What New York Got Wrong and (Very) Right About Gun Control

Feb 06, 2019

On January, 30th, with the leadership of Assembly Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a slew of gun-control measures passed in Albany, NY. These are the latest in a pile of progressive legislation sent to Governor Cuomo’s desk since Democrats took control of the state government. The half-dozen bills address bump-stocks, teacher firearm carrying, and extend protective background check wait periods. While all of these measures may seem crucial to the gun-control reform

Behavioral Economics and Government: Smart Policy for the Homer Simpson in All of Us

Jan 24, 2019

(Feature image source: http://www.youth-time.eu/articles-opinions/could-millennials-be-the-most-complete-version-of-homo-economicus) I wrote this article for People for Reason and Progress or PORP. PORP is a nonpartisan organization with the vision of creating a American political system that values science, data, and evidence as legitimate cornerstones of productive political debate. In my article, I breakdown the idea of systematic biases and heuristics, and gove a brief intro into behavioral

We Wasted Money on the “War On Terror” Because We Ignored Data

Jan 21, 2019

Since the September 11th attacks on the U.S., the public conversation around the War on Terror and mass violence in the U.S. have kept the attention of the public. It isn’t surprising that the ongoing conversation surrounding both of these topics dwarf those of less hot-button issues – say, tax policy – as measured by data from Google searches. In 2017, almost half of Americans wanted to increase anti-terrorism spending, but is that warranted? We know that Americans often perceive much greater

New Study: “Same Sex Marriage is Good for Gay Men”… SCOTUS: “So?”

Sep 02, 2018

I cover whether a recent study finding a correlation between positive psychological effects and same-sex marriage for gay men means anything to our new Supreme Court. If you like legal theory and worry about the current makeup of the court, read this article here to see my (somewhat positive) thoughts.

Red Ink: Inside The High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (Review)

Jul 04, 2018

It's been a while since my last book review -- not because I haven't read books that I think you guys HAVE TO READ, but because of school. Nevertheless, I hope to put a review a week out for the next few weeks. Maybe I'll throw a more fun and contemporary summer read. IDK. (I usually just read Hemmingway over and over again all summer.) Comment suggestions if you have them. This week's book was a short but powerful one that I think should be put in every baby's hand right after they are born.

A Case for Technocracy in America

Jun 27, 2018

Policies grounded in ideology can’t help but ignore information that may upset that ideological foundation... According to World Values Survey data, 49% of Americans (60% of these under the age of 29) rather have decisions be made by experts than the government. Considering that lack of experience is rampant in US leadership today, it seems like this 49% is definitely losing the battle. In fact, the views of Americans hungry for evidence-based governing are nowhere to be found. But they exist

Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician (Book Review)

May 17, 2018

This book was on a required reading list for my healthcare policy class. Despite the fact that I had to gulp it down really quickly, I enjoyed it. Sandeep really covers most of the bases when it comes to our healthcare problems from the side of the provider. Written by a physician, Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician by Sandeep Jauhar, even gets a lot right about the patient experience. I really think that the one perspective that is more than crucial but often overlooked is

How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (Review)

May 04, 2018

If you are generally interested in mathematics, this is the book for you.  But going into my reading it, I wasn't. I went into this reading from a standpoint of wanting to get a stronger grip on the policy/ practical implications the theory and nuance statistics hold. I read the book in the semester after my first graduate level stats course, and I immediately found it's real world applications helpful. How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg is essentially

The Color of Law : A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (Review)

Apr 24, 2018

This week, I read The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein. My interest in this book began as that of scholarly endeavor, as I am constantly looking for 1) ways to communicate the honest/naked truth about segregation as an American vestige and 2) policy prescriptions to fix what I think is the biggest contributor to inequality, stratification, and so many of our societies' problems. Ta-Nehisi Coates called the book "Brilliant". I'd call

Is It Time To End The War on Drugs? Senator Cory Booker Thinks So.

Apr 09, 2018

If you want to see a Congressperson blush, ask him or her a question about marijuana. With four states (California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada) having legalized it last November -- making that seven states and DC, where pot is now legal for recreational use --  this is one topic that is becoming more and more unavoidable. Last year, one Senator decided to take marijuana legalization head on.... To see who it was, read the rest my article on the Daily Clout blog here:

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham (Review)

Mar 10, 2018

I decided to read this book after spending -- what was really just -- moments in the capital building at the center of Jackson, Mississippi. There were not many pieces of Mississippi that endeared me to the state (with exception of course to the wonderful girl I met there that turned out being my soulmate). Everything creeps along there. It's as if the ticking timepieces of New York exist in a different segment of the universe or perhaps a different multiverse than the unhurried empty region

Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount (REVIEW)

Mar 09, 2018

This week I read Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations And Filling The Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, E-mail, Text, and Cold Calling by Jeb Blount of Sales Gravy [dot] com.