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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Los Angeles
How much confidence should you place in hidden earthquake compliance inside LA’s speculative real estate market?
Dan Luu writes: “If you talk to trades in Vancouver about how this works, the builders give contractors timelines and budgets that are impossible to meet without severely cutting corners. It is also the case that their buildings often have … Continue reading
Posted in Earthquakes, Los Angeles
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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the battle for authority at the Los Angeles Times
Journalists, editors, and executives at the Los Angeles Times do not compete for authority by saying they want power. They compete by invoking languages of The Voice of L.A., Holding City Hall Accountable, Serious California Journalism, Telling the Story of … Continue reading
Posted in Journalism, Los Angeles
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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Valley Village Orthodox Jewish Authority
Orthodox Jews in and around Valley Village in the San Fernando Valley do not compete for authority by saying they want power. They compete by invoking moral languages that frame their authority as faithfulness to halachic observance, loyalty to family-centered … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles, Orthodoxy
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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Fairfax / La Brea Orthodox Jewish Authority
Orthodox Jews in the Fairfax / La Brea neighborhood do not compete for authority by saying they want power. They compete by invoking moral languages that frame their authority as fidelity to halacha, loyalty to Torah life, or responsibility for … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles, Orthodoxy
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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Los Angeles Acting Authority
Los Angeles acting teachers do not compete for authority by openly saying they want power. They compete by invoking moral languages that frame their authority as fidelity to emotional truth, loyalty to authentic technique, or responsibility for turning students into … Continue reading
Posted in Acting, Los Angeles
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The Governance Protection Industrial Complex: Alliance Theory and the Scandal Machine in Los Angeles
Powerful people in Los Angeles do not bury scandals because they are bad people. They bury scandals because the institutions they love teach them to treat scandal as a threat to legitimacy, coalition stability, and control. Once that frame takes … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles
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The 340B Battleground: Alliance Theory and the War Over Pharmaceutical Revenue in Los Angeles
Players in Los Angeles’s HIV and STD response do not compete for authority by openly saying they want control over the billions in pharmaceutical revenue that flow through the 340B Drug Pricing Program. They compete by invoking moral languages that … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles
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The Homeless Services Industrial Complex: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Billions in Los Angeles
High-status actors in Los Angeles’s homelessness response do not compete for authority by openly saying they want control over billions in taxpayer dollars. They compete by invoking moral languages that frame their authority as advancing compassion, equity, housing as a … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles
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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Power in Los Angeles
Los Angeles elites do not compete for power by openly claiming it. They compete by invoking moral languages that frame their authority as necessary for equity, growth, safety, or livability. This is the central insight of David Pinsof‘s Alliance Theory. … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles
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LA’s Rival Rabbinic Courts (Batei Din)
Per Alliance Theory: Rabbinical Council of California: Serves as an established Orthodox beis din offering Jewish court services including conversions, gittin (divorce), marriage, arbitration, halachic documents and wills. It includes dayanim recognized for orthodox halachic rulings in the LA community. … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles, RCC
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