Monthly Reading List: July 2025
A curated selection of the best articles, essays, and commentary from the past month.
The Monthly Reading List is a curated roundup of the best articles, essays, and commentary I’ve read over the past month. Some are sharp takes on current events; others are longform reporting and essays that lingered in my mind. But all are pieces that shaped my thinking, offered fresh perspective, or simply stood out from the rest. This isn’t an exhaustive list—it’s a reflection of the writing that made me pause, think, and sometimes rethink. I hope they do the same for you.
Note: Some articles may be behind a paywall. I’ll do my best to share gift links whenever I can.
After a Mayor’s Mysterious Death, a Land Dispute Divides Republicans in Tennessee — Cameron McWhirter, The Wall Street Journal
A contentious land-use battle has erupted in Coffee County, Tennessee, after the 2024 mysterious death of its pro‑growth mayor, Judd Matheny. The county, experiencing rapid suburban expansion, is now split between those supporting new zoning restrictions—to preserve farmland and community character—and developers and landowners pushing for large subdivision projects. The dispute reflects broader conservative tensions: rural preservationists emphasize traditional values and cautious growth, while pro‑development factions argue for property rights and economic opportunity. This is a great supplement to my own piece, How the Politics of Growth Transcend the Left-Right Divide, published earlier this month.
Why a Trump-Appointed Judge Is Torching His Own Court's Approach to Qualified Immunity — Billy Binion, Reason
Judge James C. Ho of the 5th Circuit is widely viewed as a prospective Supreme Court nominee. This explores a powerful concurrence issued by Judge Ho, criticizing his own court’s overly restrictive use of qualified immunity. In a recent case involving a Texas school officer who removed a child without a warrant, Ho argued the government’s defense relied on dubious precedent and that the 5th Circuit routinely blocks accountability—even in “obvious” constitutional violations like censoring student speech, jailing a citizen journalist, or inhumane prison conditions. His concurrence warns this trend will undermine public trust and contradicts Supreme Court rulings, which have repeatedly rebuked the 5th Circuit for creating too high a bar for victims to sue. The article is a fascinating exploration into the mind of a judge who very well may find himself on the nation’s highest court—and who is willing to challenge his own circuit’s orthodoxy from within.
How the Transgender Rights Movement Bet on the Supreme Court and Lost — Nicholas Confessore, New York Magazine
A gripping account of the innerworkings of United States v. Skrmetti, the recent Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld Tennessee’s law restricting access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The piece offers a rare glimpse into the legal arguments, political maneuvering, and cultural undercurrents that shaped the decision, painting a sobering picture of how rapidly the landscape for trans rights is shifting in the courts. At once enthralling and damning, it reveals the stakes of the case not just for Tennessee, but for the broader trajectory of LGBTQ+ protections nationwide.
A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into the London Underworld — Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker
This riveting account of a modest teenager’s spiral into the shadowy depths of London’s criminal underworld is less a tale of crime than a haunting portrait of vulnerability and the intoxicating power of perception. At its core, it’s a heart-wrenching reminder of the all-too-human impulse to exaggerate, to seek validation, to be seen—and of how easily youthful bravado can eclipse foresight. The article doesn’t aim to impart a grand moral or reveal new truths, but it grips you nonetheless—not because it’s enlightening, but because it’s so unflinchingly honest and disturbingly compelling.
A developer promised a supermarket for a new neighborhood. Now it can’t deliver. — Paul Kiefer, The Washington Post
This in-depth report chronicles a decade of legal and logistical hurdles surrounding the McMillan Reservoir redevelopment in Northwest D.C. While focused on a single project, it illuminates the broader challenge of aligning community wish lists with market realities: a 55,000-square-foot grocery store once promised has become untenable amid pandemic-driven shifts and nearby competition. It’s a case study in how even well-intentioned public-private partnerships can buckle under legal delays, economic headwinds, and the hard truth that not every amenity promised can be profitably delivered.
The story has local relevance, too. A full-service grocery store was floated early in discussions about the mixed-use development surrounding Knoxville’s Covenant Health Park—an idea that remains little more than a talking point and may never materialize. It is yet another reminder that promises made during the planning process can prove difficult to deliver when market forces—and time—intervene.
In case you missed it, I published two new articles in July.
The first, “How the Politics of Growth Transcend the Left-Right Divide,” explores how zoning and land use debates are reshaping political alliances, creating surprising fractures within both parties.
The second, “Does D.R. Horton Do More Harm Than Good?,” examines the complicated impact of America’s largest homebuilder. While D.R. Horton has played a major role in expanding affordability, its uniform, sprawling developments often provoke intense backlash—fueling opposition that can ultimately constrain future housing supply.
That’s it for this month. If you read something that challenged, moved, or inspired you recently, I’d love to hear about it—drop it in the comments or shoot me a message. And if you found this roundup useful, feel free to share it with someone else who might enjoy it too.