Nick Paleologos

Producer, public official

If Emerson isn’t up to the challenge of owning a cultural landmark in the Athens of America, then they should step aside and let someone else do it.

Emerson College Take Heed: The Colonial Theatre Matters

Plans to transform the historic Boston landmark into a part-time cafeteria are meeting sharp criticism. In this photo, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright Edward Albee poses in front of the Colonial Theatre on March 9, 1976 . (AP)

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Arts

Education

Opinion

Sooner or later even his harshest critics will have to grudgingly admit that Barack Obama was considerably more than simply America's first black president.

If Hillary does become the first woman elected president of the United States, and is even half as successful as Obama, it may be a very long time before America sends another white male to White House.

Taking Stock Of The Obama Presidency

On his way out the door, when most second term presidents are pouring over design details for their  libraries, Barack Obama is still hard at work. In this photo, the president walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

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Politics

Election 2016

Middle East

race

Security

How much longer must we wait for John Boehner to transform himself from a leader in name to a leader in fact?

John Boehner And Lessons In Do-Nothing Leadership

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio responds to reporters about the problems in passing the Homeland Security budget because of Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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policy

By doing something so basic, so seemingly obvious, as putting each story in its historical context, Rachel stands absolutely alone among network news anchors.

...Maddow actually cares more about getting it right than about being right. She believes the facts should shape her opinion, not the other way around.

Rachel Maddow: Best New Thing In The World Today

Nick Paleologos: "Rachel Maddow knows how to tell the whole story, which is what true journalism is all about." Pictured: Rachel Maddow, host of The Rachel Maddow Show. (Chris Pizzello/AP)

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Media

Dr. Jane Chu ((Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts)

doubling down on the artist as truth-teller is the single most important thing the NEA can and should be doing.

Why Government Should Support The Arts

Aerial dancers rehearse while suspended on ropes on the wall of the Old Post Office Pavilion, home to the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

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at least have the plain old-fashioned American decency to acknowledge that those huge salaries are made possible because of a taxpayer-supported infrastructure.

The real problem comes when seemingly reasonable guys like John Elway start popping off about people on Social Security, or Medicare, or unemployment assistance, or public pensions.

John Elway Doesn't Believe In Safety Nets — But Here's Why He Should

Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway  answers a question during media day for the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Newark, N.J. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

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Sports

The major obstacle to progress in America is the annoying tendency of our political leaders to speak in useless generalities.

<strong>Listen</strong>: Hard Times And Polarized Politics (<em>On Point</em>, 1/24/13)

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If politicians actually got down to the specifics of almost any major public policy issue, party labels and political ideologies would magically give way to good old fashion common sense.

The Truth Behind The Partisan Divide In American Politics

Nick Paleologos: Generally speaking, we hate each other. Specifically, we agree on pretty much everything.
In this photo, the leaders of Congress, from left, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stand together on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Members of Congress stand for the national anthem during a ceremony to remember the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. From left to right are House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Steny Hoyer

Commentary

America built a 20th century economic juggernaut on the backs of land grant colleges, the G.I. Bill, and an unshakable belief in free, public education as a right of citizenship. But that was in a previous century, when we bought stuff with pay increases instead of payday loans.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, college education in the United States of America must never be a function of 'wealth, birth, or other accidental condition or circumstance.'

Student Debt Crisis: College Is A Necessity — Not A Commodity

As student debt continues to rise, it threatens to to hobble borrowers and the economy for years to come. How did we get here? It’s certainly not what our founding fathers had in mind. (thisisbossi/flickr)

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Economy

I mean really, is preserving the filibuster more important than making even a little progress?

Stop everything. Force a national conversation on why, in the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” a simple majority isn’t enough to get anything done?

It’s Time To Kill The Filibuster. Let’s Filibuster It.

The last time the filibuster was used responsibly: Actor Jimmy Stewart in a scene from the 1939 film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." (Columbia/AP)

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Stories on Election 2012 candidates and races, including the Massachusetts Senate race.

Election 2012

To save capitalism from itself, FDR introduced what turned out to be the crucial missing ingredient: compassion.

America’s social safety net was never viewed as the cause of eye-popping deficits until a radical group of political nihilists ... decided that the best way to kill the compassion in capitalism was to stubbornly refuse to pay for it...

The Case For Compassionate Capitalism

People gather outside of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on "Black Thursday," Oct. 24, 1929. Thousands of investors lost their savings in the worst stock market crash in Wall Street history on Oct. 29, 1929, after a five-day frenzy of heavy trading. (AP)

People gather outside of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on "Black Thursday,"  Oct. 24, 1929. Thousands of investors lost their savings in the worst stock market crash in Wall Street history on Oct. 29, 1929, after a five-day frenzy of heavy trading. (AP)

Nick Paleologos

Recently published

Emerson College Take Heed: The Colonial Theatre Matters

Cognoscenti

Taking Stock Of The Obama Presidency

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John Boehner And Lessons In Do-Nothing Leadership

Cognoscenti

Rachel Maddow: Best New Thing In The World Today

Cognoscenti

Why Government Should Support The Arts

Cognoscenti

John Elway Doesn't Believe In Safety Nets — But Here's Why He Should

Cognoscenti

The Truth Behind The Partisan Divide In American Politics

Cognoscenti

Student Debt Crisis: College Is A Necessity — Not A Commodity

Cognoscenti

It’s Time To Kill The Filibuster. Let’s Filibuster It.

Cognoscenti

The Case For Compassionate Capitalism

Cognoscenti