OpinionThe clock is ticking. It's time to write my annual holiday letterEvery year I feel compelled to write a holiday letter that is informative, entertaining, and clever, writes Laura McTaggart. Now here I am, procrastinating so much about writing the letter...CognoscentiNov 30, 2023It can be tough for men to make friends. My solution? Darts, dive bars and showing upFor men, making and keeping meaningful friendships seems to get more difficult as each year passes in their lives, writes Kevin Koczwara. That changed when I started playing darts. CognoscentiNov 29, 2023Philanthropy doesn’t always get it right. Let’s rethink how we giveThis Giving Tuesday, Makeeba McCreary and Bob Giannino look at ways to break free from philanthropy's old way of doing business. If you begin by assuming that those who are...CognoscentiNov 27, 2023I was in 4th grade when John F. Kennedy was shot. I remember it like it was yesterdayIt's been 60 years since JFK was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. Deborah Sosin was a precocious fourth grader in '63. She remembers where she was when she learned...CognoscentiNov 22, 2023Was it love at first sight or a slow burn? Your love letters to BostonWe set out to understand from our readers and contributors what it means to live in Boston and find your place in it. But after reading dozens of submissions, we...CognoscentiNov 21, 2023AdvertisementLots of older Americans are reinventing their lives. Here’s why it matters to all of usAnthony Brooks started paying attention to stories about people who reinvent themselves in interesting ways about 15 years ago. He collected so many that they became WBUR's "Third Act" series,...CognoscentiNov 20, 2023I left Venezuela seeking safety — my life shouldn't be fodder for a political stuntEduardo was one of the Venezuelans flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year, placing the community in the middle of the national debate on immigration. He and his girlfriend...CognoscentiNov 17, 2023I've walked every day for 12 yearsIt’s been 12 years since I made my walking promise and I’ve never missed a day, writes Libby DeLana. Most days, it’s very simple: out my backdoor by 5:30 a.m.,...CognoscentiNov 17, 2023My hip-hop education began in the ’80s, turning the dial to Boston college radio stationsNo matter how many years removed I am from being that kid scanning the radio dial, looking for my rap fix, I am still searching for that excitement, that connection...CognoscentiNov 16, 2023Trump is a clear and present dangerDonald Trump's increasingly fascist rhetoric -- his use of the word vermin to describe his political rivals, for example -- is not just Trump being Trump, writes Steve Almond. It's...CognoscentiNov 15, 2023I didn’t want Aladdin to show me the world. My daughter had other ideasI’d heard terrifying tales of Raffi and The Wiggles and other insidious kids’ music creators infiltrating homes like audio kudzu, but I was confident I would never cave, writes Bethany...CognoscentiNov 13, 2023I still reach for Elliott Smith, 20 years after his deathMy 2023 concert calendar has been packed with reunion tours, but my favorite artist, Elliott Smith, died 20 years ago, writes Sara Schreur. His story has always been more than...CognoscentiNov 9, 2023Do we ever really know our parents?Naomi Schalit lost her mother when she was just 18 years old. I've been thinking a lot recently about how strange it is never to have known my mother as...CognoscentiNov 8, 2023I’d like to apologize to my BarbieI thought my Barbie would help me fit in with the rich girls, writes Shilpi Suneja. Instead, the doll made me stand out even more.CognoscentiNov 7, 2023You can recover from schizophrenia — I did. But the stigma of the disease prevents too many from getting treatmentPatty Mulcahy was 50 when she started hearing voices. She thinks society might have more compassion if people understood that schizophrenia is a brain disease that can be treated, and...CognoscentiNov 7, 2023I'm not surprised it happened hereSome people are surprised that a mass shooting could happen here in idyllic Maine. But that sort of remove is only possible if you haven’t been paying attention, writes Chelsea...CognoscentiNov 3, 2023What Matthew Perry taught usMatthew Perry founded a sober living facility for men. He advocated for those charged with drug-related offenses to receive treatment instead of incarceration. He planned to start a foundation for...CognoscentiNov 2, 2023‘The show must go on’: 20 years of life lessons from QueenWhen Paula Moura was a teenager in Brazil, the music of Queen filled her house: the songs reminded our hearts of joy and filled them with courage, she writes. It’s...CognoscentiNov 2, 2023Nostalgia is lovely, and a waste of timeAs I age, I find myself looking back less and less often, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. It turns out that nostalgia is a luxury that I neither want nor can...CognoscentiNov 1, 2023Making peace with my nightmaresFor decades, I avoided horror movies, writes Jason Prokowiew. Then, this past year, I watched 34 of them -- Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers showed me, my home is now...CognoscentiOct 31, 2023Next Page
The clock is ticking. It's time to write my annual holiday letterEvery year I feel compelled to write a holiday letter that is informative, entertaining, and clever, writes Laura McTaggart. Now here I am, procrastinating so much about writing the letter...CognoscentiNov 30, 2023
