Hillary Clinton was not the only American who went work with an illness that should have kept her at home. Nearly a quarter of US adults have been fired or threatened with termination for taking time off to recover from illness or to care for a sick loved one – a sharp contrast with their European peers. The BBC explores this societal distinction.

The eye-popping improvement in economic fortunes last year raises the question: If incomes are up and poverty is down, why is Donald J. Trump’s message of economic decay resonating so broadly?

The rich were meant to have the most leisure time. The working poor were meant to have the least. The opposite is happening. Why?

Political discourse is becoming increasingly destructive by the desire to be entertained. In the author’s view, Plato lamented the same “wretched theatrokratia,” rule by the theater, and a society on the cusp of tyranny.