Janna Malamud Smith

Psychotherapist, writer

The 9/11 numbers, although far too large, are tiny beside the real death wake of the day. 

The numbers are brain-numbing ... Our minds flatten them, dry them into desiccated leaves and breezes blow them out of consciousness.

The True Toll Of 9/11

Emal Ahmadi shows a photo of his family member who was killed during a U.S. drone strike on their home, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2021. Ahmadi says Sunday's U.S. drone strike killed 10 members of his family, six of them children. Senior U.S. military officials said the drone strike hit an Islamic State target. (Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi/AP)

Afghanistan Drones Troubled Targets

Commentary

WBUR's complete coverage of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

20th Anniversary Of 9/11

Crime & Justice

News

Opinion

Politics

My Mother Was More Than Either Of Us Knew

The author's mother, as a child, with her mother circa 1920. (Courtesy)

janna 1

Life

How did I become white? I felt startled by the question, then new to me. What did she mean?   

In social work school, I learned about structural racism, but not its centrality, nor really about much about how it benefited me.

'When Did You Become White?': The Question All 'White' Americans Must Answer

Julia Mapilisan spray paints "Black Lives Matter" on a wall as people gather at Lents Park in Portland, Oregon, on September 5, 2020, to mark the 100th day of protests denouncing police brutality and racism. (Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)

US-POLITICS-RACISM-POLICE

Boston

Trump's supporters adore him because by insisting that a broad range of human behaviors are acceptable, he makes them feel understood, and not ashamed. 

[T]he changes have been accompanied by an unintentional oozing sense of superiority in those of us who have bought in to this newer vision of what’s OK and what’s not. 

Never Underestimate The Power Of Saying 'I Like You Just The Way You Are'

Supporters of US President Donald Trump wait to see him to leave Trump National Golf Club on November 22, 2020 in Sterling, Virginia. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

President Trump Golfs On Sunday

Donald Trump

The WBUR Newsroom's 2020 election coverage

Election 2020

I am unimportant as one person. But multiplied by many, my turning away is the casual gesture that can kill a moment and a movement.

Turning Away From The Pain Of This Moment Is A Privilege. Instead, Turn Your Discomfort Into Action

Thousands of people gathered during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest against racism and police violence at the Nelson Mandela Park in the Bijlmer district on June 10, 2020 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Paulo Amorim/Getty Images)

Black Lives Matter Protest In Amsterdam

WBUR's coverage of the anti-police brutality protests in America in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

Protests Against Police Brutality

Uncategorized

Maybe in all that’s upturned and difficult we can spot new hope for our future.

 Maybe the good moments now ... can remind us how much satisfaction can be found simply.

Maybe generosity can gain the upper hand and hold it for a while. 

When I Allow Myself To Hope, This Is The World I Imagine

A chalk rainbow is seen on a wall as a symbol of hope during the coronavirus lockdown in Leominster, Herefordshire on April 30, 2020. (Jim Wood/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Coronavirus Lockdown in Leominster

WBUR's ongoing coverage of the new coronavirus.

Novel Coronavirus

Economy

Environment

We might speculate, but we cannot know. And that is a real basis for hope.

We all know, but it’s good to remember over and over again, that participating in collective effort makes each of us feel less isolated and less disheartened.

A Progressive Activists’ Guide To 2020

In this Jan. 26, 2020, file photo, people cheer as democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa. (John Locher/AP)



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Commentary 

Science

I am afraid that her $20.5 trillion plan is akin to pouring herself a pair of cement boots.

... voters need more time to contemplate and decide whether generous ideas will harm them.

Elizabeth Warren's Cement Boots

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during her campaign Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. (Cheryl Senter/AP)

Election 2020 Elizabeth Warren

Health

Epstein and the mass murderers are two sides of the same patriarchal coin.

America Has A Patriarchy Problem

In this May 24, 2014 file photo, students stand next to a bouquet of flowers during a vigil held to honor the victims a mass killing at University of California, Santa Barbara. The shooter, Elliot Rodger, was said to have had hostility towards women. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Violence Against Women

... silently submitting to brutality in order to gain “safety” is a corrupt and insincere transaction

What Democrats Can Learn About 'Resistance' From Rosa Parks

A Montgomery (Ala.) Sheriff's Department booking photo of Rosa Parks taken Feb 22, 1956, after she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger.  (AP via Montgomery County Sheriff's office)

Janna Malamud Smith

Recently published

The True Toll Of 9/11

Cognoscenti

My Mother Was More Than Either Of Us Knew

Cognoscenti

'When Did You Become White?': The Question All 'White' Americans Must Answer

Cognoscenti

Never Underestimate The Power Of Saying 'I Like You Just The Way You Are'

Cognoscenti

Turning Away From The Pain Of This Moment Is A Privilege. Instead, Turn Your Discomfort Into Action

Cognoscenti

When I Allow Myself To Hope, This Is The World I Imagine

Cognoscenti

A Progressive Activists’ Guide To 2020

Cognoscenti

Elizabeth Warren's Cement Boots

Cognoscenti

America Has A Patriarchy Problem

Cognoscenti

What Democrats Can Learn About 'Resistance' From Rosa Parks

Cognoscenti