New Article. Entertainment Over Reason: The State of America.

Blocking internet access as a political tool is a modern form of censorship originating from state-controlled information practices, with roots in authoritarian regimes seeking to control communication and suppress dissent.

The claim that it’s inappropriate to discuss guns after shootings is false. Crises are when society must solve problems; this claim began in late 20th-century U.S. politics, promoted by the NRA and legislators who labeled debate as “politicizing tragedy” to stall gun reform.

Persecuting political opponents is a tactic rooted in authoritarianism throughout history, from ancient Rome to 20th-century totalitarian states, and the myth that it is a normal or acceptable political strategy arises from propaganda that normalizes power consolidation.

The idea that claiming someone is guilty makes them guilty is false, originating in medieval Europe where accusations of crimes like witchcraft or heresy often led to punishment without evidence, but it contradicts the modern legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”

The 1619 Project wrongly claims America’s “true founding” was to preserve slavery, an idea introduced in 2019 but widely rejected by historians as inaccurate and misleading.

Because private jets are the single most carbon-intensive way to travel, a celebrity who chooses to use them regularly cannot reasonably claim to truly care about climate change, since their actions directly undermine the values they profess.

The Federal Reserve, created in 1913 to manage inflation, employment, and financial stability, was made independent to protect economic health. Challenges to that independence go back to Andrew Jackson’s 1832 fight against the Second Bank.

The 1776 Commission presented a patriotic narrative of U.S. history that downplayed slavery and racism, an effort launched in 2020 but criticized by historians as politically motivated and lacking scholarly rigor.

It is not illegal to burn the American flag, since the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson (1989) that flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment, and the belief it is banned comes from earlier flag desecration laws that were struck down as unconstitutional.

Shock collars don’t truly train dogs but instead suppress behavior through pain and fear, a method that originated in the mid-20th century with hunting dog training before being marketed to pet owners.

The idea of “detoxifying” through diets, soaps, teas, and more is a myth. The human body already has highly effective natural detox systems, the liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin, which remove harmful substances. The modern “detox” trend arose in the late 20th century. #detox

Excited to announce that my research on the history of political polarization in Indiana was recently published in the Indiana Historical Society's magazine: Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History.

The idea that the Founders wanted Americans to follow the Ten Commandments is false: the Constitution is secular and the 1st Amendment forbids establishing religion. This myth comes from 19th/20th-century Christian nationalism that sought to portray the US as Christian nation.

The idea that the side of the ovary releasing an egg determines a baby’s sex is a myth, since a child’s sex is decided by whether the sperm carries an X or Y chromosome, and this belief originates in ancient Greek and Roman medical theories later repeated in medieval medicine.

Chemotherapy is a medically proven treatment that kills or slows cancer cells; while it causes side effects, the claim that it is worse than cancer is a myth rooted in anecdotal stories, fear-based media, and alternative medicine claims.

The idea that constantly embracing victimhood is empowering is false, while genuine injustices exist, defining oneself solely as a victim discourages problem-solving. Modern victimhood traces back to mid-20th-century shifts in psychology and activism.

The belief that drawing a cross with salt can ward off evil stems from salt’s ancient roles in purification and preservation, its use as a boundary in folk magic, medieval and regional folklore linking it to protection from witches and spirits, and its deep religious symbolism.

The idea of “pure” European ancestry is a myth rooted in 19th- and early 20th-century racial science, which falsely claimed Europeans formed an unmixed race; in reality, all humans, including European descend from a mix of ancient African hunter-gatherers.

The claim that the Quran requires women to wear headscarves is misleading: the text instructs modest dress but does not explicitly mandate covering the hair, and interpretations of verses like 24:31 and 33:59 vary widely across Islamic scholarship.