On the 24th of March 2015, an Airbus A320 flying for low-cost carrier Germanwings stopped responding to air traffic control, entered a steep but steady descent, and impacted a mountainside in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. As investigators hurried to the scene of one of the…

To keep communities safe, police must be held accountable — We’re told that everyone deserves a second chance and that we all make mistakes, but when we apply this sentiment to police brutality, it loses all steam. As someone who believes policing in America should be reformed, I've always scoffed at the fact that a police officer can harm or…

Out of sight, out of mind. — “When a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I’m sure you’ve heard this expression before, but have you ever considered how it applies to the news? After all, if an event happens somewhere in the world and the…

In just 2 seconds, our brains subconsciously replace factual observations with illusions of how we want or expect the world to be — Your fondest memories are liable to be works of notable fiction, perhaps based on a true story, but often glaringly embellished and stunningly inaccurate. The stories we tell ourselves—including what might’ve begun as raw, factual recollections of, say, a car crash we saw moments ago or a new colleague we…

Beginning on January 1, 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, for those who like acronyms and lightly buttered toast) began a nationwide collection of data relating to use-of-force incidents by police officers. Who was watching the cops and keeping data before? Newspapers, like the Washington Post. Interestingly (and unsurprisingly)…

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded. — Next Monday (Mar 20), I’m doing a remote talk for the Ostrom Workshop’s Beyond the Web Speaker Series. Seven years ago, I called Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows “the perfect anthem for our times.” Everybody knows the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor…

A short history of American police departments, established to protect the property rights of wealthy slaveholders, and their full circle return to a racist, occupying militia — Americans across the country have a common misperception that the purpose and function of law enforcement are “to protect and serve.” So many of us think that must be enshrined in common law or the Constitution somewhere, but the reality is much stranger and more recent.

A hell of a lot, actually — It’s nothing short of miraculous that large-scale societies function as smoothly as they do. You will never meet almost every person you call your fellow citizen. You might barely even know many of your neighbors or colleagues. And yet, homicide rates in large, technologically advanced societies are far smaller than…

UPDATED: Discussing the origins of Wood’s allegations, relevance to the Depp v. Heard defamation case, and statements made by alleged victims who aren’t victims. — The Hollywood #MeToo bandwagon has shifted its gears from Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and Johnny Depp toward shock-rock singer and performer, Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner). Another high-profile and ruinous sex abuse allegation playing out in court. …

“No one should get used to their rights. Predicting with certainty which ones, if any, will go, or when, is impossible.” — Mary R. Ziegler, legal historian The Supreme Court has spoken: there will be no consequences for cops who brutalize the citizenry and no justice for the victims of…

We might ask who taught them to be abusive. — I can understand why some people might want to “defund the police”. I think we could do better, and I’m not sure that defunding the police will help. I think we could retrain the police. I also think we could get them into parenting classes, relationship classes, and gun safety…

Making it through the kangaroo court of the campus Title IX process — When I was in college, one of my best friends was accused of sexual assault. It was one of the most painful and excruciating things I’ve ever seen someone go through. …

Suffering in Silence — I read something in the Dallas Morning News today that had me thinking. A Corporal Mark Force (interesting last name, no?) was arrested on Wednesday while he was off duty. His possible crime? Domestic abuse. …

What a complete crap show — Yes. I have been following the trials since day one. Entirely. And yes, I do think it’s a shit show. …

Imagination paves the way for disinformation. — The psychology of disinformation is more important now than ever. Our fates literally depend on how we navigate the information landscape. …

You might have heard about weaponized incompetence, but what about weaponized ignorance? Earlier this year, there was a TikTok trend on weaponized incompetence. It was about men trying to avoid housework. Women listed examples of their loved ones f*cking things up and called this behavior strategic. But I am not here to make any judgments on that. I would like to talk…

“No way I am going to write about this” — but then I listened to Johnny Depp and decided to do it. It was painful to watch the hearing. I was sad to see a broken man. One can only imagine what Depp went through, but after hearing his version of the story, I tend to believe him. But I am also hesitant to take sides with him. It’s not that I…

The last time I sued the Louisville Metro Jail, I got to question the former director extensively. He was a real character, sort of like if Jerry Bruckheimer and Vince McMahon co-conceived a tough-but-fair police chief for a movie about a heist at the Kentucky Derby or something. I asked…