“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” economist Milton Friedman, among others, famously proclaimed. But for Iowa City residents who use the Field House, it may seem that way. For the better part...

I’m walking to my 3:30 philosophy class, approaching the least aesthetically pleasing building on campus. A bland structure, spotted with red and brown bricks piled up five floors, divided by tall columns...

Tucker Max thinks that “all women are whores” and that “fat girls aren’t real people” — and those are some of his family-friendlier observations. So why do so many women love him? Max and...

Founding Father and eventual President James Madison warned against the “tyranny of the majority” in the country’s early days. The tyranny he referred to was the power an elected majority — or...

We are having the wrong public debate about global warming — and we are running out of time to get it right. It’s important to discuss carbon caps and taxes or other mitigation strategies, but a...

For a moment, I thought of what she might have been like at 6, sitting on the edge of the paper-covered table in the doctor’s office waiting for the needle prick. She laughed nervously and tossed her...

The glitz and glamour that was supposed to enter Iowa after the state began handing out tax credits to the film industry has hit a standstill. An internal audit of the program found glaring problems with...

Twenty-five years ago, NBC took a risk. In late September, the network launched a half-hour situation comedy about a prosperous, well-educated family whose children actually listened to their parents...

The state Board of Regents indicated at its Sept. 17 meeting that it is considering pay-for-performance bonuses for the three state universities’ presidents. UI President Sally Mason’s bonus, for...

The results of human action are, as we all know too well, often confusing and generally unpredictable. The Law of Unintended Consequences, as it’s known. Which is good news for writers, because —...

Africa and the United States may be on the verge of a new partnership, not one of dependency and aid but one of shared ideas, vision, and investments that increase our mutual prosperity. To begin this...

The recent news of the overworked Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Department highlights the brutal truth that reality is nothing like an episode of “Law and Order.” The department has experienced...