'Designing loneliness into American floor plans'

'America's loneliness has a concrete explanation'

M. Nolan Gray at The Atlantic

The dining room is a "dispensable feature that served some more important function at an earlier stage of architectural evolution," says M. Nolan Gray. But "in many new apartments, even a space to put a table and chairs is absent," because the "housing crisis [is] ... killing off places to eat whether we like it or not." As a result, "nearly half the time we spend eating is spent in isolation, a central factor in America's loneliness epidemic."

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'Democracy isn't doomed'

Rob Richie at The Washington Post

There is "no reason to feel helpless" about American democracy, says Rob Richie. States are currently "playing their traditional 'laboratories of democracy' role," and if "we can replicate the innovations of states and cities for chipping away at voter cynicism, there just might be a way back from the brink." But "ultimately, we must address the underlying electoral incentives that punish elected leaders who venture to put voters over narrower partisan calculations."

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'A politically made insurance panic'

The Wall Street Journal editorial board

Washington, D.C.'s solution to high homeowner and car insurance prices is to "expand political control over insurers, naturally. But that misdiagnosis won't solve the problem," says The Wall Street Journal editorial board. The "actual culprit is a bad storm of inflation, litigation abuse and government-made dysfunctions, which have been exacerbated by a string of bad weather." Beyond this, "higher interest rates and declining profitability are making it more expensive for insurers to raise capital, further pushing up premiums."

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'What the 'uncommitted' campaign has already won'

John Nichols at The Nation

President Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, but the "'uncommitted' movement has enough allies among members of Congress and other elected officials, as well as activists, to form a smaller but still potentially significant pro-ceasefire presence as Democrats gather in Chicago," says John Nichols. Whether Biden's team will "allow for open dissent on the convention floor remains uncertain — and, by most accounts, unlikely." However, Biden "would be foolish to neglect the important signal that's been sent by 'uncommitted' voters."

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