Great teachers have a huge impact on kids. Research has shown that students with highly effective teachers (those in the 90th percentile) learn 1.5 years’ worth of material in a year, while students with teachers in the 10th percentile learn just half a years’ worth of material in the s...
Quartz
The CEO of Aetna was considering suicide before he found meditation
Whatever else we expect of our big deal company leaders, we don’t expect to be privy to the history of their darkest days. But Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, speaking at an Asia Society e...
Enough people are taking the HIV-prevention drug to finally lower infection rates around the world
Six years after the Food and Drug Administration approved a revolutionary HIV prevention pill known as PrEP, public health officials in select US cities have finally begun to conclude that it is likely taking a bite out of local HIV infection rates.
PrEP, short for pre-exposure prophylaxis, is akin to a birth control...
New research reveals one of the bad things about a higher minimum wage
Ever since there have been economists, there have been debates between economists about the impact of a minimum wage (pdf). Few research topics feature so many twists and turns. Many economists once presumed that higher w...
All the books Bill Gates has recommended over the last eight years
Bill Gates has become a powerful influence on publishing. An endorsement from the philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder can cause tangible sales spikes, reminiscent of the golden ticket that once came with being picked for Oprah’s book club.
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American men, it’s time to start talking about your abortions
Sometimes, men and women have sex, but don’t want to have a baby together. And no method of contraception is 100% effective, except not having sex. Consequently, humans have been aborting unwanted pregnancies since at least Biblical times. By age 45, about one in four American ...
The Uber economy is actually just the low-wage economy
The question of how much Uber drivers make per hour is always ripe for discussion. The number is hard to pin down for many reasons, including:
- Uber pays different rates in different markets
- A lot of driver income is tied up in limited-time promotions a...
Trump blames “global freeloading” for costly US drugs. That’s not the problem
Introducing his plan to reduce prescription drug prices in America today, Donald Trump said his government would focus on “tougher negotiation, more competition, and much lower prices.”
The president criticized drug makers and insurance companies for failing to put...
Even the swamp has rules, DC lobbyists say. Michael Cohen didn’t play by them
Plenty of people in Washington, D.C. receive six figure salaries to try to convince government officials to make decisions that benefit corporations, not the public.
But there are some rules.
That’s the message from lobbyists, consultants, and public rela...
Babies took over Capitol Hill to rally for paid family leave and affordable childcare
On Tuesday (May 8), Capitol Hill was crawling with babies.
Babies from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with their families, had descended upon the Hill’s east lawn for the annual “Strolling Thunder” Rally, organized by Zer...
