What We’re Reading: October 15, 2015

An Oklahoma Execution Done Wrong (Atlantic)
by Matt Ford
“Oklahoma used the wrong drug to execute Charles Warner in January, according to autopsy records obtained by the The Oklahoman on Thursday.”

Victimhood is a real, brutal fact, and Ben Carson’s Holocaust logic denies that (Guardian)
Gayatri Devi
“The denial of “victimhood” to those who have suffered atrocities is one of the reasons Carson has traction with a particular group of voters rooting for him – and those who advocate for unfettered, unregulated gun ownership are just one part of that constituency.”

Would You Pull the Trolley Switch? Does It Matter? (Atlantic)
by Lauren Cassani Davis
“A runaway streetcar is hurtling towards five unsuspecting workers. Do you pull a switch to divert the trolley onto another track, where only one man works alone? Or do you do nothing? This haunting choice is a variation of the “trolley problem,” an iconic philosophical thought experiment.”

Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart? (Guardian)
by Jiyoung Song
“With the flow of information from North Korea fiercely controlled, outsiders have long relied on defector testimonies to gain an understanding of what goes on inside the secretive state. But relying on the anecdotes of individuals – all with different views and experiences – can also be risky.”

The Case for Getting Rid of Borders–Completely (Atlantic)
by Alex Tabarrok
“Not every place in the world is equally well-suited to mass economic activity. Nature’s bounty is divided unevenly. Variations in wealth and income created by these differences are magnified by governments that suppress entrepreneurship and promote religious intolerance, gender discrimination, or other bigotry. Closed borders compound these injustices, cementing inequality into place and sentencing their victims to a life of penury.”