Partisanship is the defining characteristic of the American media landscape. Historically, the media seemed less partisan and more reliable because it did not have any competition. The structure of 20th-century communications technology facilitated the rise of a national, cultural elite. This elite class has an inordinate influence on American culture…

On Independence Day, I like to reflect on the historical improbability of my circumstance. I could have been born in a different place, at a different time. If I had been, I almost certainly would have lived a life of relative suffering. I might have been born in pre-history and…

The current cultural climate imposes self-censorship on reasonable individuals by threatening personal relationships and career prospects for breaking with the perceived consensus. This dynamic will only grow more extreme as our civic culture continues to fray and we view each other as enemies rather than neighbors. I have refrained from…

I stood beneath a statue of Christopher Columbus, in one of many cities bearing his name, and read the following inscription: THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HUMAN HISTORY AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE VOYAGES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS WHOSE IMAGINATION SHATTERED THE BOUNDARIES OF THE…