During calendar year 2017 the staff at The American Interest solicited, sifted, collected, edited, and published more than 400 feature essays and reviews—and that does not count the many “shorts” and podcast offerings we also worked to present. Most of these essays appeared via TAI Online only; only about six dozen appeared as well in the print magazine on account of some combination of their quality and durability against the news cycle’s onslaught.
Here below, accompanied by a descriptive blurb, are my top ten titles for the year, which, thanks to the wonders of electronic archiving, can be easily summoned by subscribers old and new for review or first-time perusal.
1. Scott Alexander,“Notes on Cost Disease”
Important goods and services—especially health care and education—are costing Americans vastly more over time. But why? Here’s an in-depth look at the numbers, and why the truth of the matter is more complicated than it appears.
2. James Henry,“The Curious World of Donald Trump’s Private Russia Connections”
Did the American people really know they were putting such a “well-connected” guy in the White House? James Henry explores the twisted web of business partnerships that links Trump to some very shady figures.
3. Dee Smith,“Flattened: Disintermediation Goes Global”
The unpredictability of the current global system goes all the way up, and all the way down. The disruptive technologies of the modern day are marching through economies and societies, remaking old orders.
4. Claire Berlinski, “The Warlock Hunt”
Our sexual harassment moral panic: Why this one, and why now? And most importantly, are we going to like the results?
5. Robert Pearl,“The Path to Real Health Care Reform”
As national politicians re-litigated the Affordable Care Act, we made it our business to put forward more innovative ideas. Here is Robert Pearl with four pillars for transforming health care delivery.
6. Neil Gilbert,“The Inequality Hype”
Inequality is billed as one of the horsemen of modern America’s apocalypse. Is that a fair picture? In truth, this progressive bogeyman turns out to be mainly a figment of accounting. Better data gives us a cheerier picture of American well-being.
7. James Jeffrey,“Making Diplomacy Great Again”
We won’t have more foreign policy successes without better diplomacy. And the first step is to understand what diplomacy can and can’t do. Here’s former Ambassador James Jeffrey with a list of recommendations that will get the State Department on a better track.
8. Carolyn Stewart,“Shooting the Messenger”
So many of us huddle in little social-media silos, defending them against enemy action by our political opponents. Courteous behavior faces a structural disadvantage in such an environment. And it’s costing us big time.
9. Michael Herzog,“Inside the Black Box of Israeli-Palestinian Talks”
All sides failed in the most recent round of negotiations—but there was an opportunity for actual progress. This eye-opening account from Michael Herzog is the real inside story.
10. George Walden,“Through the Mist”
Lord Robert Vansittart took the measure of Germany in the 20th century before most of his peers. His writings may foreshadow the dangers of Russia in the 21st, argues former British diplomat George Walden.
