While it’s unclear yet whether the mass shooting in Las Vegas will lead to meaningful new gun regulations, past tragedies have resulted in little or no reform. That’s in part because of the tireless efforts of the NRA opposing any legislation that would restrict the rights of gun owners. But it’s also because the U.S. government has coddled gun makers with lucrative contracts since the early days of the republic, writes Brian DeLay, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley. “The American public,” he says,“has more power over the gun business than most people realize.”

American economist Richard Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for his pioneering work, which incorporates how human beings actually behave into economic thinking. Ohio State economist Jay Zagorsky explains who Thaler is and the significance of his ideas.

And on World Mental Health Day, philosopher Robert S. Colter brings forth lessons from Roman Stoic philosophers for those days when we lack the energy to get out of bed and face the world. Although, he adds, clinical depression is a more serious matter that needs professional help.