Call It What It Is: A So-Called Meritocracy Does Not Hide Racism
One of my favorite cartoon characters from childhood is Angelica Pickles from “Rugrats.” She was about three years old and was convinced that her baby cousins, Tommy and Dil, were plotting and planning against her….
Is Trump Borrowing a Page on Social Issues from Russia?
The recent removal of information on birth control, domestic violence, and abortion from U.S. government websites is not just a bureaucratic adjustment. It is an ideological move, signaling the next phase of the Trump administration’s push to…
Bluesky is part of the problem, not its solution
Bluesky was supposed to be different—a fresh start, a reinvention of good-old Twitter without the trolls and toxicity of X, a digital paradise free from Musk’s chaos or Zuckerberg’s greed. But here we are, barely…
In trying to protect our kids, are we actually hurting them?
At a recent holiday gathering, I was reminiscing with friends about our sometimes painful, sometimes amusing experiences of growing up across cultural boundaries. Thinking about our kids’ lives, I voiced something that had been troubling…
It’s Called Poverty, Y’all
In his farewell address, President Joe Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangerous power of the ultra-wealthy, a class that has cemented its status by perpetuating poverty. This systemic inequality, designed to protect the…
Preparing for a New Wave of Anti-Asian Discrimination in Academia
Trump’s first term ushered in an era of anti-Asian discrimination in academia, marked by the infamous China Initiative, which wrongfully accused hundreds of wrongful accusations and destroyed the careers and sometimes lives of Chinese professors…
The Intrusion of Autocorrect and Auto Responses
I never thought I would end up condemning the use of autocorrect functions when producing written communications. They were always just there, morphing and modifying as word processing platforms and texting software evolved and became…
Not A Choice: Housing Crisis Solutions Must Include Survivors Of Domestic Abuse
Imagine being a child who is sound asleep in your Los Angeles home and you wake to your mother screaming, “Get out of the house and call 911!” You hear the cracking of glass and…
Book Bans Don't Make America Great
The excitement of discovering a book that speaks directly to your life is a rare and powerful experience. It’s a moment of connection, a chance to see your story reflected and validated in ways that…
The Global Ripple Effect: How a U.S. Wildlife Ban Could Backfire on Conservation and Communities
In a recent meeting with conservation experts in London, the complexities and far-reaching implications of international wildlife trade became strikingly evident. The conversation centered on New York State’s proposed Big Five African Trophies Act (Assembly Bill A1616), which was introduced by…
STOP with the Clutter Guilt
It sounds SO good in writing. I want to have less clutter. This year, I will buy less stuff. Don’t buy storage items, have fewer things. Ann Patchett wrote a famous NYT essay on how she…