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Cognoscenti

George Yee Soon Woo, the author's grandfather, in 1956 or 1957. (Courtesy Margaret Woo)

May 31, 2023

100 years ago my grandfather emigrated from China. He never could have imagined a Mayor Wu

Even as we celebrate the rise of Asian American political power, writes Margaret Woo, anti-Asian sentiment smolders.

Malcolm Brogdon #13, Jaylen Brown #7, Jayson Tatum #0, Al Horford #42 and Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics talk against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

The role of luck — in hoops and life

May 31, 2023

A mural painted by artist Kenny Altidor depicting George Floyd is unveiled on a sidewall of CTown Supermarket on July 13, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

George Floyd’s murder ushered in big talk of equity and justice. 3 years later, this work is still a matter of life and death

May 30, 2023

Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

This one goes out to all the Taylor Swift parents

05:09May 26, 2023

Support the news

This one goes out to all the Taylor Swift parents

100 years ago my grandfather emigrated from China. He never could have imagined a Mayor Wu

Ron DeSantis laughed like a maniac with Iowa voters. It matters more than you think

Paul Simon was right about 70: how strange to become an ‘old friend’

George Floyd’s murder ushered in big talk of equity and justice. 3 years later, this work is still a matter of life and death

The role of luck — in hoops and life

In Case You Missed It

U.S. Army 3rd Division 3-7 Major Frank McClary (L) from Andrews, South Carolina, Cpt. Pat Sullivan (C) from Dumfries, Virginia and Captain John Whyte from Billerica, Mass. scout out the Iraqi side of the demilitarized zone March 19, 2003 from a position inside the Kuwaiti side of the DMZ in Northern Kuwait. (Scott Nelson/Getty Images)

Twenty years after the war in Iraq began, we have learned nothing

Mar 22, 2023

Commuters on an Orange Line train at Sullivan Square Station in April 2022. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The T opened up the world to me. Now it's stuck

Mar 20, 2023

We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them

Mar 16, 2023

The author and his late wife, Laura Levis, in Scotland. (Courtesy)

I Lost Laura 4 Years Ago. The Law Passed In Her Name Will Save Lives

05:34Jan 14, 2021

On Air Commentaries

Jeff Davis (front) front leads members of Black Men Run on a run in Boston. (Courtesy Jeff Davis)

Let Black men run

05:21Dec 3, 2021

Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift in her barn with her hen, Ruth Bader Ginsbird.

Swift lives on a farm in Williamstown that she has converted into an education center. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do

05:38Mar 9, 2023

The Lazy Susans from left to right: Imge Ceranoglu, Leila Mitchell, Joanna Weiss, Martha Kennedy, and Heather Shaw, at Milton Porchfest, 2022. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

‘Five moms gone electric’: The Lazy Susans will rock you

06:29Oct 25, 2022

Dr. Paul Farmer pictured in Haiti. (Courtesy Partners In Health, "Bending the Arc" produced by Impact Partners)

‘We all have to do this work’: Paul Farmer’s greatest legacy is the people he left behind

07:31Feb 21, 2023

Politics

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (L) speaks with attendees during an Iowa GOP reception on May 13, 2023 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

May 24, 2023

Ron DeSantis laughed like a maniac with Iowa voters. It matters more than you think

One scream sunk Howard Dean's presidential aspirations, writes Kaivan Shroff. But President Trump desensitized us to bizarre behavior, and we miss something when it fails to register on our collective radar.

The author at a Project Bread event. (Isaac Cruz/Project Bread)

It's hard to learn when you're hungry. 'I'm living proof'

May 23, 2023

After she gave birth, Ivy Alphonse-Crean couldn't stop thinking about the scrutiny of Black families who lost loved ones to racist attacks. "The professional pictures you use for holiday cards must showcase a beaming, intact Black family," writes Ivy Alphonse-Crean. Matching clothes are a bonus.

I see you, Black mothers. Mother's Day is complicated for me, too

May 12, 2023

Migrants attempting to cross in to the U.S. from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border May 05, 2023 in San Luis, Arizona. (Nick Ut/Getty Images)

Being ‘anti-immigrant’ is not a winning strategy for Biden in 2024

May 8, 2023

Emmitt Glynn is seen from just outside his classroom at Baton Rouge Magnet High School teaching his second AP African American studies class on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Baton Rouge, La. The College Board later revised the curriculum. (Stephen Smith/AP)

Black history is American history

May 4, 2023

More From Cog

Tina Turner performs at sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 8 April 1985. (Paul Bergen/Redferns via Getty Images

Tina Turner gave me hope

Somewhere along the journey of my life, Tina Turner showed up and helped me continue on with the belief that one’s life is worth living and possibilities exist, if you...

