Spring 2024 Table of Contents

from the editors

in brief:

• “Okay, Boomer,” Elena G. van Stee
• “AI and the Scientific Imagination,” Colter J. Uscola
• “Who’s on Top?” Elena G. van Stee
• “Law and the Looky-Loo,” Sophie X. Liu
• “Canada’s Immigration Politics,” Sophie X. Liu
• “Movies Reboot Gender Divides,” Colter J. Uscola
• “Trust and Stratify,” Parker Muzzerall
• “Wealthy Disillusioned with Politics, Too,” Parker Muzzerall

q&a:

• “A Drop of Epistemic Humility.” Amin Ghaziani interviews Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal, about the value-add of conservative viewpoints in public debates.

features:

• “Not a Victim, Not a Survivor,” by Meghan Warner. Young people who have experienced sexual violence describe themselves as stuck between two seemingly opposing stereotypes: the “broken” victim and the “healed” survivor. Their responses to these labels are shaped by and shape how they feel about their other social identities.
• “Navigating the Hypervisibility and Invisibility of Mixed-Race Families,” by Katherine Johnson. U.S. multiracial families are paradoxically regarded as representatives of a post-racial ideal and as anomalies that challenge assumptions. Here, Black-White couples discuss the pressures they feel to “perform” family when facing racial surveillance and erasure.
• “Why Believe Conspiracy Theories?” by Meggan M. Jordan and Jennifer M. Whitmer. Beliefs, even conspiratorial ones, do not occur in a vacuum: They reflect social conditions and fulfill important identity needs, including access to social connection and playfulness; distinction, purpose, and legitimacy; and a sense of certainty, justice, and order.
• “The Day Data Transparency Died: How Twitter/X Cut Off Access for Social Research,” by Elizabeth Blakey. For 17 years, Twitter/X provided free academic access—not by law, but by social contract—to its data for researchers examining elections, hate speech, and other crucial public issues. It took just six months under Elon Musk to rescind this unfettered access and upend global scholarship.

in pictures:

• “Grieving Overdose.” Emily B. Campbell on using grief to fuel social and political action.
• “See It through My Eyes.” Andrea Román Alfaro on seeing a Peruvian shantytown through the lens(es) of its children.

culture:

• “A Space of Discovery and Refuge.” Olivia Baker and Baker Rogers on drag performance and gender identity.
• “The New Final Girl Shares Her Trauma.” Kyle Green and Kelsey Berry on the real fears behind scary movies.

trends:

• “Overlooked Consequences.” Catherine J. Taylor on life under restrictive abortion laws.

books:

• “Transformations in Queer Placemaking.” Tristan Bridges and Kendall Ota on Who Needs Gay Bars? and Long Live Queer Nightlife.

policy brief:

• “SCOTUS Rewriting the History of Race in America.” Robert L. Nelson on the racial ideology of a conservative-majority court.

one thing i know:

• “Without Struggle, There Is No Progress!” Aldon Morris on a life of anti-racist activism.