January/February 2026

features

Starving the Safety Net

The government shutdown’s pause in SNAP payments was a preview
of how the coming cuts to the safety-net program will reverberate through communities.

BY KALENA THOMHAVE

The Social Causes and Economic Impact of Weight Gain

Economics can shed light on the problem, but only if it gets beyond individualist assumptions and stigmatizing bias.

BY MARK MAIER

Forsake Some, Fleece the Rest

How U.S. Home Insurers Are Responding to Climate Change

BY KENNY STANCIL

the regulars

the short run

two cents | Mamdani and Small Business

up against the wall street journal | Trump’s Bifurcated Economy

economy in narrative | Money, Meaning, and Madness

economy in numbers | Federal Jobs Bloodbath