Oct 4, 2019

The Fate Of Refugee Families Is In America’s Hands

A modern-day kindertransport could reunite thousands of refugee children with their parents, writes Sasha Chanoff. But Trump's drastic cuts to the refugee resettlement program will deny those essential reunions.

"Today, more and more millennials are considering not having kids at all," writes Amy Blackstone. (Fritz Bielmeir/Unsplash)

Choosing To Be Childfree

Oct 4, 2019

In this December 6, 2016 photo, Texas A&M student Harsimran Singh, from India, signs a message board at an event in College Station, Texas. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Will Populism Win? Don't Bet On It

Oct 3, 2019

President Donald Trump talks with reporters after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Stop Psychoanalyzing The President

Oct 2, 2019

Support the news

My Wife Died Of An Asthma Attack. If She'd Known About 'Peak Week,' She Might Have Survived

Choosing To Be Childfree

Heavy Meddle: Help! My Husband Can't Stand My Parents, And Now It's Affecting Our Marriage

Is America Heading For Another Civil War?

Boston Should Make It More Expensive To Drive

The Case For Eating Oysters — Even If You're A Vegan

In Case You Missed It

'Do I Have To Leave Now?': Our Foster Care System Makes It Too Easy To Give Up On Kids

Sep 9, 2019

This image released by CBS shows Chanel Miller during an interview on "60 Minutes," airing on Sept. 22. ("60 Minutes"/CBS via AP)

Chanel Miller And The New Power Of Women's Words

Sep 17, 2019

A little boy holds his father's hand at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas. The father and son are from Honduras. (Courtesy)

Finding Hope And Humanity At The Border

Sep 5, 2019

President Donald Trump calls out as he arrives to speak at the 2019 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

America Has Become A Kleptocracy. Does Anybody Care?

Sep 11, 2019

On Air Commentaries

Laura Levis, pictured at Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Mass. (Courtesy of Peter DeMarco)

My Wife Died Of An Asthma Attack. If She'd Known About 'Peak Week,' She Might Have Survived

02:39Sep 18, 2019

My 12-year-old, Elsa (pictured), is now using "they" pronouns, writes Jane Roper. So far, people have been very supportive. But many also add, with varying degrees of consternation, that they just have trouble with the fact that "they" is a plural. (Courtesy)

'They' Is Here To Stay. Get Over It

02:22Aug 13, 2019

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photo beside the U.S. flag on the moon. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP)

The Fleeting Hope And Wonder Of Man On The Moon

02:35Jul 18, 2019

Last Thursday morning, Kanwar Singh, pictured here, was in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, when a woman yelled, "Go back to your country!" (Courtesy)

My Response To The Woman Who Told Me To 'Go Back'

03:40Jul 22, 2019

Politics

Oct 1, 2019

Refugee Resettlement Is Not A Partisan Issue

The Trump administration's decision to slash refugee admissions is a shocking act that will have reverberations around the world for years to come, writes Abby Maxman.

The sun rises over Main Street in Lula, Ga., in Hall County, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. (David Goldman/AP)

The Recession Still Isn't Over — For Men

Sep 30, 2019

In this Sept. 9, 2019 photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with Attorney General William Barr. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Trump Is Bad. Barr Is Worse

Sep 27, 2019

Drew Carey, the host of "The Price Is Right," with contestants. ("The Price Is Right"/Facebook)

'The Price Is Right': An Unexpected Oasis Of Peace And Harmony

Sep 27, 2019

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is surrounded by reporters as she arrives to meet with her caucus the morning after declaring she will launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Nancy Pelosi's Long Game

Sep 26, 2019

Support the news

More From Cog

U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, left, and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, during a 2017 rally (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

I'm A Millennial Voter And I Support Ed Markey

Comparing the progressive bona fides of incumbent Sen. Markey and his challenger, Rep. Joe Kennedy.

Sep 25, 2019

A red-winged blackbird sings while on a fence post on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 in Brookfield, Vt. (Toby Talbot/AP)

Bye, Bye Blackbird. And Sparrow. And Finch

The number of birds in North America has declined by 3 billion over the last 50 years.

