In the eighties and nineties, I would meet with a group on the Lower East Side for discussion and commentary on the arts-and-culture scene. Okay, okay, we were there to buy pot. Gordon (not his real name) was the dealer, and he was very organized and surprisingly strict.... Read More →

  Today, the desire to control—in both public and private spheres—seems to be intensifying. Consider the pandemic. When it began, the public-health establishment told us the goal was to “stop the spread,” suggesting that officials believed they could control the virus by... Read More →