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It’s impossible not to consider the futility of the death penalty after Missouri executed Marcellus Williams. He was convicted of murdering Felicia Gayle during a burglary of her St. Louis-area home in 1998, but serious questions about his actual guilt have persisted. Rather than staying the execution, as many hoped he would, Governor Michael Parson relied on the […]

With a month left before the presidential election, Donald Trump and JD Vance have doubled down on racist attacks of Haitian migrants, leading to bomb threats against schools with Haitian children. Trump has continued to villainize Black immigrants and amped up his racist rhetoric towards Kamala Harris. The continuous and constant assault on the Black […]

McDonald’s Corp.,which has more than 13,000 stores in the U.S., has recently given a classic menu item a makeover, reportedly amid efforts to boost sales. However, there is another institution that outnumbers McDonalds in the U.S. and has continuously evolved to meet people’s needs for free—public libraries. There are approximately 17,000 individual public library outlets (main libraries, […]

A lot has been made about Walz’s experience as a football coach. While I love a good football game, ahead of the VP debate, I am most interested to see how Tim Walz leverages his experience as a geographer. As professor of geography for 20 years, let me be the first to say geography has […]

Mass General Brigham (MGB), the largest private employer in Massachusetts, has a problem. Resident and fellow physicians—the house staff that comprise a critical mass of the hospital system’s workforce—remain disrespected and underpaid. Chances are, the physician first to respond to a stroke alert, to see a patient in clinic, to check on them after surgery, […]

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion, A home and a country, should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the […]

The 1872 elections were the most contentious in American history. After both parties complained of corruption, neither candidate would concede. Multiple candidates claimed victory for the same office, and chaos erupted. Rival newspapers engaged in a bitter war of words, and politicians plotted to overthrow the government. Sound familiar? In an age when American democratic […]

In the world of American politics, humor can either be a tool or a trap. When done effectively, humor has the power to heal and humanize. Jokes can help engage new audiences and make complex discussions more accessible. They can help rally a base and make messaging more memorable and effective. What’s more, humor is […]

Schools have long been a battleground for the fight over equitable education, serving as a nexus of controversy and systemic inequality. The recent tragedy at Apalachee High School, where 14-year-old Colt Gray, a misguided terrorist, took the lives of four individuals, starkly exposes the inability of administrators and policymakers to see through a restorative lens. […]

When Vice-President Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for the presidency, one of the initial attacks on her from the right was that she was a “DEI” hire, implying that she wasn’t qualified for the role she holds because of her race. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking has entered every kind of schooling from early education […]