From Diametros, a special issue on the Radical Enlightenment. From Philosophica, a special issue on the Radical Enlightenment. From Avidly, Glenn Hendler on expertise and the public intellectual; editing as carework: Sarah Blackwood on the gendered labor of public intellectuals; and words, words, words: Paul Erickson on why a little less conversation, though, might be what the commons needs. Public intellectuals, scholars, journalists, and activism: Chip Berlet on wearing different hats and juggling different ethical mandates. Inside an infuriating bureaucratic turf war: Asset managers could face a just-created super-regulator — here's why Mary Jo White's SEC is fighting it all the way. Morris Fiorina on when a majority isn’t a mandate: Odd though it sounds, the winner-take-all electoral system sometimes lets political parties ignore the voters’ views — gridlock might have a silver lining. Republican Congressman Vance McAllister demolishes the Supreme Court’s rationale for killing campaign finance laws. Money has corrupted politics: Mayday PAC is kickstarting a political experiment big enough to win a Congress committed to fundamental reform. Computer programs are people, too: Samir Chopra on how treating smart programs as legal persons could change privacy as we know it. Sexbot slaves: Thanks to new technology, sex toys are becoming tools for connection — but will sexbots reverse that trend? 66% of Americans now live in a constitution-free zone: Thanks to the militarization and expansion of the “border” region, 197 million Americans now live within the jurisdiction of US Customs and Border Patrol.
