The Big Idea - Vox

The Big Idea

Outside contributors' opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture.

It’s time to explode the myth of “McJobs”

by Ruy Teixeira

Introducing a new Vox section: The Big Idea

by Christopher Shea

Lawmakers across the US are finding ways to turn protesting into a crime

by Ruthann Robson June 12

Women have been drugged and raped by men for centuries. This medieval woman fought back — and won.

by Carissa Harris June 11

Why didn't he quit — or fight back? Senators treated Comey like a sexual harassment victim.

by Corrine McConnaughy June 10

Like expensive bank bailouts? You’ll love the financial bill the House just passed.

by Jonah Crane June 9

Comey’s testimony strengthened the case that President Trump obstructed justice

by Daniel Hemel June 9

Trump’s Paris climate agreement speech, annotated by an expert in energy and foreign policy

by David Victor June 2

We need to think harder about terrorism and gender. ISIS already is.

by Heather Hurlburt and Jacqueline O'Neill June 1

Sorry, kids: schools need more testing, not less

by Ulrich Boser May 31

Voting rights are under assault nationwide. Here’s how to protect them.

by Russ Feingold May 30

Free Robert Mueller: here’s how to make his investigation truly independent

by Daniel Hemel May 29

It may be time to disobey the commander in chief

by Will Wilkinson May 26

Trump’s budget assumes 3 percent annual growth. Why that’s extremely unlikely, explained.

by Jason Furman May 24

Forcing out unwanted FBI directors: a brief, messy history

by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones May 24

What right-wing populism? Polls reveal that it’s liberalism that’s surging.

by Ruy Teixeira May 22

Roger Ailes's legacy: the road to the White House runs through Fox News

by Nicole Hemmer May 19

Charles Murray is once again peddling junk science about race and IQ

by Eric Turkheimer, Kathryn Paige Harden, and Richard E. Nisbett May 18

A forgotten lesson of Watergate: conservatives may rally around Trump

by Nicole Hemmer May 17

The US is terrible at investigating politicians. Blame the Constitution.

by Mark Tushnet May 17

The Bush administration fired me from the Justice Department over politics

by John McKay May 15

This is how democratic backsliding begins

by Aziz Huq May 15

Why couldn’t the Civil War have been worked out? Some smart people take the question seriously.

by William Black May 13

Attention, liberals: Comey deserved to be fired, and the Constitution is just fine

by Richard A. Epstein May 11

A Nixon biographer explains how Trump compares

by John A. Farrell May 11

A look at the past work of the Deputy AG who called for Comey’s firing

by Thiru Vignarajah May 9

How the states can make President Trump’s taxes public

by Daniel Hemel May 8

Defeating Marine Le Pen won't be enough to save France

by Sheri Berman May 6

America’s dangerously shallow understanding of the Holocaust

by Andrea Pitzer May 6

The GOP never intended to protect preexisting conditions

by James Surowiecki May 5

Don’t lose sight of how strange and dangerous the Trump administration’s anti-Islam worldview is

by Will Wilkinson May 3

Canada fought the war on science. Here’s how scientists won.

by Chris Turner April 29

Obama had a chance to really fight climate change. He blew it.

by David Bookbinder April 29

5 great presidential starts — and 5 historically bad ones

by Nicole Hemmer April 28

Trump’s ominous threat to withhold payment from health insurers, explained

by Nicholas Bagley April 27

This voting reform solves 2 of America’s biggest political problems

by Lee Drutman April 26

Rich charities keep getting richer. That means your money isn’t doing as much good as it could.

by Marc Gunther April 24

Federal funding for basic research led to the gene-editing revolution. Don’t cut it.

by Jennifer Doudna and Alex Marson April 22

Trump’s Syria strike clearly broke international law — and no one seems to care

by Julian Ku April 19

7 reasons why today’s left should be optimistic

by Ruy Teixeira April 17

After the Syria strikes, right-wing non-interventionists are back in the wilderness

by Nicole Hemmer April 15

Latin America's floods have been rough. Bad housing policy helped make them deadly.

by Alisha C. Holland April 12

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