In the annals of American political history, few figures have been described with as much backhanded reverence as Lincoln Steffens. To the corrupt political bosses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries—men who treated city treasuries as personal bank accounts—Steffens was a "born crook that’s gone straight." This peculiar endorsement from the underworld of […]

If you have ever checked your smartphone to see if you have earned enough digital "stars" for a free latte, or scanned a plastic key fob at the grocery store to unlock a discount on milk, you are participating in a consumer ritual that traces its lineage back to a nearly forgotten paper empire. Long […]