May 25, 2023

A variety of olives in plastic containers on a shelf at Uncle Giuseppe's grocery store in North Babylon, New York on December 29, 2020. (Steve Pfost/Newsday via Getty Images)

What to do about grocery store plastic

Writer Gina Kaufmann set out to make her family dinner from fresh ingredients that didn't come wrapped in plastic. It was a lot harder than she thought it'd be.

May 25, 2023

Taylor Swift performs onstage during The Eras Tour on March 18, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )

In Taylor Swift’s songs, I hear my own story too

Over the years, the stories Taylor Swift tells in her music have become entwined with my own, writes Kat Read. At Gillette Stadium this weekend, I’ll be looking around and...

May 19, 2023

Maggie Rogers performs in support of her "Surrender" release at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on March 05, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

In Maggie Rogers, I saw the ghost of Edie Sedgwick

I suspect it’s this desire to “find another way” to be an artist that still draws people to Edie Sedgwick today, writes Michael Millner -- especially young artists like Maggie...

May 18, 2023

Immigrants step over a trickle of the Rio Grande while crossing the border from Mexico hoping to be processed for asylum on May 08, 2023 in El Paso, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

I traveled with my students to the Rio Grande Valley. I hope what they saw will stay with them

Dr. Luz Marilis López took students on a 10-day trip to the Rio Grande Valley. They saw desperation and frustration at the border first-hand, but also got to know the...

May 18, 2023

I made my smartphone dumb. I like it — and me — better this way

I realize now that I missed me -- the me that always lived inside my head, writes Jonathan D. Fitzgerald. For years, I was good company for myself until I...

May 16, 2023

The author) (age 29) and and her mother (age 75) on a hike in Greece. (Courtesy Henriette Lazaridis)

The love letter my mother never sent me

A while back, Henriette Lazaridis listened to her mother read a letter she'd written, but never sent, decades ago. Lazaridis wonders how their relationship might have changed, if she'd seen...

May 12, 2023

The author's son, Charlie, receiving his first infusion as part of a clinical trial of a gene therapy. (Courtesy Jennifer Handt)

Hope is its own form of healing

My son received a death sentence as a toddler, writes Jennifer Handt — a diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A new gene therapy offers hope, if she can get the...

May 11, 2023

The author on a walk. (Courtesy Kate Baer)

Kate Baer has always been a writer

When Kate Baer got pregnant, unexpectedly, with her fourth child, something shifted. “I had this decision to make,” explains the best-selling author. “Am I going to drown -- lose my...

04:51May 10, 2023

I love my dog with all my heart. Sort of

Getting a puppy, when you already have a houseful of kids, means voluntarily agreeing to more caretaking, more disciplining, more cleaning, writes Sara Petersen. If only it were as simple...

06:26May 9, 2023

The author and her mother, Lita Norkin, at the age of 56, on the author’s wedding day in 1994. (Courtesy Deborah Norkin)

When my mother died at 58, aging became uncharted territory

I think it’s common for those who live longer than a parent to look at aging as a long, dark tunnel, writes Deborah Norkin. The destination is certain; the journey...

May 5, 2023

Singer Gordon Lightfoot performs during the CFL's 100th Grey Cup Championship Halftime Show at the Rogers Centre on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, in Toronto. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

In Gordon Lightfoot’s lyrics, I still hear the sounds of home

I know Lightfoot’s first two albums like I knew my parents’ lullabies, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. They inspired me, soothed me, ushered me into dreams, both sleeping and awake.

May 5, 2023

Rabbi Harold Kushner speaks at the Temple Center in Denver on January 31, 1988. Credit: The Denver Post (Denver Post via Getty Images)

Rabbi Harold Kushner asked God tough questions and shared the answers with all of us

Jewish lore says that in every generation, the fate of the world depends on 36 righteous people. I believe Rabbi Harold Kushner was one of them, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.

May 3, 2023

Safe staffing minimums attract and retain employees and give them time to provide the dignified, companionable care that residents deserve, writes Margaret Morganroth Gullette. (Getty Images)

The neglect in nursing facilities is no accident

Nursing facilities are a multi-billion-dollar industry that can be inefficient, cruel and lethal, writes Margaret Morganroth Gullette.

