Economist Political Editor Adrian Wooldridge

Going to America Is Like a Shot of Cultural and Intellectual Adrenaline

Adrian Wooldridge is the political editor and “Bagehot” columnist at the Economist. In advance of the Zócalo event, “Is There Still Merit in a Merit-Based System?,” which was inspired by his latest book, The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, he chatted in the green room about pandemic productivity, his inability to quit chocolate, and what he’d study if he could go back to school today.

How My Parents’ Wartime Gamble on Greyhounds Paid Off

The Sentimental Journey of My WWII Childhood Mixed Dog Racing with an Idyllic Life on the Road

The greyhound racing tracks were like big shiny carnivals, but I could only see them from the outside. Kids weren’t allowed in where people were gambling. Sometimes mother took …

Why Do Americans Put Pets, Not Their Owners, on Trial?

The Bizarre History Behind Our Current Canine Legal System Is Full of Rats, Pigs, and Moles

When a Japanese Akita named Taro bit the lip of a 10-year-old New Jersey girl in 1991, police seized the dog and a judge ordered him destroyed. Taro’s owners appealed …

Are Black Dogs Unadoptable?

Rescue Shelters Perpetuate a False Belief that Dark-Coated Animals Are Unwanted

It’s easy to mistake Ozzie as ferocious. His teeth are jagged ivory. His fur is dark as night. But his eyes are the true windows into his soul. Warm, brown, …

Dogs Get Dementia, Too

Our Canine Companions Are Living Longer—and Facing the Same Challenges as Humans

Zeigfield waddled, rather than walked, into my examination room. I had been seeing this obese Dachshund at my veterinary hospital for most of his 17 years, treating many of the …

When Rabid Dogs Roamed the Streets of L.A.

Seventy-Five Years Ago, Rabies Was a Public Health Menace. Its Eradication Is a Public Health Triumph.

In 1937 you could take a Red Car from Pomona all the way to Venice Beach. City Hall was the tallest building in L.A. The Los Angeles Bulldogs won every …