Mediterranean mailbag

The Threads Era, integrated cost-benefit, and learning from traveling

Greetings from the French Riviera, where we’re closing out our summer vacation but still finding time to answer some questions.

Some good news: Turkey has flip-flopped and agreed to Sweden joining NATO. Scientists’ ability to predict volcanic eruptions is improving, permitting reform is back on the congressional menu for later this summer, WMATA ridership is recovering, and a recession is becoming less likely. This is not per se news, but I found it charming to learn that Mark Rutte, who’s been prime minister of the Netherlands for the past 13 years, teaches social studies once a week at a high school in The Hague as a hobby and his plan now that he’s stepping down is to teach more. Relatedly, K-12 school funding in the United States has become more much egalitarian over the past 20 years.

Taylor: Does Eric Adams being a huge dumbass spell trouble for the sensible, moderate wing of the Democratic party?

It’s not ideal. A highly effective, moderate African American mayor of America’s …