Senior Gaming Stars, Prison Currencies, and an Economist Goes to Burning Man

Older People Are Embracing Video Games. For Some, That Means Stardom.

Kalhan Rosenblatt | NBC News | Tweeted by Jennifer Huddleston

Seniors across the country are playing video games for social interaction and cognitive stimulation, and streaming their experience. 

China's Manufacturing Job Losses Are Not What They Seem

Nicholas R. Lardy | Peterson Institute for International Economics | Tweeted by Christine McDaniel

While President Trump’s assertion that China lost 5 million jobs is technically correct, the data paints a more complicated picture.

From Pecan Pralines to ‘Dots’ as Currency: How the Prison Economy Works

Richard Davies | The Guardian | Shared by Tyler Cowen

Louisiana’s only maximum-security jail, and the largest in the country, holds an innovative, complex, and modern system of secret trade that offers an important lesson about economics.

Schools Pushed for Tech in Every Classroom. Now Parents Are Pushing Back.

Betsy Morris and Tawnell D. Hobbs | The Wall Street Journal | Tweeted by Brent Skorup

While technology has disrupted the traditional education system, many parents and teachers in Baltimore County, Maryland are wondering if it was a good idea after academic results mostly slipped.

How a Trump Tax Break to Help Poor Communities Became a Windfall for the Rich

Jesse Drucker and Eric Lipton | The New York Times | Retweeted by Veronique de Rugy

The tax break had the stated goal to help funnel funds into low-income areas known as opportunity zones, but has the potential to be a handout to wealthy developers and financiers.

The Most Dangerous Thing about the Amazon Fires Is the Apocalyptic Rhetoric

Matt Ridley | Spectator USA | Shared by Donald Boudreaux

Soccer players, politicians, and musicians have posted about the Amazon fires (sometimes with photos from decades ago), but they could be doing more harm than good.

America's Largest Asteroid Impact Left a Trail of Destruction across the Eastern United States

Brandon Specktor | Space.com | Tweeted by Robert Graboyes

About 35 million years ago, an asteroid carved out the large crater in the United States, now under the basement of the Chesapeake Bay. Scientists are studying the site to learn more about the impact.

A Nobel-Winning Economist Goes to Burning Man

Emily Badger | The New York Times | Tweeted by Alex Tabarrok

Could Burning Man be a template for future urban planning? Nobel laureate Paul Romer attended the festival to find out.