American Wonk

Avik Roy and Scott Immergut discuss the latest data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. and whether or not things are beginning to look up. On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that “science should not stand in the way” of schools reopening. But as a new FREOPP research paper shows, science […]

On today’s episode of COVID in 19, Scott Immergut of Ricochet and Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity discuss the risks and benefits of reopening schools in the fall, address concerns from parents and teachers, and explore what the U.S. can learn from other countries that have successfully reopened their schools. […]

Today, American Wonk premieres COVID in 19, a new series where Scott Immergut of Ricochet and Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity discuss the latest news on the coronavirus pandemic in 19 minutes. On today’s episode, Scott and Avik break down new data on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, give thoughts on […]

The COVID-19 death toll has reached 85,000 and a furious debate is going on around the country about whether, or when, we should reopen the economy. 37,000,000 Americans have filed for unemployment benefits and 100,000 small businesses have permanently closed. Forty percent of those making less than $40,000 have lost their jobs. And yet, in […]

The U.S. economy is in freefall, as a month of COVID-19 economic lockdowns has driven tens of millions into the unemployment lines. But how do we begin to restore the economy without sacrificing public health? In mid-April, the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) put out a plan to do just that. On this episode of […]

In a span of weeks in early 2020, Congress passed over $2 trillion in legislation aimed at rescuing the U.S. economy from the scourge of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus. So is Congress doing a good job of spending our money? What’s next on the COVID-19 policy agenda? How do we best address the economic dislocation […]

Congress is on the verge of passing a landmark criminal justice reform bill called the First Step Act. The bill would take several steps aimed at helping low-risk federal prisoners, like non-violent offenders, move more quickly into halfway houses and home detention, and strive to do better at re-integrating ex-convicts into the private sector.What’s just as interesting as the bill itself is the […]

In 2014, a group called Students for Fair Admissions filed a 120-page legal complaint against Harvard, alleging that Harvard systematically discriminates against Asian-Americans. On October 15, 2018, the trial began in a federal courthouse in Boston. If the plaintiffs win, the case could have far-reaching consequences for society and for American politics. To help us get smarter about the issues at play in this case, we’re […]

One of the most popular theories about Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 is that Trump appealed to an increasing number of Americans—especially white Americans without a college degree—with feelings of alienation and loneliness. In 2015, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a landmark paper documenting a “marked increase” in deaths among middle-aged white Americans in the 21st century, at a time when mortality was decreasing for everyone else. Case and […]

One of the most widely-made conservative arguments in favor of voting for Donald Trump in 2016 was his ability to nominate constitutionalist justices to the Supreme Court. This year, President Trump will get his chance to name the replacement for Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring. From a conservative point of view, it’s an […]