Could Distributed Peer Review Better Decide Grant Funding?
The landscape of academic grant funding is notoriously competitive and plagued by lengthy, bureaucratic processes, exacerbated by difficulties in finding willing reviewers. Distributed […]
Not Rewriting the History of the Pandemic
As we pass two years from the beginnings of the pandemic, many commentators are scrambling to distance themselves from their initial responses, […]
Pew Report Puts Numbers on American Gun Violence
Citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020 than in any other year on record,” reports the Pew Research Center in a new report.
Lockdown is Another Triumph of Populism Over Science – Most People Have Behaved Rationally So Far
By popular request, I am posting this as a free-access version of one of the first commentary pieces that I wrote for […]
Alondra Nelson Tabbed to Serve as Acting Head of OSTP
On Wednesday, President Joseph Biden handed sociologist Alondra Nelson interim leadership of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Nelson currently serves as OSTP’s deputy director for science and society
What Does the Data Tell Us About Black Coaches, the NFL and Discrimination
There are a lot of factors that play into deciding on who to hire as a head coach in the NFL. Looking at the data, race is one of them.
Let’s Define ‘Legitimate Political Discourse’
Looking at the entirety of what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, it’s clear that there was both legitimate protest and illegitimate political violence. When political violence replaces political discourse, and when political leaders refuse to play by the democratic rules of the game, democracies weaken, and may even die.
Federal Fraud Hunters on Their Symbiosis with Social Science
We interviewed two officials at the U.S. Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to talk about their thoughts on the importance of the social sciences in government oversight.
A Look Inside the Team that Safeguards Trillions in COVID Relief Spending
The focus of these special inspector general offices is to not only keep a watchful eye on the trillions of dollars flowing from Washington to families and business across the country, but to also prevent and deter people defrauding the federal government and thus the tax-paying American public.
