It’s been a little over a decade since cannabis was first legalized recreationally in the United States. As of today, recreational weed is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and Americans have never been more pro-weed. In a Gallup poll from last November, 70 percent of U.S. adults said they support thefederal legalization of marijuana, up from 50 percent in 2013 and a mere twelve percent in 1969.
In May, the Biden administration moved to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I, where it sits alongside heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, a category of drugs that the DEA says have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” States with legal marijuana report economic benefits, a reduced burden on the criminal justice system, and positive health outcomes for patients with chronic pain and epilepsy.
But is legal cannabis really such a no-brainer? A recent study found that marijuana use—whether through smoking, edibles, or vapes—is associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Other studies have consistently shown that so-called “high-potency cannabis” increases the risk of psychotic episodes in young users.
Today, a debate with two leading advocates both for and against the legalization of marijuana: has decriminalization worked? Or should it be reconsidered with more sober eyes? And is the most widely used and most socially acceptable illicit drug in the world, actually. . . dangerous?
Jake Lang was arrested for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. From prison, he has organized an armed militia that now has thousands of members nationwide.
Today on WIRED Politics Lab, reporter David Gilbert explains how this new militia came to be and its possible parallels to 2020. Plus, a look into the recent resurgence of far right extremism.
Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. David Gilbert is @DaithaiGilbert. Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.
Today, we speak to Teresa Larkin, vice chairman of Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts. We discuss the left's war on pregnancy centers, the state of Massachusetts starting a so-called education campaign against pro-life workers, the violence committed by pro-abortion attackers, and more.
Can capitalism be made ecologically sustainable? Can it be good for women? What theoretical approaches help us to grapple with these questions in ways that offer us strategies for how to proceed? Have we already become lost in some sort of gender essentialism to ask these questions together?
In Feminism, Capitalism, and Ecology (Northwestern University Press, 2023), Johanna Oksala brings the resources of ecofeminism and Marxist feminism to these questions, arguing that capitalism cannot be made sustainable, nor can it do without the expropriation of bodies that produce new laborers and consumers. By attending to the rise of biocapitalism, Oksala further develops analytic resources for diagnosing the fundamental problems of an economic system predicated on profit, consumer choice, and endless growth. She also gives us theoretical tools for discerning strategies that will help us create a world beyond capitalism.
In this sweeping new history, esteemed University of North Carolina historian Kathleen DuVal makes the case for the ongoing, ancient, and dynamic history of Native nationhood as a critical component of global history. In Native Nations: A Millennium in North America(Random House, 2024), DuVal covers a thousand years of continental history, building on a new generation of scholars who have argued for the continued power and agency of Native people in the face of challenges, obstacles, and catastrophes.
DuVal's history begins long before any European knew of continents across the Atlantic Ocean, and tracks the history of Native nationhood as an idea and practice up through the present day. Incorporating the use of of environmental history, global history, archaeology and oral history, among other diverse methods, DuVal presents a rich and complex history of a continent that has a history dating back far longer than many people might assume, and tells a story that, rather than a simple narrative of decline and conquest, is more intereseting and far more complex. It is impossible to come away from this book without believing that the story of Native nationhood is indeed, the story of North America itself.
If you were to pick a single visible icon to represent the 20th century, it would probably be the skyscraper.
Skyscrapers didn’t really even exist before the 20th century, but by the end of the century, they became ubiquitous in major cities around the world.
The skyscraper didn’t just appear out of nowhere. They wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for multiple technical innovations. Continued innovations have allowed skyscrapers to get taller and taller.
Learn more about skyscrapers, how they were developed and how they kept growing on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Tens of millions of Americans in the Northeast and Midwest are sweating through their first major heatwave of the year. Heat is the deadliest of all natural disasters, according to the National Weather Service, killing more Americans on average each year than floods, tornados and hurricanes combined. This week, a coalition of environmental, labor, and healthcare groups filed a petition to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to start recognizing both extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters. Jean Su, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and the petition’s lead author, explains how FEMA could help vulnerable people during extreme heat and smoke events.
And in headlines: The first debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump is one week from today, California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants to ban smartphones in public schools throughout the state, and Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride is one step closer to becoming the first openly trans person elected to Congress.
We're talking about a new, historic pact between Russia and North Korea and how American officials are responding.
Also, we'll update you on the status of the first tropical storm of the season and heat records being broken across hundreds of miles.
And we'll tell you how people are celebrating the official first day of summer.
Plus, where you'll be able to see more musicians battle it out for free, what new movie is seeing big success at the box office, and why young adults are shunning dating apps.
Those stories and more news to know in about 10 minutes!
