The Why column is an "interactive" medium, which means that readers write questions to us and we, in turn, interactively, let them pile up on the desk for years. Chronic self-delusion has convinced us that we will write back to each person, individually, at...

While the normative debate over originalism continues unabated (e.g., Scalia 1997; Whittington 1999), the systematic empirical validity of originalism lies relatively unexamined. Using data derived from briefs filed by litigants over eight years, we developed an initial systematic test of the influence of arguments...

Frank Lucas, at 77 years old and in a wheelchair, still has a small gang doting on him. Sons, publicists and friends swirl around Lucas in nearly perpetual commotion, fetching him everything from pills to a cooling fan. A recent visitor is directed kindly —...

Like a good Bordeaux or Chianti, some chocolate comes from a particular place _ the Indonesian island of Java or Venezuela's Sur del Lago, for example. As with wine grapes, the source of cacao beans is supposed to result in distinct flavors and aromas.Chocolate from...