It can be tough for men to make friends. My solution? Darts, dive bars and showing upFor men, making and keeping meaningful friendships seems to get more difficult as each year passes in their lives, writes Kevin Koczwara. That changed when I started playing darts. CognoscentiNov 29, 2023
Philanthropy doesn’t always get it right. Let’s rethink how we giveThis Giving Tuesday, Makeeba McCreary and Bob Giannino look at ways to break free from philanthropy's old way of doing business. If you begin by assuming that those who are...CognoscentiNov 27, 2023
I was in 4th grade when John F. Kennedy was shot. I remember it like it was yesterdayIt's been 60 years since JFK was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. Deborah Sosin was a precocious fourth grader in '63. She remembers where she was when she learned...CognoscentiNov 22, 2023
Was it love at first sight or a slow burn? Your love letters to BostonWe set out to understand from our readers and contributors what it means to live in Boston and find your place in it. But after reading dozens of submissions, we...CognoscentiNov 21, 2023
Lots of older Americans are reinventing their lives. Here’s why it matters to all of usAnthony Brooks started paying attention to stories about people who reinvent themselves in interesting ways about 15 years ago. He collected so many that they became WBUR's "Third Act" series,...CognoscentiNov 20, 2023
I left Venezuela seeking safety — my life shouldn't be fodder for a political stuntEduardo was one of the Venezuelans flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year, placing the community in the middle of the national debate on immigration. He and his girlfriend...CognoscentiNov 17, 2023
I've walked every day for 12 yearsIt’s been 12 years since I made my walking promise and I’ve never missed a day, writes Libby DeLana. Most days, it’s very simple: out my backdoor by 5:30 a.m.,...CognoscentiNov 17, 2023
My hip-hop education began in the ’80s, turning the dial to Boston college radio stationsNo matter how many years removed I am from being that kid scanning the radio dial, looking for my rap fix, I am still searching for that excitement, that connection...CognoscentiNov 16, 2023
Trump is a clear and present dangerDonald Trump's increasingly fascist rhetoric -- his use of the word vermin to describe his political rivals, for example -- is not just Trump being Trump, writes Steve Almond. It's...CognoscentiNov 15, 2023
I didn’t want Aladdin to show me the world. My daughter had other ideasI’d heard terrifying tales of Raffi and The Wiggles and other insidious kids’ music creators infiltrating homes like audio kudzu, but I was confident I would never cave, writes Bethany...CognoscentiNov 13, 2023
I still reach for Elliott Smith, 20 years after his deathMy 2023 concert calendar has been packed with reunion tours, but my favorite artist, Elliott Smith, died 20 years ago, writes Sara Schreur. His story has always been more than...CognoscentiNov 9, 2023
Do we ever really know our parents?Naomi Schalit lost her mother when she was just 18 years old. I've been thinking a lot recently about how strange it is never to have known my mother as...CognoscentiNov 8, 2023
I’d like to apologize to my BarbieI thought my Barbie would help me fit in with the rich girls, writes Shilpi Suneja. Instead, the doll made me stand out even more.CognoscentiNov 7, 2023
You can recover from schizophrenia — I did. But the stigma of the disease prevents too many from getting treatmentPatty Mulcahy was 50 when she started hearing voices. She thinks society might have more compassion if people understood that schizophrenia is a brain disease that can be treated, and...CognoscentiNov 7, 2023
I'm not surprised it happened hereSome people are surprised that a mass shooting could happen here in idyllic Maine. But that sort of remove is only possible if you haven’t been paying attention, writes Chelsea...CognoscentiNov 3, 2023
What Matthew Perry taught usMatthew Perry founded a sober living facility for men. He advocated for those charged with drug-related offenses to receive treatment instead of incarceration. He planned to start a foundation for...CognoscentiNov 2, 2023
‘The show must go on’: 20 years of life lessons from QueenWhen Paula Moura was a teenager in Brazil, the music of Queen filled her house: the songs reminded our hearts of joy and filled them with courage, she writes. It’s...CognoscentiNov 2, 2023
Nostalgia is lovely, and a waste of timeAs I age, I find myself looking back less and less often, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. It turns out that nostalgia is a luxury that I neither want nor can...CognoscentiNov 1, 2023
Making peace with my nightmaresFor decades, I avoided horror movies, writes Jason Prokowiew. Then, this past year, I watched 34 of them -- Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers showed me, my home is now...CognoscentiOct 31, 2023
![A 2015 photo of Matthew Perry. "[He] wanted to be remembered not only for his time on NBC’s Must See TV, but as a champion of sobriety and a mentor for people struggling to find a way forward through addiction." (Brian Ach/Invision/AP)](https://wordpress.wbur.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AP602640309358-400x267.jpg)
