  46. Tuesday Thread
  47. In praise of courtyard apartments
  48. Labor Day Mailbox
  49. The system doesn't work
  50. Friday Thread
  51. Back to school mailbag

August 2023

  1. The social science of reading isn't so clear
  2. Wednesday Thread
  3. Ramaswamentum is a product of Bored Journalist Syndrome
  4. Tuesday Thread
  5. Republicans' plan to bomb Mexico is bad
  6. Matt's Mailbox
  7. The IRA as inflation reduction
  8. A serious case for dynamic scoring
  9. Sunday Thread
  10. Saturday Thread
  11. Friday Thread
  12. Maine mailbag
  13. Thursday Thread
  14. Argentina's economic dilemma — and ours
  15. Wednesday Thread
  16. Slow Boring takes a vacation
  17. Tuesday Thread
  18. Public pools need an abundance agenda
  19. Matt's Mailbox
  20. The two kinds of progressives
  21. Sunday Thread
  22. Saturday Thread
  23. Friday Thread
  24. Maximilian I, Emperor of the Mailbag
  25. Thursday Thread
  26. Specialization and high-productivity? Try that in a small town!
  27. Wednesday Thread
  28. “Coalitions” can’t excuse sloppy thinking
  29. Tuesday Thread
  30. Democrats need Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
  31. Matt's Mailbox
  32. Big ideas aren't enough
  33. Sunday Thread
  34. Saturday Thread
  35. Friday Thread
  36. Dog days of mailbag
  37. Thursday Thread
  38. Kamala Harris wrote a good book about crime
  39. Wednesday Thread
  40. YIMBYs keep winning
  41. Tuesday Thread
  42. It’s a good time to cut the deficit
  43. Matt's Mailbox
  44. Ignore "The Safest City in America" Rankings
  45. Sunday Thread
  46. Vivek Ramaswamy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing
  47. Saturday Thread
  48. The rise of the liberal Democrat
  49. Friday Thread
  50. Room temperature mailbag
  51. Thursday Thread
  52. To build an egalitarian society you need taxes
  53. Wednesday Thread
  54. Why did inflation fall?
  55. Tuesday Thread
  56. Europe's "law and order" urbanism

July 2023

  1. Matt's Mailbox
  2. Harvard will never be an engine of social mobility
  3. Sunday Thread
  4. I was wrong about the American Rescue Plan
  5. Saturday Thread
  6. How critical theory is radicalizing high school debate
  7. Friday Thread
  8. Midsummer mailbag
  9. Thursday Thread
  10. The tragedy of the Manhattan Project
  11. Wednesday Thread
  12. New evidence that we're solving more murders
  13. Tuesday Thread
  14. A bold plan to fix health care
  15. Amy Finkelstein's plan to fix American health care
  16. Matt's Mailbox
  17. DeSantis is to Trump’s right on everything
  18. Sunday Thread
  19. Saturday Thread
  20. Friday Thread
  21. Back in the USA mailbag
  22. Thursday Thread
  23. Banning background checks increases racial discrimination
  24. Wednesday Thread
  25. America has better geography for fast trains than France
  26. Tuesday Thread
  27. ChatGPT goes to Harvard
  28. Matt's Mailbox
  29. How Obama (and Trump and Biden) beat Europe
  30. Your best ideas on increasing housing supply wanted
  31. Sunday Thread
  32. Saturday Thread
  33. Friday Thread
  34. Mediterranean mailbag
  35. Thursday Thread
  36. Stricter border control, more immigration
  37. Wednesday Thread
  38. Bill Clinton was not a great guy
  39. Tuesday Thread
  40. The Basketball Court
  41. Matt's Mailbox
  42. What I got wrong about Covid
  43. Sunday Thread
  44. Saturday Thread
  45. Friday Thread
  46. How fracking reshaped the world
  47. Thursday Thread
  48. Two visions of environmentalism
  49. Wednesday Thread
  50. How human translators are coping with competition from powerful AI
  51. Independence Day Thread
  52. Happy 4th of July! Why are young liberals so depressed?
  53. Monday Thread
  54. Who killed the Kennedys?
  55. Sunday Thread
  56. Saturday Thread

