• First Lesson of History: We Will Not Learn From It

    Introduction Across politics, finance, and technology, we invoke history as a guide—yet we reliably reenact the crises we claim to remember. This paper examines that paradox. First, it probes why “learning from the past” so often means forcing messy events into simplistic analogies that justify what we already want to… Listen ⇢

    First Lesson of History: We Will Not Learn From It
  • Do Voter ID Laws Protect Elections—or Distort Them?

    Introduction Voter ID laws sit at the center of a fierce debate over how to balance ballot access and election security. This report examines what the best available evidence actually shows: how strict ID requirements affect turnout overall, who bears the greatest costs, and whether these rules meaningfully deter fraud.… Listen ⇢

    Do Voter ID Laws Protect Elections—or Distort Them?
  • Power, Proximity, and the Politics of Disclosure: Understanding the New Epstein Files Dump

    Introduction The January 2026 release of more than three million new pages of Epstein‑related records—along with 2,000 videos and 180,000 images—was sold as a decisive act of transparency. Instead, it has exposed how power, proximity, and prosecutorial discretion still shape what the public is allowed to see. This report examines… Listen ⇢

    Power, Proximity, and the Politics of Disclosure: Understanding the New Epstein Files Dump
  • Would Kevin Warsh Rewrite the Fed’s Playbook?

    Introduction Kevin Warsh’s prospective elevation to Federal Reserve chair raises a central question: would he fundamentally redirect the institution away from the Bernanke–Yellen–Powell paradigm? This report examines three dimensions of that potential regime change. First, it explores Warsh’s preference for rules‑based policy, a smaller balance sheet, and a sharp pullback… Listen ⇢

    Would Kevin Warsh Rewrite the Fed’s Playbook?
  • Spirit of ’76 Theme for February: History

    It is February 2026 and to kick off the new month the Spirit of ‘76 theme is History. While Stoicism was a natural starting point to prepare for the journey ahead, we can’t move to the present and future without a reckoning of the past, making History a natural next… Listen ⇢

    Spirit of ’76 Theme for February: History
  • Civil Disobedience in the United States: Tradition, Tactics, and Futures

    Introduction Civil disobedience is often invoked, rarely defined, and frequently misunderstood. This report clarifies what civil disobedience is—and is not—by returning to the American tradition from Thoreau to King and Rawls’s influential account of public, nonviolent, conscientious lawbreaking. It then examines how this practice fits within, and tests the limits… Listen ⇢

    Civil Disobedience in the United States: Tradition, Tactics, and Futures
  • “Hopes and Prayers” as a Stoic Mantra: From Cliché to Inner Discipline

    Introduction “Hopes and prayers” is often dismissed as a hollow cliché—especially when it appears after public tragedy without corresponding change. This report reimagines the phrase as a demanding inner practice rather than sentimental noise. First, it explores how Christian Philokalic prayer and Stoic assent both treat thoughts as material for… Listen ⇢

    “Hopes and Prayers” as a Stoic Mantra: From Cliché to Inner Discipline
  • Minnesota Daycare Fraud and the “Somali Problem”: Rumor, Evidence, and Fallout

    Introduction Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) sits at the intersection of anti-poverty policy, immigration politics, and public fears about crime and terrorism. Over the past decade, allegations of “$100 million” in daycare fraud, supposedly dominated by Somali Minnesotans and even tied to al‑Shabab, have driven viral media, federal investigations,… Listen ⇢

    Minnesota Daycare Fraud and the “Somali Problem”: Rumor, Evidence, and Fallout
  • From Wildlife Refuge to Urban Streets: Domestic Occupation and Federal Power

    Introduction This report compares two defining confrontations over force and territory inside U.S. borders: the 2016 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the later federal occupation-style deployments in Minneapolis. It first traces how Malheur’s bottom‑up seizure of clearly federal land exposed surprising limits in criminal accountability, while… Listen ⇢

    From Wildlife Refuge to Urban Streets: Domestic Occupation and Federal Power