Much public discourse on criminal law, including in the pages of this magazine, centers on contrasting moral stances.1 The discussion would benefit from empirical consideration of the nature of crime and the forces that shape public understanding, public opinion, and the politics of criminal law. To quote Mark A. R. Kleiman, “Conservatives, who want to …

There’s an old joke that goes like this: if you put three secular humanists in a room to discuss an issue, they’ll leave with five different opinions. The reality reflected in this chestnut is that we humanists are thoughtful, engaged individuals who have opinions on a wide range of matters but who also believe that …

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed, so they can see that it’s not the answer. —Jim Carrey Humanity is at a crossroads—or it will be soon if the world’s smartest people are right. Artificial intelligence may transform the relationship that human beings have to both survival and …

In cultures that descended from European Christendom, there’s a long history of unease about the physical activity of sex and the pleasures that go with it. According to Church authorities in late antiquity and medieval times, sexual desire and pleasure were inherently suspect. Sexual intercourse was viewed as a sin except between a legitimately married …