Articles and OP Eds (Selected)
“How sports betting took over March madness”
TIME, March 20, 2025
“Do the GDP and Dow Reflect American Well-Being?”
Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2024 (with Jacob S. Hacker)
“Many Americans Believe the Economy is Rigged”
New York Times, February 21, 2024 (with Katherine J. Cramer)
“The $1 billion Powerball jackpot exposed the prevalence of lottery ads”
Washington Post, July 20, 2023
“Lotteries remain popular in Black communities because they give hope”
Washington Post, January 13, 2023
“Why the Powerball Keeps Getting More Ludicrous”
Slate, November 8, 2022
“The intertwined history of state lotteries and convenience stores”
Oxford University Press Blog, October 11, 2022
“High ticket prices cast doubt on Springsteen’s values and bond with fans”
Washington Post, August 10, 2022
“Why the Myth of the Miserable Lottery Winner Just Won’t Die”
Slate, July 30, 2022
“Sports Gambling Could be the Pandemic’s Biggest Winner”
Washington Post, February 5, 2021
“Mass. Should Suspend Lottery Ticket Sales”
Commonwealth, May 14, 2020
“Why Bruce Springsteen is the Soundtrack of the 2020 Primary”
Washington Post, September 23, 2019
“How Lottery Money Helped Build the United States”
Vox, October 24, 2018
“Lottery is Robin Hood in Reverse”
Commonwealth, October 20, 2018
“How ‘80s Excess Fueled Today’s MegaMillions Mania”
Washington Post, October 19, 2018
“Delaware Just Became the First State to Legalize Sports Gambling. Why That’s Likely to be a Bad Bet”
Washington Post, June 5, 2018
“The Democratic Program that Killed Liberalism”
Washington Post, March 28, 2018
“The U.S. Has a Lottery Problem. But It’s Not the People Buying Tickets”
Washington Post, September 13, 2017
“Money, Politics, and the Arizona Lottery”
We’re History, January 7, 2016 (with Caitlin Flanagan)
“The History of Multi-State Lottery Games”
Backstory, May 13, 2016
“Powerball and the American Culture of Inequality”
Public Seminar, March 7, 2016
“The Case for a Federally Run Powerball”
The Hill, January 13, 2016