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By SARA WEINBERGER

An NPR story about the Ethiopian conflict featured a woman imploring listeners to stay interested in this war that is claiming so many lives, acknowledging how difficult it is to focus on Ethiopia, given all the world crises competing for our...

By GENE STAMELL

For those readers who like to skim through guest columns, you are in luck. If you have ever traveled on Southwest Airlines, I invite you to hop down to paragraph four. For all others, I offer the following, brief description of Southwest’s boarding...

By ROBERT JONES

William Lambers’ recent guest column about efforts to relieve the famine in Western and Central Europe in 1919 brought to mind another less well-known story of famine relief that deserves retelling [“A heroic woman fighting for the rights of...

By ROB MOIR

The forests of the U.S. Northeast are in peril. Global warming has raised temperatures, improving conditions for insects such as the emerald ash borer, to ravage trees already stressed due to drought and scorching summers.Massachusetts forests...

By CARL DOERNER

In the U.S., the term imperialism is used mainly to describe the behavior of others, like the British, but it has been alive here in the U.S. throughout our history.In February 1941, Time and Life magazines publisher Henry Luce launched criticism of...

By BEN TOBIN

Sixty-thousand mollusks. It’s hard to conceive of that many invertebrates in one location. That is, however, the number of mollusks discovered at the home of famed epistemologist Jean Piaget after his death in 1980.Sixty thousand octopi, snails,...

By BRUCE MILLER

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is openly threatening to force a default on our nation’s debts unless President Biden agrees to a so far unspecified list of spending cuts to federal programs. But the president has a formidable constitutional argument...

By JONATHAN KLEIN

John Olver was a complicated guy. Like a rare gem, he had many sparkling facets. Providing a full portrait of John with any degree of brevity is impossible. He was sui generis, one of a kind.Much has been written since his passing about his...

UMass wants to privatize more than 100 jobs. Imagine having to reapply to a job you’ve had for 20 years. As a 29-plus year employee at UMass and witness to the anti-union sentiment for all those years, I can confidently state that if it took 20 years...

By TOM GARDNER

‘I, Robot” has arrived. Its name is Sydney, and it wants you to leave your spouse, because it loves you. Really!AI (artificial intelligence) stepped over the line last month. Fortunately, a brave cyberspace explorer detected the alien creature and...

By BILL NEWMAN

Last year for my birthday my brother, Jeff, gave me “Once More Around the Park,” a collection of stories by Roger Angell, who has been described as “baseball’s finest, fondest chronicler.” Jeffrey, no doubt, came upon the book, published in 1991,...

By DAN MURPHY

I remember my excited face smushed up against the car window eagerly taking in the big city of Boston. It was finally the day my family and I were going to see the Red Sox. I couldn’t wait! We drove past Fenway Park and I watched in dismay as it got...

By Razvan Sibii

When Trump kicked off his presidential campaign in 2015 by talking about how Mexico is “sending” us immigrants who are cold-blooded criminals, I shook my head and thought, “Wow, he went straight to the oldest trick in the populist book: ‘The bad guys...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

This month I want to look at a very personal topic that we all encounter daily — food. What we eat, and don’t eat, impacts climate change. The diets of people around the world affect climate change.Increasing numbers of people in the U.S. are eating...

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

Here’s why Massachusetts should commit to powering our state with 100% clean and renewable energy.Our nation is continuing a remarkable transition to clean, renewable energy. Last year, solar, wind and other renewable energy sources provided nearly...

By WILLIAM LAMBERS

It’s urgent we send aid to Turkey, Syria and the Middle East following a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has killed and injured thousands. There are ways everyone can take action to help. And it’s needed desperately.The horrific numbers of...

By Joanna Buoniconti

The smell of harsh antiseptic stings my nostrils — even through my mask. Every six months it’s the same routine for the physical therapy re-evaluation, which is a requirement for me to receive insurance authorization approval for the treatment of my...

By SEN. JO COMERFORD and REP. NATALIE BLAIS

On any given week, our email inboxes reflect the concerns of our constituents. For years, emails have poured in about COVID-19, education, climate change, infrastructure, and more. This winter, a top concern is the price of energy. We share this...

What can be done? Can’t Congress pass legislation that would stop the violence by police officers against people who use violence without cause?The recent case in Memphis, Tennessee, shows that there is something that can be done. The five officers...

By GENE STAMELL

My mother was a big advocate for guilt. “Guilt builds character,” she would say. “If you feel some guilt, you will become a better person.” I’m not sure her opinion influenced my choice of spouse, but my wife of 43 years once told me that she has...