Issue 19

Japan faced some of the world’s toughest planning problems. It solved them by letting homeowners replan whole neighborhoods privately by supermajority vote.

Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a political gamble in New Zealand – long before economists took it seriously.

Animal drugs are approved much faster than human drugs. Perhaps we could adopt the same model for humans without compromising on safety.

Lead has been all but eliminated in most of the developed world. Doing the same for the rest of the world might not be difficult.

Brain implants are letting people move, speak, and interact with machines using only their thoughts. The first FDA approvals may arrive within five years.

How a dubious theory of radiation damage based on fruit flies and a secretive weapons testing program came to be – and why its time may now be up.