Back in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the practice known as civil commitment was legal. This meant that 20 states—which had passed laws permitting the ongoing incarceration of sex offenders—could continue to keep the men confined even after they completed their prison terms. (See “Sex Crimes and Criminal Justice,” from the May 2018 issue […]

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Scholars of communication for decades have studied how rhetoric matters—how language choices are strategic and can substantially affect the outcome of debates and policy on important public issues. Recent intense and emotionally-charged abortion arguments in several states offer powerful illustrations of the way language makes a difference. From a rhetorical perspective, the recent Alabama law […]

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The patient sits in a worn, upholstered armchair. She’s been having a tough go lately—doubting herself at work, wondering whether her friends truly like her, spending increasing amounts of time in bed, taking fewer showers, and eating less. The thoughts and feelings are familiar to her: she was diagnosed with a mental illness in her […]

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The first anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidency will occasion lots of commentary on his administration’s jarring record—from the narcissist-in-chief’s tweets and glaring disregard for truth to the performance of federal departments and agencies under his crude and corrosive leadership. My aim here is to highlight one egregious sliver of that record that stands out for […]

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There was a rare moment toward the end of the Obama administration when a bipartisan consensus formed. The issue? The dire need for criminal justice reform in this country. After a generation of harsh policies—more prisons, longer sentences, punitive drug laws—influential Republicans and Democrats alike had begun to concede that the system was a massive, […]

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