Pope Francis was a historic figure. He was the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas or the Southern Hemisphere. He was the first pope to take the name Francis, a nod to St. Francis of Assisi  read more »

New York University’s Marron Institute just released a report saying that Amtrak and commuter-rail lines could improve their service by making what the institute believes are low-cost changes to their operations.  read more »

We have lived in Austin for 40 years. And for nearly all of that time, Lorin and I have subscribed to the New York Times. For decades, we took the paper version.  read more »

I went to St. Louis over the weekend, and I was reminded how much I love the way St. Louis neighborhoods look.  read more »

Ten thousand years from now, future archaeologists will be allowed back into the wasteland that was once known as California.  read more »

As with many political movements, MAGA represents a fragile coalition of groups that often have little in common — and, at the extremes, may even detest one another.  read more »

Over the last half-century, more restrictive urban planning policies have been associated with undermined housing affordability  read more »

Hating the Southwest, particularly its burgeoning cities such as Phoenix, is de rigueur in American media. Jon Stewart has called Arizona “the meth lab of democracy.” Hunter S. Thompson described hell as an “overcrowded version of Phoenix.”  read more »