In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

A pope named Leo wrote an encyclical focused on a technological and economic revolution upending labor, destabilizing the culture, and concentrating wealth and power in ways that threatened human dignity itself. “The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable,” he warned. The wealthy few were growing unimaginably powerful, while workers were being “surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hard-heartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition.” Society was fracturing and everyone was talking about it.