Must Read

• Gracen Johnson, Small town feedback loops, big city solidarity
• David Dayen, Paul Theroux and the Poverty Behind the Numbers

Should Read

• Elise Gould, More of the Same: [Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)] is Continued Evidence of a Slow Moving Economy
• Sarah Kliff, This study is forcing economists to rethink high-deductible health insurance
• Martha Bebinger, Baker’s Proposed Limit On First-Time Opioid Prescriptions Ignites Controversy
• Andrew Bacevich, On Building Armies (and Watching Them Fail): Why Washington Can’t “Stand Up” Foreign Militaries
• James Fallows, How the Press Can Deal With the Benghazi Committee: When a congressional investigation turns into a partisan operation, the media need to treat it as such.

1984

• Katharine G. Abraham, Steven J. Davis and John C. Haltiwanger, Don’t Starve the [Bureau of Labor Statistics]
• Jeffrey Mervis, NSF peer review remains target for Congress

Politics:  The First Democratic Debate

• Tyler Rogoway, All The Things The Democratic Candidates Got Wrong On Defense At Last Night’s Debate 
• Jorge Ramos and Fusion break down the Democratic debate
• Josh Davis, Clinton Crushed It? Not For This Debate Watcher
• Matt Taibbi, Hillary Clinton’s Take on Banks Won’t Hold Up

Politics

• David Brooks (NYT), The Republicans’ Incompetence Caucus
• Corey Robin, You’ve Changed, You’re Not the Angel I Once Knew: David Brooks on the GOP
• Mike the Mad Biologist, Anti-Abortion Advocates Spill The Beans
• Paul Krugman (NYT), The Crazies and the Con Man
• Bill Greider, Why Today’s GOP Crackup Is the Final Unraveling of Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy’
• Charlie Pierce, Why Democrats Bear Some Responsibility for the Republican Party’s Madness
• Mike the Mad Biologist, Vox Grows Up And Becomes A Gentry-Class Organ

Business

• John Carreyrou, Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology

Economics

• Jared Bernstein, A quick reflection on the current upheaval in DC politics: what are its larger costs?
• Patricia Cohen (NYT), What Could Raising Taxes on the 1% Do? Surprising Amounts
• Angus Deaton, Letter from America: It’s a big country and how to measure it
• Cathy O’Niel, Microfinance is mostly a scam
• Cole Stangler, Seattle’s Audacious Plan To Let Uber And Lyft Drivers Unionize Raises Eyebrows In The On-Demand Economy

Science

• Report of the MIT Climate Change Conversation Committee
• Eli Rabett, Rubba Dub Dub, CO2 in Three Tubs
• Jim Collins (NYT), Deforestation and Drought
• Joe Romm, George Bush’s EPA Chief: Clean Power Plan Is ‘Most Flexible Thing’ The Agency Has Done
• Ross Andersen, The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy

Arts and Culture

• Rachel Kushner (NYT), Jonathan Franzen’s Crackling Genius
• Sewell Chan (NYT), Hilla Becher, Photographer Who Chronicled Industrial Scenery, Dies at 81

Ending on a Positive Note

• Advice From the Creator of Calvin and Hobbes
• Tim Rohan (NYT), Dominating Cubs, Matt Harvey Shows He’s Far From His Limits