science and politics

If somebody invented a device that could save the lives of millions of smokers, should society encourage its use?

Let's pretend that you're a government funded scientist, like many professors and academics. Your entire livelihood depends on the largesse of taxpayers, politicians, and bureaucrats.

In the grand tradition of misidentifying problems and offering proposals that won’t work, the city council of Washington, D.C.

A hot rock massage and herbal tea might make you feel nice, but they don't actually cure anything. Pointing that out in China, however, might land a person in jail.

Remember the Occupy movement? It began in 2011 and fizzled out a few years later. Why?

The U.S. Congress is made up mostly of professional politicians and lawyers. This comes as a surprise to precisely no one, but the sheer numbers are rather striking.

The war on science has at least three fronts.

One of the biggest problems of our hyperpartisan culture is that everything has been turned into a morbid game show.

Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator from Utah, has announced his retirement. When he leaves, the Senate will lose its most ardent supporter of alternative medicine.

Scientists and lawyers do not get along. There's a reason for that. Simply put, scientists and lawyers do not think alike.