A year before the November election, we told you that a new Princeton University study had found a riveting explanation for the curious viability of a reality TV star turned Republican presidential candidate. From then:

This will sound more than a little gruesome, but if you want to explain Donald Trump, look no further than the increasing rates of suicide and death by drugs among white, middle-aged Americans.

On Thursday, those same two Princeton academics, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, were out with a sequel to their 2015 work, published on the Brookings website:

The combined effect means that mortality rates of whites with no more than a high school degree, which were around 30 percent lower than mortality rates of blacks in 1999, grew to be 30 percent higher than blacks by 2015.

Here’s the video with a more detailed explanation:

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In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com