A Bad Idea Done Badly
Imagine being the proprietor of a convenience store or liquor store. Then, imagine being told by the government that you not only need to check the...
Protecting the Truth
Happy Sunday and greetings from hazy and humid Abu Dhabi. We already have one week of school in the books here in the Gulf. Subscribe now Last week I argued...
In the Absence of Truth
Tuesday is the first teaching day of my 20th year in the classroom. I spent last week in meetings with my colleagues gearing up for the year ahead. I have a...
In Praise of Andor
On Tuesday we returned from Viet Nam. After being on the road for so long, I was eager to get back to familiar confines. Unfortunately, I came home with a...
More Ideologues, Fewer Partisans
Me, my boy Brian, Hope, and our tour guide, sweating in these Saigon streets Greetings from Ho Chi Minh City (although everyone here still calls it Saigon)....
It's Giving Subprime Vibes
I'm going to do something different this week and give away the ending and let you decide if you want to stick around: If you're skeptical of Bitcoin, you're...
Lessons From the My Mom's Church & Summer Reading
Greetings from the Great State of Washington, It’s been a minute. Given how regimented my schedule normally is, summers home feel weird. I mostly spend them...
Breaking Up with Google Search
Today's newsletter is a bit of a hodgepodge. Hope and I are back in Tacoma and spending quality time with family along with attending our usual events and...
LA Police Riots and "Everything is Tuberculosis"
Police in LA assaulting to a prone protestor - Photo: ANI I sat down today with every intention of writing about the ongoing situation in Los Angeles. But I...
AI and Policy Sclerosis
Happy Monday. This weekend was Eid Al-Adha, which called for some road tripping on our part, thus a Monday newsletter. The Indicator for the Week: 118....
Oooh, These AIs Be Lying
ChatGPT explaining why it gave my class faulty data Happy Sunday, The Indicator of the Week is 7. This week the United States Secretary of HHS released a...
Flying Blind with AI
If you read Takes & Typos, you likely know of me through my teaching or related advocacy. But I really don’t enjoy writing about “education.” Specifically, I...
When Nuclear Powers Fight
Happy Sunday. Hope you're doing well. I've taken a couple of Sundays off from the newsletter this spring while working on some other writing. Recently, I...
Read With Me: Summer 2025
Greetings, Takes & Typos readers—and a special welcome to the new subscribers from the Class of 2025. Because our school runs on a schedule catering to IB...
Our Road to Oligarchy Was Paved in 1976
Subscribe now Greetings from Abu Dhabi, where it's not quite scorching yet—but plenty warm. Today’s high is 39 degrees, or 102 in freedom units. But that’s...
Free-Range Parenting and All-You-Can-Eat Internet
Image courtesy of Ian Kennedy Happy Easter to the citizens of Takes & Typos-istan If you're celebrating, I hope you're surrounded by family and loved ones....
Tariffs and the Unchecked President
Happy Tuesday, Welcome to another irregular edition of the newsletter. I’m writing today because I had a deadline this weekend and needed to finish a piece...
A Syllabus for the Manosphere
Welcome to the rare Saturday edition of the newsletter. Subscribe now Time got away from me last Sunday. My US Government students wrote seemingly book...
Kids Can Tell When You’re Lying
Children are nature’s lie detectors I. Kids can tell when you’re lying. In Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar, there’s a scene early in the movie...
2025 Ramadan Reflections
I. Happy Monday, I hope things are well with you and yours. I was alarmed to see the US cut off military aid and intelligence support to Ukraine this week....