May 1, 2023

The author in the 1970s leans up against a car outside her childhood home in Virginia. (Courtesy Sharon Brody)

Judy Blume taught 11-year-old me: ‘I might be normal, and I am not alone’

In the early 1970s, and for years after that, a lot of girls didn’t merely get a kick out of "Margaret" — Judy Blume's book felt like a necessity, writes...

05:58Apr 28, 2023

Young woman crouching and taking time choosing sanitary pads. (Getty Images)

My kids aren’t embarrassed to talk about periods. Why am I?

I wish it were easier for me to shake my ingrained prudishness, writes Jane Roper. But it’s hard to unlearn the messages we’ve been given about our bodies our whole...

Apr 28, 2023

"Sitting with creative emptiness means accepting with self-compassion the times when you want to write and you can't," writes Alexandria Peary. "It means recognizing that every typed word sits between two gaps and that, when we write, we are as much beings of silence and waiting as language and typing." (Getty Images)

I'm a poet. And I celebrate the days I write nothing

Poetry has a special capacity to engage with uncertainty and stillness, writes New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary. For National Poetry Month, let’s honor words — and also the moments...

Apr 27, 2023

A billboard put up by progressive activist group MoveOn that read “I Hate [Trump] Passionately - Tucker Carlson” is seen along I-95 on April 3, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

When truth is an 'unsellable product'

Fox will find a new demagogue, who will continue to stoke the hatred and paranoia that has proved so lucrative, writes Steve Almond.

Apr 27, 2023

A four-year old boy on a playground swing. (Getty Images)

Why I talk to preschoolers about guns

Children have the right to be part of conversations about hard things, even things that make us uncomfortable, writes Caitlin Malloy.

Apr 25, 2023

This view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it performed a close pass of the gas giant planet in 2019. (Enhanced image by Kevin M. Gill (CC-BY) based on images provided courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.)

What Jupiter’s icy moons might tell us about our universe

A recently launched spacecraft will orbit three moons of Jupiter that are thought to harbor the ingredients necessary for life, writes Joelle Renstrom.

Apr 24, 2023

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100 years ago my grandfather emigrated from China. He never could have imagined a Mayor Wu

The role of luck — in hoops and life

George Floyd’s murder ushered in big talk of equity and justice. 3 years later, this work is still a matter of life and death

This one goes out to all the Taylor Swift parents

This one goes out to all the Taylor Swift parents

100 years ago my grandfather emigrated from China. He never could have imagined a Mayor Wu

Ron DeSantis laughed like a maniac with Iowa voters. It matters more than you think

Paul Simon was right about 70: how strange to become an ‘old friend’

George Floyd’s murder ushered in big talk of equity and justice. 3 years later, this work is still a matter of life and death

The role of luck — in hoops and life

Twenty years after the war in Iraq began, we have learned nothing

The T opened up the world to me. Now it's stuck

We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them

I Lost Laura 4 Years Ago. The Law Passed In Her Name Will Save Lives

Let Black men run

When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do

‘Five moms gone electric’: The Lazy Susans will rock you

‘We all have to do this work’: Paul Farmer’s greatest legacy is the people he left behind

Ron DeSantis laughed like a maniac with Iowa voters. It matters more than you think

It's hard to learn when you're hungry. 'I'm living proof'

I see you, Black mothers. Mother's Day is complicated for me, too

Being ‘anti-immigrant’ is not a winning strategy for Biden in 2024

Black history is American history

Tina Turner gave me hope

What to do about grocery store plastic

In Taylor Swift’s songs, I hear my own story too

In Maggie Rogers, I saw the ghost of Edie Sedgwick

I traveled with my students to the Rio Grande Valley. I hope what they saw will stay with them

I made my smartphone dumb. I like it — and me — better this way

The love letter my mother never sent me

Hope is its own form of healing

Kate Baer has always been a writer

I love my dog with all my heart. Sort of

When my mother died at 58, aging became uncharted territory

In Gordon Lightfoot’s lyrics, I still hear the sounds of home

Rabbi Harold Kushner asked God tough questions and shared the answers with all of us

The neglect in nursing facilities is no accident

Judy Blume taught 11-year-old me: ‘I might be normal, and I am not alone’

My kids aren’t embarrassed to talk about periods. Why am I?

I'm a poet. And I celebrate the days I write nothing

When truth is an 'unsellable product'

Why I talk to preschoolers about guns

What Jupiter’s icy moons might tell us about our universe