Michael Fitzgerald

The acclaimed writer talks with Pacific Standard about the new scientific consensus around psychosis treatments—and the scholar-advocate he profiled for his new story in our October issue.

Pacific Standard caught up with the firebrand political consultant and Trump confidante about the latest West Wing intrigue.

A new study reveals that the problem is worse than you think, and likely much worse than we can tell from available data.

The department will likely have a tough time avoiding serious scrutiny and resistance in rolling back the Obama administration's expansive civil rights agenda.

Showrunner David Mandel explains the craft behind portraying some of contemporary television's most iconic—and often embarrassing—politicians.

Why do we keep reaching for them as a quick health fix when the science says they're not so special?

These days, if you're feeling like turning your anger into action, you're hardly alone. Here's what history has to teach you.

A look at a growing problem.

And it's called the euphemism treadmill.

More Americans are committing to one party in the voting booth, and elected officials are behaving in an accordingly partisan fashion.

Young, broke, and desperate, I worked at the heart of an emerging nationwide scandal in higher education. Here's what I saw.

And it's called miswanting.

Behind the scenes at the most Los Angeles event in the history of American politics.

And it's called the porcupine problem.

What a court case involving construction workers, moist towelettes, and a bridge in New Orleans signals about the future of manhood in the workplace.

The new video of President Obama interviewing David Simon is a work of public relations genius; it also makes some dangerous mistakes concerning the criminal justice system.

Gay, straight, single, divorced: Five studies that prove that the who of family matters a lot less than the how when it comes to raising happy, healthy kids.

Sure, kids with married parents appear to have better outcomes by some measures. But a narrow reading of the data ignores strong evidence about the viability of alternative family structures.

Severe inequities remain between whites and non-whites in American economic life. But it isn’t clear that employers are as much to blame as one might expect.

A new working paper outlines how mom and dad can influence their child's levels of risk tolerance and trust, traits that have a significant impact on career outcome.

Companies that market products as a way for consumers to improve the world through their purchases not only appear to give less than we expect, but they might actually be hurting their own sales.

Even though we're living longer than ever, the prevalence of major diseases among the elderly has held relatively steady.

A new study shows that a number of factors influence unhappiness levels, while happiness isn't so clear cut.

If you've ever bounced a check, you could be blacklisted.

The Obama Administration wants to make daycare universal for four-year-olds. But more basic short-term support for poor families with babies could greatly increase the child’s future earnings.

Vermont tries out an alternative to GDP for gauging society's progress.

The Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage prompted much discussion about what kind of parents—gay, straight, single, married—can raise kids the best. It’s time to discard the hoary notion that any one structure produces the best outcomes for child development.

A controversial piece of Obamacare is being delayed for a year. But what does that mean for you and your employer?

A new working paper by two Duke economic policy researchers takes a close look at what influences lawmakers’ farm policy votes.

Why are shootings with a surviving victim so under-investigated in Sin City, and chronically overlooked in the post-Newtown national gun policy debate?

The public is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, but not by a margin of five to one, which is how a new Pew study weighs coverage during Supreme Court hearings for two landmark cases.

It's unclear what it means for the future, but the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl is set to receive a lung transplant today.

When a child is deemed suitable for an adult organ transplant, why are they put at the end of the donation line?

Should we fast-track approval for new antibiotics meant to target superbugs? An alarmist New York Times article would have you think so.

Depending on the neighborhood, maybe North Korea.

Innovative drilling techniques, as explored in our March/April print issue, are remaking the geopolitical map in unpredictable ways.

How psychometrics are helping loan officers weed out the bad risks from the good.