Sep 25, 2019

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi at the InterContinental Barclay hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, in New York. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Trump's Smoke Screen Fails. At Last

Trump is returning to his 2016 playbook, writes Steve Almond, desperately shopping a conspiracy theory so voters will overlook his own moral rot. But the media isn't falling for it...

Sep 24, 2019

In this Dec. 3, 2018 file photo, migrants are escorted by a U.S. Border Patrol agent as they are detained after climbing over the border wall from Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, to San Ysidro, Calif. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)

There’s Nothing Ordinary About Dismantling The U.S. Asylum System

The Supreme Court's decision to allow drastic changes to asylum law threatens to shred the already weakened belief that the Court is a neutral arbiter rather than a political animal.

Sep 24, 2019

Tatiana Schlossberg pictured at Zion National Park in Utah, May 2019. (Courtesy)

On Climate Guilt, 2020, And Why Your Jeans Are Bad For The Environment: 5 Questions With Tatiana Schlossberg

The former New York Times science reporter (and Kennedy family scion) is out with a new book that illustrates how everything in our lives comes back to the climate --...

Sep 20, 2019

The author speaking at an event near the Massachusetts State House in June 2019. (Courtesy Eben Bein for Our Climate)

The Words Of One Young Climate Activist: 'We Cannot Consider Ourselves Separate From The Natural World'

In 12 years, I will be 27 years old, writes Izzy Goodrich. I will not yet have experienced three full decades on Earth before it begins its irreversible decline.

Sep 20, 2019

In this July 27, 2018, file photo, the Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo. (J. David Ake/AP)

The Hundreds Of Ways Trump Has Trampled Science

It's time to hold our leaders accountable for suppressing, denying, censoring and otherwise sidelining science, write Rachel Licker and Andrew Rosenberg.

Sep 19, 2019

View of American Legion Playground from the Condor Street Urban Wild Park along the Chelsea Creek. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The Injustice Of Climate Change

Boston is failing to implement the climate policies we know are right, to the detriment of some of the state's poorest and most vulnerable residents, write Roseann Bongiovanni and John...

Sep 18, 2019

Pro-EU supporters hold signs during a demonstration outside a meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in Luxembourg, Sept. 16, 2019. (Olivier Matthys/AP)

Republicans Don't Have To Be Trump Sycophants

Republicans fear Donald Trump more than the people they are supposed to represent, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. Boris Johnson hasn’t been so lucky.

Sep 18, 2019

Swedish youth climate activist Greta Thunberg, center in blue, joins other young climate activists Friday for a climate strike outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (Susan Walsh/AP)

The Moral Case For Fighting Climate Change

I’m willing to entertain wild possibilities, writes Frederick Hewett, as long as the youth of the world are willing to speak truth to power.

Sep 17, 2019

Todd Miller stands next to solar panels on the roof of his solar installation business in Ankeny, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

We Need More Than Campaign Slogans To Decarbonize The U.S.

It’s time to get serious about investing in the technologies that will move America from righteous rhetoric to a net-zero carbon future, writes Philip Warburg.

Sep 16, 2019

Democratic presidential candidates are introduced for the Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by ABC on the campus of Texas Southern University Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Houston. (Eric Gay/AP)

A Report Card For Every Candidate From The Third Democratic Debate

The top 10 Democratic candidates faced off in Houston on Thursday night. Joanna Weiss graded their performances.

Sep 13, 2019

Felicity Huffman arrives at federal court Monday, May 13, 2019, in Boston. (Steven Senne/AP)

Alumni Privilege In College Admissions Isn’t Worth The Attention It’s Getting

Fretting over whom the relative handful of elite universities admit needlessly sucks oxygen from the debate we should be having, writes Rich Barlow.

Sep 12, 2019

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Then Trump Came For The Scientists

The Hurricane Dorian controversy would be a tempest in a teacup if only the ramifications weren’t so consequential, writes H.L.M. Lee. When we don’t know whom to believe, we believe...

Sep 11, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker speaks at the Iowa Federation of Labor convention, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, in Altoona, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

The Climate Crisis Deserves Everything We've Got. Nuclear Power, Too

Democrats running for president call climate change an 'existential crisis,' writes Rich Barlow, but most have excluded nuclear power from their plans. It’s another case of fiddling while the Earth...

