Misunderstanding Democracy—and Japan

Japan recently went through a national general election for its House of Representatives. While the opposition parties insisted that they would defeat the ruling Jimintō Party (LDP), the election yielded few...

Great Reads

Does the Right to be Wrong Have Limits?

One great thing about the American system is that it provides the freedom and space to challenge the mainstream. Not every belief has merit, but we nonetheless extend a lot of leeway to groups that espouse some of the...

How to Read a Newspaper Article

The literacy rate in the United States sits around ninety-nine percent, but sometimes you have to wonder about the accuracy of that metric given the type of stuff that passes for reading material. I am, of course...

Am I a Voter Fraud Enabler?

I don’t know if you’ve been reading the news lately, but one of the presidential candidates this time around thinks the election wasn’t on the up and up. “Voter fraud” is on everyone’s lips, whether they’re insisting it...

Trust Me, I’m Your Friend

A few weeks ago, when I was having lunch with Taylor Swift and Ichiro Suzuki, Joe Biden dipped his head into the conversation and asked me how I continue to be such a snappy dresser and still sport all of my original...

Your President Will Disappoint

America is “the land of opportunity,” where anyone who combines good old-fashioned elbow grease and a little bit of luck can accomplish anything. Many parents even tell their young charges, “Gwendolyn, someday you could...

I’m Hysterical, and I’m Wet!

If you think back beyond the pandemic, beyond the riots over police tactics, beyond the lockdowns and the resulting unemployment and business failures—I’m talking way back, like weeks—we used to worry about something...