June 2023

  1. Friday Thread
  2. Independence mailbag
  3. Thursday Thread
  4. 19 thoughts on affirmative action
  5. Independent state legislature theory, explained
  6. Wednesday Thread
  7. Why it's harder for families to "thrive"
  8. Tuesday Thread
  9. Why most gun arrests in D.C. don't lead to charges
  10. Matt's Mailbox
  11. Wages really are growing faster than inflation
  12. Sunday Thread
  13. Saturday Thread
  14. Friday Thread
  15. School's out for mailbag
  16. Thursday Thread
  17. Community meetings aren't democracy
  18. Wendesday Thread
  19. A vaccine discussion worth having
  20. Tuesday Thread
  21. How to get people to quit crime
  22. Jennifer Doleac explains the evidence on recidivism
  23. Matt's Mailbox
  24. How NBA Twitter fixed basketball’s bad officiating
  25. Sunday Thread
  26. Saturday Thread
  27. Can Democrats Win Back the Working Class?
  28. Friday Thread
  29. Start of summer mailbag
  30. Thursday Thread
  31. CEO pay hasn't risen much lately
  32. Wednesday Thread
  33. Is ever-better video content breaking society?
  34. Tuesday Thread
  35. The Orange Man is bad
  36. Matt's Mailbox
  37. Wildfires have partially reversed crucial progress on clean air
  38. Sunday Thread
  39. Saturday Thread
  40. What should America make of Modi's India?
  41. Friday Thread
  42. Particulate-induced brain fog mailbag
  43. Thursday Thread
  44. Official data is flawed, epistemic nihilism is worse
  45. Wednesday Thread
  46. Tim Scott's wise words
  47. Tuesday Thread
  48. Are young men conservative now?
  49. Matt's Mailbox
  50. Dara Lind gets into the weeds on immigration
  51. In the weeds of immigration policy with Dara Lind
  52. Saturday Thread
  53. Friday Thread
  54. Shipping up to Mailbag
  55. Thursday Thread
  56. Thursday Thread
  57. Grinding green rocks into tiny dust could be very helpful on climate change

May 2023

  1. Wednesday Thread
  2. Conservatives should embrace filibuster reform
  3. Tuesday Thread
  4. What can we really learn about housing from Vienna?
  5. Memorial Day Thread
  6. "Misinformation" isn't just on the right
  7. Matt's Mailbox
  8. Sunday Thread
  9. Seventeen thoughts on the debt ceiling deal
  10. Saturday Thread
  11. Friday Thread
  12. Memorial Day Mailbag
  13. Thursday Thread
  14. Foreign aid could be accomplishing so much more
  15. Wednesday Thread
  16. Why teacher evaluation reforms flopped
  17. Tuesday Thread
  18. Democrats' strange victory in the 2022 midterms
  19. Matt's Mailbox
  20. Housing abundance beyond my backyard
  21. Sunday Thread
  22. Saturday Thread
  23. Friday Thread
  24. Birthday mailbag
  25. Thursday Thread
  26. Elon Musk is wrong about George Soros and Magneto
  27. Wednesday Thread
  28. Doing the math on deficit reduction
  29. Tuesday Thread
  30. The Trump Show is back
  31. Matt's Mailbox
  32. Is talking about democracy a good way to defend it?
  33. Sunday Thread
  34. The spatial misallocation of police officers
  35. Saturday Thread
  36. Friday Thread
  37. Post-exam mailbag
  38. Thursday Thread
  39. It's time for Joe Biden to buy some oil
  40. Wednesday Thread
  41. I'm skeptical that powerful AI will solve major human problems
  42. Tuesday Thread
  43. Greedflation is still fake
  44. Matt's Mailbox
  45. Is Los Angeles underrated?
  46. Sunday Thread
  47. Saturday Thread
  48. Friday Thread
  49. Mailbag of Angels
  50. Thursday Thread
  51. I'm still not feeling very optimistic about Chicago
  52. Wednesday Thread
  53. Ron DeSantis is struggling without the Covid issue
  54. Tuesday Thread
  55. Cities and the way of water
  56. Matt's Mailbox
  57. More courage, less fear