Sep 10, 2019

A Bahama's Army officer registers the people prior boarding a ferry to Nassau at the Port in Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island, Bahamas, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. The Bahamian health ministry said helicopters and boats are on the way to help people in affected areas, though officials warned of delays because of severe flooding and limited access. (Fernando Llano/AP)

After Hurricane Dorian, We Get A Glimpse Of Ecofascism

As climate change and weather disasters drive more desperate people to our borders, writes Miles Howard, it's incumbent upon us to decide how we will respond to this unprecedented humanitarian...

Sep 10, 2019

President Trump talks about Hurricane Dorian to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (Evan Vucci/AP)

What If President Trump Is In Cognitive Decline? No, Seriously

If you examine the Trump presidency through the lens of cognitive decline, writes Steve Almond, some of its more bewildering aspects start to make a lot more sense.

Sep 6, 2019

The Art of Being Alert

In my experience, writes Julie Wittes Schlack, a state of alertness characterizes the most refreshing vacations -- not self-indulgence, but self-abandonment, not activity so much as receptivity.

Sep 6, 2019

Mariela and Gary Sanchez, and their son Jonathan, entered the U.S. in 2016 on tourist visas. Sixteen-year-old Jonathan gets treatment for cystic fibrosis at Boston Children’s Hospital. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

What Deporting Sick Immigrants Says About America

Humanity is not part of the Trump administration's agenda, writes Wendy E. Parmet.

Sep 4, 2019

'Some Of Us Might Not Make It Out Alive': A Letter To My Students About School Shootings

As students return from summer vacation, high school teacher Stephen Lane is reflecting on his frustration at our nation's apparent inability to address the epidemic of gun violence.

Sep 3, 2019

BBC Newsday

The Fate Of Refugee Families Is In America’s Hands

Choosing To Be Childfree

Will Populism Win? Don't Bet On It

Stop Psychoanalyzing The President

My Wife Died Of An Asthma Attack. If She'd Known About 'Peak Week,' She Might Have Survived

Choosing To Be Childfree

Heavy Meddle: Help! My Husband Can't Stand My Parents, And Now It's Affecting Our Marriage

Is America Heading For Another Civil War?

Boston Should Make It More Expensive To Drive

The Case For Eating Oysters — Even If You're A Vegan

'Do I Have To Leave Now?': Our Foster Care System Makes It Too Easy To Give Up On Kids

Chanel Miller And The New Power Of Women's Words

Finding Hope And Humanity At The Border

America Has Become A Kleptocracy. Does Anybody Care?

My Wife Died Of An Asthma Attack. If She'd Known About 'Peak Week,' She Might Have Survived

'They' Is Here To Stay. Get Over It

The Fleeting Hope And Wonder Of Man On The Moon

My Response To The Woman Who Told Me To 'Go Back'

Refugee Resettlement Is Not A Partisan Issue

The Recession Still Isn't Over — For Men

Trump Is Bad. Barr Is Worse

'The Price Is Right': An Unexpected Oasis Of Peace And Harmony

Nancy Pelosi's Long Game

I'm A Millennial Voter And I Support Ed Markey

Bye, Bye Blackbird. And Sparrow. And Finch

Trump's Smoke Screen Fails. At Last

There’s Nothing Ordinary About Dismantling The U.S. Asylum System

On Climate Guilt, 2020, And Why Your Jeans Are Bad For The Environment: 5 Questions With Tatiana Schlossberg

The Words Of One Young Climate Activist: 'We Cannot Consider Ourselves Separate From The Natural World'

The Hundreds Of Ways Trump Has Trampled Science

The Injustice Of Climate Change

Republicans Don't Have To Be Trump Sycophants

The Moral Case For Fighting Climate Change

We Need More Than Campaign Slogans To Decarbonize The U.S.

A Report Card For Every Candidate From The Third Democratic Debate

Alumni Privilege In College Admissions Isn’t Worth The Attention It’s Getting

Then Trump Came For The Scientists

The Climate Crisis Deserves Everything We've Got. Nuclear Power, Too

After Hurricane Dorian, We Get A Glimpse Of Ecofascism

What If President Trump Is In Cognitive Decline? No, Seriously

The Art of Being Alert

What Deporting Sick Immigrants Says About America

'Some Of Us Might Not Make It Out Alive': A Letter To My Students About School Shootings