Great Expectations (LA Times)
Imagine telling the members of an entire generation they could receive a free college education at any school that accepted them — Cal State, Harvard, the Sorbonne — courtesy of Uncle Sam. Throw in a monthly stipend and textbooks. After graduation, there are government-backed home loans, no money down — buy a house cheaper than renting. Throw in subsidized business loans, farm loans, job training, medical care and up to a year’s worth of unemployment checks.

What insane politician would ever propose such a costly boondoggle, such outright social engineering?

Nine Words (HuffingtonPost)
When Ronald Reagan convinced the nation that the nine most dangerous words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help, the Gipper knew better, even if his audience didn't...

The Art of Being There
“Grand Rounds” with Edward Humes at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, setting of Baby E.R. The author discusses how a journalist and author managed to spend a year immersed inside the confidentiality-obsessed world of medicine, grappling with practical, ethical, legal and scientific questions.

Juvenile Injustice
Can we solve youth violence by imprisoning kids in adult prison? The answer is simple: We’re asking the wrong question.

Narrative Nonfiction
An introduction to literary journalism, and must-reads of narrative nonfiction.

To Know is Not Enough
Edward Humes’ commencement speech at Hampshire College.

Medicine Man
How a backyard bio-warrior who worked for the CIA and apartheid South Africa almost unleashed a holocaust in suburban California — while the US government looked the other way. An article by Edward Humes, from Los Angeles Magazine

DA Blues
When do politics interfere with prosecution? Consider the case of a prominent physician accused of terrorist threats but represented by a politically connected attorney, and you'll see how justice is not necessarily blind. From an article by Edward Humes in Los Angeles Magazine.

Closing the Book
The final chapter in the Mississippi Mud saga, updating events in the book. From the Oxford American.

Bad Company
What do Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States have in common? They are the only nations in the world known to execute juvenile offenders. But the US may be poised to part company with the eye-for-an-eye, ayatollah approach to dealing with dangerous children ... Read more.

How the media covers—and doesn’t cover—prosecutorial misconduct.
From my 1999 address to the national conference of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

The Making of Jailhouse Lawyer
One man’s crusade against misconduct by prosecutors, fought from behind bars. Guess who came out on top? From Calfornia Lawyer Magazine.

Rage Against the Machine
The frustrations and rewards of a juvenile hall volunteer. From the author’s essay in the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

Stand and Deliver
When it comes to saving the lives of newborns, Dr. Lupe Padilla and her colleagues in Southern California’s busiest neonatal care unit are among the best in the nation.

A short history of juvenile court.