September 2013 Edition

Understanding the Irrational Commuter

David M. Levinson

Understanding the Irrational Commuter
Night traffic in Tokyo, Japan, July, 2009. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The increasing sophistication of data collection and analysis gives us deeper insights into human behavior — and how we make decisions about everyday travel.
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About The Author:

David M. Levinson is the Richard P. Braun/CTS Chair in Transportation Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He blogs at The Transportationist, and you can follow him on Twitter @trnsprttnst.

Why Democrats Are in Trouble in 2014

David C. W. Parker

Why Democrats Are in Trouble in 2014
The signal and the boys: TIME managing editor Richard Stengel, Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, CNN president Jon Klein, and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter ahead of the 2008 election. (Photo by David S. Holloway/Getty Images for Turner)
Political reporting and punditry do a poor job in forecasting election results. Here is a closer look at how a political scientist would unpack the next elections.
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About The Author:

David C. W. Parker is Associate Professor of Political Science at Montana State University. He blogs at Big Sky Politics and is the author of The Power of Money in Congressional Campaigns, 1880-2006.

Fox, Meet Hedgehog

Euny Hong

Fox, Meet Hedgehog
Learning from the masters: Dual bust of Herodotus (184-425 BCE) and Thucydides (465-395 BCE), Museo Nazionale Archeologico, Naples, Italy. (Photo by Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)
A strategic studies program at Yale revives ancient lessons about statecraft, and its popularity is soaring.
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About The Author:

New York-based journalist Euny Hong is the author of the novel Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners as well as a forthcoming book on South Korea’s national strategy to become the world’s top exporter of popular culture. She previously worked at France 24 in Paris and at The Financial Times. You can follow her on Twitter @euny.

From the ACLU to Spy World to Academia

Chuck McCutcheon

From the ACLU to Spy World to Academia
Law professor Tim Edgar says the spy agencies are shoring up privacy safeguards. (Photo credit: Peter Goldberg)
Law professor Tim Edgar has worked on both sides of the surveillance debate, and he sees lessons to privacy advocates and government officials alike.
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About The Author:

Chuck McCutcheon is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C., and the author of books on politics, climate change and radioactive waste disposal. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and other publications.

Never Mind the Generals, Here Come the Technocrats

Thomas E. Flores

Never Mind the Generals, Here Come the Technocrats
European uber-technocrat Mario Monti, then-prime minister of Italy, in December, 2011, as his government debates austerity measures. (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images)
Voters across the world increasingly prefer technocrats to run affairs. Why are they so popular?
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About The Author:

Thomas E. Flores is Assistant Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. His research has been published in the Journal of Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Review of International Organizations. You can follow him on Twitter @TFlow.

College For All, Or Just For Some?

Judith Sebesta

College For All, Or Just For Some?
Too high a price? D.C. interns urge the Senate to act on “Smarter Solutions for Students Act," June, 2013. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
All too often, Americans see a college degree as the ultimate insurance policy for success. But we need look to a far wider range of policy and educational tools to help those without a degree.
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About The Author:

Judith Sebesta is a writer, educator, and performer based in Austin, TX. She was a professor at Lamar University, University of Missouri, University of Arizona, and University of Evansville. She blogs at HigherEduphoria.

Weather and War, Reconsidered

Scott K. Taylor

Weather and War, Reconsidered
The dark days of the ‘Iron Century:’ The Battle of Lutzen and death of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, from a painting by Karl Rauber (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images).
What the calamities of the seventeenth century can teach today’s scholars about climate change, war, and policy-making.
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About The Author:

Scott K. Taylor is Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky. He manages the blog EM Spanish History Notes.