The Big Idea - Vox

The Big Idea

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

“Socialism” vs. “capitalism” is a false dichotomy

By Will Wilkinson

Introducing a new Vox section: The Big Idea

By Christopher Shea

Omarosa’s nondisclosure agreements: what, exactly, can Trump keep her from talking about?

By Frank Fagan August 16

Why we should abolish ICE — and the DEA too

By Kathleen Frydl August 14

The real reason you’re not getting a pay raise

By Jason Furman August 11

Black Americans are asserting their rights in “white spaces.” That’s when whites call 911.

By Elijah Anderson August 10

America might be ready for democratic socialism. It’s not ready for the bill.

By Brian Riedl August 7

The Hiroshima anniversary: 5 things you should know about nuclear weapons today

By Michael Krepon August 6

President Trump admits he’s trying to kill Obamacare. That’s illegal.

By Abbe Gluck August 3

Why Jeff Sessions thinks Christians are under siege in America

By Christopher Shea August 1

Ex-Trump staffers should not get plum jobs at elite universities

By Nicole Hemmer July 30

Is it time to do away with job applicant drug testing?

By Mark A.R. Kleiman July 30

Elite law professors are brushing politics aside to support fellow elite Brett Kavanaugh. That’s inexcusable in the Trump era.

By Eleanor Marie Lawrence Brown July 25

The fate of the ACA could turn on Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment

By Abbe Gluck July 23

A historian surveys the wreckage of the Trump-Putin summit

By Christopher Shea July 21

How teachers unions can survive

By Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Ethan Porter July 17

The Putin paradox: he’s brutally repressive — and incredibly popular

By Zachary Jonathan Jacobson July 16

The case for not publishing hacked emails

By Nathaniel Zelinsky July 14

“Medicare-for-all” means something. Don’t let moderates water it down.

By Tim Higginbotham and Chris Middleman July 13

Why you shouldn’t obsess about “overpopulation”

By Lyman Stone July 11

The myth of the job-hopping, rootless millennial is just that — a myth

By Lyman Stone July 11

“Get out, little punks”: racism at swimming pools has a long history

By Jeff Wiltse July 11

6 myths about Roe v. Wade, debunked

By Scott Lemieux July 11

It’s always been hard to say no to citizenship requests from soldiers. Trump’s doing it.

By Nicole Hemmer July 9

Justice Sotomayor is showing her liberal peers on SCOTUS how to be a potent minority voice

By David Fontana July 7

Is it anti-Catholic to ask a Supreme Court nominee how her religion affects her decisions?

By Mark Tushnet July 6

How to fix the crisis caused by Central American asylum seekers — humanely

By David A. Martin July 4

The Supreme Court just quietly gutted antitrust law

By Lina Khan July 3

The Supreme Court is an anti-democratic nightmare. Here’s how to fix it.

By Eric Posner and Glen Weyl June 29

How Democratic lawmakers should help unions reeling from the Janus decision

By Benjamin Sachs and Sharon Block June 27

The Court’s indefensible double standard

By Ilya Somin June 27

Bias against Asian-American students is real. Affirmative action isn’t the problem.

By Stacey J. Lee and Kevin K. Kumashiro June 27

The travel ban decision echoes some of the worst Supreme Court decisions in history

By Aziz Huq June 26

In MLK’s day, conservatives didn’t think he was so “civil”

By Nicole Hemmer June 26

How Silicon Valley workers are revolting against Trump’s immigration policy

By Alex Press June 25

The latest Supreme Court decision is being hailed as a victory for digital privacy. It’s not.

By Aziz Huq June 23

The Democratic Party is moving steadily leftward. So why does the left still distrust it?

By Sam Rosenfeld June 22

A plan to fight high drug prices that could unite libertarians and socialists

By Charles Silver and David A. Hyman June 21

Family separation isn’t just immoral. It’s likely ineffective.

By Randy Capps June 20

To stop endless war, raise taxes

By Sarah Kreps June 18

How to really watch the World Cup

By Laurent Dubois June 15

The Second Amendment allows for more gun control than you think

By Joseph Blocher and Eric Ruben June 14

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