Next Economy

A High-Tech Butler, at Your Service (For $25 a Week)

The rise of the sharing economy has created an ecosystem of startups that sell services nobody had imagined before.

• Nancy Cook and National Journal
• August 3, 2015

In Search of the Anti-Uber

Some say the so-called sharing economy has gotten away from its central premise—sharing.

• Nancy Cook
• August 1, 2015

A College Without Classes

Forget credit hours—in a quest to cut costs, universities are simply asking students to prove their mastery of a subject.

• Alana Semuels
• July 31, 2015

Unshopping, Un-Uber

The original conception of the "sharing economy" persists in small institutions that leave capitalism behind.

• Nancy Cook and National Journal
• July 30, 2015

White Flight Never Ended

Today's cities may be more diverse overall, but people of different races still don’t live near each other.

• Alana Semuels
• July 30, 2015

Debt After Death

When a young person dies unexpectedly, his or her family could end up with the burden of paying off student loans. Can that be avoided?

• Gillian B. White
• July 30, 2015

Aging Pipes Are Poisoning America's Tap Water

In Flint, Michigan, lead, copper, and bacteria are contaminating the drinking supply and making residents ill. If other cities fail to fix their old pipes, the problem could soon become a lot more common.

• Alana Semuels
• July 29, 2015

The Problems of Success

In dynamic Austin, Texas, residents expect more growth—and wonder whether it will improve their quality of life.

• Ronald Brownstein and National Journal
• July 28, 2015

The Myth of New Orleans’s Affordability

Cities with “cheap” housing aren’t cheap if most wages are relatively low.

• Gillian B. White
• July 28, 2015

Why Women Shouldn't Have to Act Like Dudes at Work

Companies that overvalue alpha-male behavior need to change—both to retain female talent and for the bottom line.

• Bourree Lam
• July 27, 2015

The Insecure World of Freelancing

Millions of workers now go it alone—who will provide them with basic labor protections?

• Nancy Cook
• July 25, 2015

Where Are All the Minority Journalists?

Homogeneity is a big problem in an industry whose ambition is to serve and inform an increasingly diverse public.

• Gillian B. White
• July 24, 2015

The Inadequacy of Corporate Social-Responsibility Programs

Companies are spending millions on small, piecemeal fixes while lobbying against regulations that would do far more.

• Gillian B. White
• July 23, 2015

Share and Share Alas

It's fun and flexible to freelance for places like Uber—but workers beware.

• Nancy Cook and National Journal
• July 23, 2015

Contractor Versus Employee

Not every company in the sharing economy treats its workers as Uber-ish freelancers.

• Nancy Cook and National Journal
• July 22, 2015

How Chicago Is Trying to Integrate Its Suburbs

The city, long divided into black and white neighborhoods, is asking affluent counties to pitch in.

• Alana Semuels
• July 17, 2015

How to Ease Immigrants Into the Mainstream

Nonprofits—and for-profits—are finding innovative ways to bring foreign-born workers in from the economic fringes.

• Ted Hesson and National Journal
• July 17, 2015

The New Melting Pots

Cities across the country are welcoming immigrants as a boon to the economy.

• Ted Hesson and National Journal
• July 16, 2015

Millennials Who Are Thriving Financially Have One Thing in Common

… Rich parents.

• Gillian B. White
• July 15, 2015