Here are some of our editors’ and reviewers’ top picks so far this year for policy and political nonfiction.

The Secret Monopoly Making Everything More Expensive

A two-decade fight with monopoly power in the payment system has arrived at a moment of truth, boiling down to one simple question: Will the courts bless price-fixing? Let’s hope not. Last week, Demand Progress, American Economic Liberties Project, Consumer Reports, and Small Business Majority asked a federal court to reject a proposed antitrust settlement that would bless the Visa-Mastercard duopoly in credit-card payment services. The case, officially known as In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, grew out of a grievance merchants and consumers have nursed for decades that has curdled into something worse over…

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by Carter Dougherty September 23, 2026September 23, 2026