April 2023

  1. Sunday Thread
  2. Saturday Thread
  3. Friday Thread
  4. Playoffs mailbag
  5. Thursday Thread
  6. Yet another study confirms YIMBYs are right about everything
  7. Wednesday Thread
  8. Every policy objective, all the time, all at once
  9. Tuesday Thread
  10. There's no big mystery about why colleges are ditching the SAT
  11. Matt's Mailbox
  12. The criminal justice system doesn’t do enough to make us safe
  13. Sunday Thread
  14. Saturday Thread
  15. Friday Thread
  16. A free mailbag
  17. 4/20 Thread
  18. Medicaid work requirements are cruel and pointless
  19. Wednesday Thread
  20. The strange death of education reform Part IV
  21. Tuesday Thread
  22. Bad incentives and the politics of fear
  23. Matt's Mailbox
  24. What's actually happening in El Salvador?
  25. Sunday Thread
  26. Saturday Thread
  27. Friday Thread
  28. It's springtime for mailbags
  29. Thursday Thread
  30. Transit Costs Project discussion group
  31. Transit Costs Project Audio
  32. Wednesday Thread
  33. Almost half of American counties have shrinking population
  34. Tuesday Thread
  35. "Objective" journalism was a business model
  36. Matt's Mailbox
  37. The policing pipeline problem needs more work
  38. Sunday Thread
  39. Saturday Thread
  40. Friday Thread
  41. April is the cruelest mailbag
  42. Thursday Thread
  43. YIMBYism can liberate us from anti-capitalism
  44. Wednesday Thread
  45. Public services are good, but they're not "public goods"
  46. Tuesday Thread
  47. Biden made the right call on Willow
  48. Matt's Mailbox
  49. The illegally carried handguns are the problem
  50. Sunday Thread
  51. Saturday Thread

March 2023

  1. Friday Thread
  2. Pre-election mailbag
  3. Thursday Thread
  4. The biggest problem in media is the audience
  5. Wednesday Thread
  6. Nature's bad editorial is a small part of a bigger problem
  7. Tuesday Thread
  8. The strange death of education reform, part three
  9. Matt's Mailbox
  10. Nostalgia economics is totally wrong
  11. Sunday Thread
  12. Saturday Thread
  13. Good schools (still) matter for low-income kids
  14. Friday Thread
  15. Fellowship of the mailbag
  16. How banks create money out of nothing
  17. Wednesday Thread
  18. Europe needs to get ready for America's financial commitment to Ukraine to shrink
  19. Slow Boring x Transit Costs Project Event
  20. Tuesday Thread
  21. Tax increases are the best cure for inflation
  22. Matt's Mailbox
  23. More energy would solve a lot of environmental problems
  24. Sunday Thread
  25. Saturday Thread
  26. Friday Thread
  27. No taxpayer funds were used in the writing of this mailbag
  28. Thursday Thread
  29. The strange death of education reform, part two
  30. Wednesday Thread
  31. America needs more giant banks
  32. Tuesday Thread
  33. Don't overthink poverty in the United States
  34. Matt's Mailbox
  35. Does Joe Biden mean what he says on industrial policy?
  36. Sunday Thread
  37. Saturday Thread
  38. Graphic design help wanted
  39. Friday Thread
  40. Four-day weekend Mailbag
  41. Thursday Thread
  42. What the 15-minute city misses
  43. Wednesday Thread
  44. Individual action on climate is big deal again
  45. Tuesday Thread
  46. The strange death of education reform, part one
  47. Matt's Mailbox
  48. Pro sports leagues should be more open to change
  49. Sunday Thread
  50. Saturday Thread
  51. Friday Thread
  52. Back in the USA mailbag
  53. Thursday Thread
  54. Exclusionary suburbs are a bad model for public safety
  55. Wednesday Thread
  56. Why are young liberals so depressed?

