* In parts of Indiana, the problem isn’t China. It’s too many jobs.
* Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?
* “Not quite half of American teens have had sex by 18. That’s actually low.” In other words, teens are more boring and phone-addicted than they once were. More seriously, this, along with increasing rates of contraception use, explains why teen-pregnancy prevention grant programs have faded from view.
* “Making cities denser always sparks resistance. Here’s how to overcome it.”
* “California lawmakers have tried for 50 years to fix the state’s housing crisis. This is why they’ve failed.”
* “A generational failure: As the U.S. fantasizes, the rest of the world builds a new transport system.”
* “Cuts threaten rural hospitals ‘hanging on by their fingernails.’” Isaac says he’s been reading the same article every couple of years for 30 years.
* “Why market competition has not brought down health care costs.” The history and analysis are good but I don’t buy the solution. I’d like to see mandatory price transparency, savings accounts, and (government-run) catastrophic insurance. Oddly, we are evolving towards a world where basically all insurance is catastrophic insurance. I think my deductible is now something like $5,000.
* “Get Able-Bodied Americans off the Couch: Nearly 95 million people have removed themselves entirely from the job market.” From the article: “According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 41% of nondisabled adults on Medicaid do not have jobs. Thirteen million Americans 18 to 54 currently receive SSDI or SSI benefits.”
* “Big Foundations Double Down on Government Mistakes: What’s the trouble with ‘mission-related investments’? Who defines the mission.”
* Children of the Opioid Epidemic Are Flooding Foster Homes.
* Grid Batteries Are Poised to Become Cheaper Than Natural-Gas Plants in Minnesota.
* “A Conversation with Malcolm Gladwell: Revisiting Brown v. Board.” Extremely interesting and contrarian in an intelligent way that shows many familiar things in a light I’d never considered.
* “As opioid overdoses exact a higher price, communities ponder who should be saved.”
* Doctors think EMRs are hurting relationships with patients. We think so too. As I noted in this post, Isaac’s primary care provider thinks hand-charting was faster, better, and easier than digital charting is now.
* “Spending a Lot on Health Care Is the American Way: It’s a nation of consumers: Big houses, the latest gadgets, huge hospital bills.” Points rarely made about healthcare but useful throughout.
* Learning to Squat; unexpectedly found in The New Yorker. Note that few people squat, or ride bikes, or even walk around their neighborhoods, and that’s part of the reason U.S. healthcare spending is so high (pre the preceding link).
* A decade on, HPV vaccine has halved cervical cancer rate. The real tragedy is that vaccine compliance is so low.
* Are college costs finally declining, along with enrollments?
* “A promising new coalition looks to rewrite the politics of urban housing: An end to defensive planning could unleash huge change.”
* Tesla Model 3 first drive review. Or here is another variant, from The Verge instead of Motortrend.
* 34 criminal cases tossed after body cam footage shows cop planting drugs.
* Pigs are smart and sensitive, yet we continue to justify killing them for food.
* Harlem Nonprofit Plans to Offer Virtual Psychiatrist Visits in School Clinics.