Running the numbers on autism, welfare reform, and exonerations

While you’re reading this, I will quasi-not exist.  (I’m on a plane to New Zealand, and, as a consequence of the International Date Line, I won’t have a Thursday this week).

I’m off to speak at the Eucharistic Convention in Auckland and do a Theology on Tap in Sydney. Next week. I’ll be running this year’s Ideological Turing Test (entries appearing MWF), so stay tuned.

In the meantime, here’s a rundown of what I’ve been covering for my new job at FiveThirtyEight:

Kansas Welfare Bill Would Cut Into Benefits With ATM Fees

The big problem with Kansas’s new restrictions is the way they force welfare recipients to make many small transactions, watching their balance be eaten away by fees

Better Forensics Aren’t Enough To Prevent Wrongful Death Sentences

Way fewer death penalty exonerations are due to DNA evidence than I expected

Mark Autism Awareness Month by Surveying People With Autism

This was my favorite piece I got to pitch and write – we tend to study just the biology of autism, not the experiences, needs, and desires of people with autism (particularly bad for autistic adults)

California Chases Easiest Water Savings, Not Biggest

I now have amount-of-water-used-by-LA-per-year as a rule of thumb when I hear stats on water.

Lame-Duck Presidents Tend To Offer More Clemency

There’s a end-of-term surge, but the size varies a lot (Clinton is biggest)

Obama Begins To Catch Up With Clemency Pleas

Obama has given way fewer pardons per application than other recent pardons (but he’s also expanded eligibility to apply)