Archive - The Garden of Forking Paths

Guns at Annunciation

I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the…

19 hrs ago •

August 2025

The Grifted Age

Move over Gilded Age. In the 21st century, hucksters and swindlers are exploiting mass stupidity and conspiratorial thinking—and getting filthy rich in…

Aug 29 •

Blood Diamonds and the Lottery of Earth

How geography and geology shapes our destinies.

Aug 25 •

Alzheimer's breakthroughs of mice and men, the stranger-than-fiction phenomenon of comb jelly intelligence, RIP Dobby, and three recommendations.

Aug 22 •

The Despot's Guide to Job Statistics

Dictators routinely lie about economic growth. Trump just took a page from their playbook in appointing an unqualified, Nazi-admiring, January 6th hack…

Aug 14 •

Just War Theory and the Philosophers of Gaza

Philosophers have long tried to develop clear moral principles to govern the conduct of warfare. Here's why they're engaged in a fierce debate over…

Aug 6 •

July 2025

The Red Queen Fallacy

Humans weren't made to tick off checklists and clear inboxes. We've lost sight of who we are, amid the mindless excesses of hustle culture and a…

Jul 29 •

The Death of Democracy Promotion

Murdered by Donald Trump and his acolytes, as they embrace dictators and declare open season on global election rigging.

Jul 25 •

Jerome Powell and the Authoritarian Sirens of Odysseus

Why strongman presidents become weaker—to everyone's peril—when they remove constraints on their own power.

Jul 17 •

The Catastrophic Risk of Space Junk

Decades ago, scientists warned about the cascading risk of space collisions. Now, Musk is making it much worse—and Trump is eliminating the tracking…

Jul 15 •

Old trees, new forgeries, insider trading on war, the evolution of lactose-induced nightmares, and how I fell in love with seals.

Jul 7 •

One Day in Kentucky and What Actually Makes America Great

Reflections on American identity after visiting a gun range and a hipster speakeasy in deep Trump territory — and a cultural guide to the United States…

Jul 4 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts