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Cass R. Sunstein
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2021
Was the Capitol riot sedition? Just read the law
In many nations, the threat of sedition prosecutions has been used to criminalize dissent — to intimidate, and even imprison people who object to what the government is doing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2021
Can ex-presidents be impeached? No. Convicted? Yes.
Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives is authorized to impeach a president, and then the Senate is authorized to convict him.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2021
Trump can’t pardon himself
If a president can be impeached for pardoning someone with whom he is 'connected, in any suspicious manner,” then he certainly can be impeached for pardoning himself.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2020
Undoing Trump regulations may divide Biden’s coalition
Some of the Trump administration's midnight rules will deserve wholesale repudiation. But others should be approached with a scalpel, not an ax.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2020
Don’t invoke Bush v. Gore to challenge 2020 voting
A note to Republicans and Democrats alike: Bush v. Gore does not draw into legal doubt the right of local authorities to decide how to conduct their elections.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2020
Coronavirus safety can be fun
Nobody likes masks or social distancing. But everybody can be nudged.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2020
The right way for leaders to address 'fear itself'
The Great Depression was worse than coronavirus. Yet FDR found a way to warn and reassure all Americans, all at once.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2020
Facebook's 'deepfake' ban doesn't go far enough
The company's new safety filter to reduce high-tech doctored media is has big holes
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2020
2019's best movies (for lessons in behavioral economics)
The annual Becons single out 'Luce,' a perfect example of 'motivated reasoning.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2019
Why dogs and people rule the world
Evolution has favored the friendliest canine and human species over more aggressive competition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2019
Facebook bums us out, but we'll pay for it anyway
Those who deactivated their accounts for a month were less anxious and depressed.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2017
A glimmer of good news about fake news
Some people just might be more open to changing their minds than we thought.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2016
Dylan surpassed Whitman as the American poet
Bob Dylan has surpassed Walt Whitman as the defining American artist, celebrating the capacity for self-invention as the highest form of freedom.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2016
Meet the machines that know what's funny
Algorithms are outperforming human beings in a variety of unexpected contexts.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2016
The real reason women still get paid less
Despite progress in some areas of discrimination in the United States, the male-female wage gap persists, and it's big.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2016
How using Facebook makes people dumber
Facebook reinforces people's tendency to seek out information that confirms their beliefs, and to ignore contrary information.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2015
Behavioral science's take on the Iran debate
'Loss aversion,' the ideal that people dislike losses a lot more than they like equivalent gains, can badly confuse political debate — such as that on the Iran nuclear deal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2015
Picking the right words to ban from campus
American universities have been trying to reduce use of words or behavior that might stigmatize or humiliate people, but they are overshooting the mark.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2014
What global warming? Pass me a blanket
Unfortunately for proponents of climate change, people subconsciously use the current local temperature as a clue to whether global temperatures are increasing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 11, 2014
Apple's new payment system could pose threat to wallets
The new Apple payment system has extraordinary promise. With Apple Pay, you might not need a wallet, and you can leave your credit and debit cards at home. In terms of ease and convenience, payment cards represented a big leap from the era of cash. Apple hopes its system will be a comparable leap from...

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A boom for business tourism in Japan?