February 2023

  1. Tuesday Thread
  2. Lab leak is not a debunked conspiracy theory and never has been
  3. Matt's Mailbox
  4. Misinformation isn't just on the right
  5. Sunday Thread
  6. Saturday Thread
  7. Friday Thread
  8. Don't worry about a mailbag
  9. Thursday Thread
  10. The once and future carbon tax
  11. Wednesday Thread
  12. Political lessons from Jamaican Patois
  13. Tuesday Thread
  14. We can't tolerate fake, expired, and obscured car tags
  15. Matt's Mailbox
  16. Jamaica's nuclear future
  17. Sunday Thread
  18. Saturday Thread
  19. Friday Thread
  20. Gone fishing mailbag
  21. Thursday Thread
  22. Progressives need to engage with the specific questions about youth gender care
  23. Wednesday Thread
  24. Why you can't trust the media
  25. Valentine's Day Thread
  26. Don't give up on police reform
  27. Matt's Mailbox
  28. A targeted crackdown on "junk fees" makes a lot of sense
  29. Sunday Thread
  30. Saturday Thread
  31. Friday Thread
  32. The state of our mailbag is strong
  33. Thursday Thread
  34. Joe Biden didn't make eggs expensive
  35. Wednesday Thread
  36. Biden has been tougher on China than Trump
  37. Tuesday Thread
  38. The pandemic is still upending the economy in surprising ways
  39. Matt's Mailbox
  40. Commemorate history, don't preserve old buildings
  41. Sunday Thread
  42. Saturday Thread
  43. Friday Thread
  44. Windy City mailbag
  45. Thursday Thread
  46. Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records exist
  47. Wednesday Thread
  48. The case for tax reform

January 2023

  1. Tuesday Thread
  2. A boring and obvious way to get more rural votes
  3. Matt's Mailbox
  4. Recent layoffs at Big Tech don't spell economic doom
  5. Sunday Thread
  6. Saturday Thread
  7. Friday Thread
  8. An honor just to be nominated for the mailbag
  9. Thursday Thread
  10. Republicans can't even explain what they're trying to do with the debt ceiling
  11. Wednesday Thread
  12. Why I'm worried about D.C.'s criminal code re-write
  13. Tuesday Thread
  14. Joe Biden's conditional optimism about America
  15. Matt's Mailbox
  16. Zoning reform lessons from the closing of 16th-century English monasteries
  17. Sunday Thread
  18. Saturday Thread
  19. What's going on with inflation?
  20. Friday Thread
  21. Never answer mailbag questions angry!
  22. Thursday Thread
  23. America needs more Class VI wells
  24. Wednesday Thread
  25. Who is included by "inclusive" language?
  26. Tuesday Thread
  27. What does "induced demand" really amount to?
  28. Matt's Mailbox
  29. Martin Luther King Jr.'s push for material redistribution
  30. Sunday Thread
  31. Saturday Thread
  32. Friday Thread
  33. Slightly contrarian, mildly annoying, somewhat influential mailbag
  34. Thursday Thread
  35. The most important 2016 "misinformation" came from the regular news media
  36. Wednesday Thread
  37. A new plan to get around the debt ceiling hostage
  38. Tuesday Thread
  39. My predictions for 2023
  40. Matt's Mailbox
  41. In defense of "The West Wing"
  42. Sunday Thread
  43. Saturday Thread
  44. Friday Thread
  45. First mailbag of 2023
  46. Thursday Thread
  47. American transit agencies should prioritize ridership over other goals
  48. Wednesday Thread
  49. A conversation with GiveWell's Elie Hassenfeld
  50. Tuesday Thread
  51. Income inequality has been falling for a while now
  52. Matt's Mailbox
  53. Happy New Year! Republicans have changed a lot since 2008
  54. New Year's Day Thread

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