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Rachel R. Yorlets

No one taught me that epidemiology is political — but it is

Our current triage has been as ineffective as it is unethical.
Joan Vennochi

From Texas to Massachusetts for an abortion

If Roe v. Wade is overturned or gutted, it will formalize the huge social, cultural, and legal gulf between states that protect abortion rights and those that will choose to restrict or ban abortion.
A pedestrian died in September after falling from this closed rusted staircase at JFK/UMass Sation. The staircase was shut down and blocked off, but not repaired or removed until after the accident.
EDITORIAL

The state needs a better way to track what it owns

Cynthia Lee
During the trial on Nov. 9, Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney (left) and Kenosha Police Department Detective Ben Antaramian looked at the weapon Rittenhouse used on the night of Aug. 25, 2020.
When it comes to guns and claims of self-defense, juries need guidance
As a general matter, a criminal defendant loses the right to claim he acted justifiably in self-defense if he was the initial aggressor or provocateur.

Sheldon Whitehouse
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors in Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 1.
Summit for Democracy will follow the money
One of the key issues at the summit will be to crack down on global money laundering.

John E. Rosenthal
Jamel Davis stands in front of his tent in the Tenderloin, a neighborhood in San Francisco, on April 17. He said his girlfriend died from a fentanyl overdose.
Why isn’t the US treating the overdose epidemic like the public health emergency it is?
We know how to prevent drug overdose deaths and create better access to treatment. We just need to do it.

RENÉE GRAHAM
Photos of murdered transgender women and men at the 3rd annual Queer Liberation March in New York June 27, 2021.
In 2021, another devastating record for deadly anti-transgender violence
The year changed. The harms that target transgender and gender nonconforming communities did not.

letters

Antiabortion and abortion rights advocates protest outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 1.

After court arguments, the abortion debate is striking a lot of nerves

Alarm sounded over continual gaps in care at nursing homes

Imagine what a free T could do for area’s tourism industry

Killer cats

Meet Globe OpinionSubmit a letter to the EditorSubmit an Op-Ed
Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing

A battle for affordable housing in Massachusetts

The Globe editorial board's 2020 series on the need for inclusive housing reform in Newton and across the Commonwealth.

Editor's picks

EDITORIAL
The vaccine could save us, if we let it
Death from COVID-19 is now largely preventable. Everyone must do their part to get more people vaccinated.

News organizations across the country join the call to get more people vaccinated

SCOT LEHIGH
Would you fall prey to authoritarianism? Take the test.
Your results could be edifying — and perhaps even personally helpful.

IDEAS | DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Roca educator Sutton Bradbury-Koster (right) pauses with program participant Alexis Feliciano outside the organization’s office in Lynn. Roca is using a version of cognitive behavioral therapy to teach young people how to recognize and stop self-destructive behavior.
A cure for violence
An audacious psychological experiment takes root in some of Massachusetts’ toughest neighborhoods.

EDITORIAL
Future-proofing the presidency
Donald Trump brought our democracy to the brink and exposed its weak spots. Here’s how to thwart the next American tyrant.

Cartoons

public health
A woman is vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Hillbrow Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Dec. 6.
Rachel R. Yorlets

No one taught me that epidemiology is political — but it is

Joan Vennochi

From Texas to Massachusetts for an abortion

John E. Rosenthal

Why isn’t the US treating the overdose epidemic like the public health emergency it is?

climate crisis
Residents protested last month in Peabody against a proposal to build a new gas- and oil-based power peaker plant next to an existing power plant (above).
LETTERS

Power plant that would meet peak demand is drawing opposition

Edward J. Markey

Federal Reserve’s Powell lacks leadership on climate change

Cynthia Stone Creem and Lori A. Ehrlich

A better future for heating your home

education
LETTERS

Diversity, personnel, and power: Report takes hard look at K-12 school leadership

LETTERS

Blackstone school should not be held up as an example of BPS’s districtwide woes

EDITORIAL

As younger children get vaccinated, it’s time to plan for lifting the school mask mandate

securing democracy
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors in Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 1.
Sheldon Whitehouse

Summit for Democracy will follow the money

RENÉE LOTH

Alarm bells are ringing: Congress must pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

Nancy Gertner

The stench at the Supreme Court

technology
Deepak Ganesan, Niteesh Choudhry, and Benjamin Marlin

Budding technology should be adapted for eldercare

Li-Huei Tsai

How science, technology, and industry can work together to cure Alzheimer’s

Joseph Coughlin and Luke Yoquinto

Needed: Federal leadership on R&D for our aging society

civil rights
During the trial on Nov. 9, Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney (left) and Kenosha Police Department Detective Ben Antaramian looked at the weapon Rittenhouse used on the night of Aug. 25, 2020.
Cynthia Lee

When it comes to guns and claims of self-defense, juries need guidance

RENÉE LOTH

Alarm bells are ringing: Congress must pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

Nancy Gertner

The stench at the Supreme Court

Community Voices
Students sit in an AP class at Cambridge Rindge and Latin in this January 2020 file photo.
LETTERS

Student walkout in Cambridge is an urgent call to action on sexual assaults

LETTERS

Throughout her childhood, Globe Santa coin bank sat on the kitchen counter year round

LETTERS

Holden Caulfield still speaks to us

Globe Opinion Columnists & Contributors

Newlsetters

Editorials

A pedestrian died in September after falling from this closed rusted staircase at JFK/UMass Sation. The staircase was shut down and blocked off, but not repaired or removed until after the accident.
The state needs a better way to track what it owns
The tragedy at the JFK/UMass stop gives state authorities the chance to exercise greater foresight for public safety’s sake.

Disarming the campaign war chests

Political incumbents get an unfair advantage from rules that let them hoard cash beyond a single election cycle.

United States must do more to vaccinate the world

Donating vaccines to low- and middle-income countries isn’t enough.

Putin’s threats to Ukraine demand diplomacy and deterrence

Kyiv’s sovereignty is at risk as Russian military build-up grows beyond political theater.

Massachusetts lawmakers must protect the rights of LGBTQ and other parents

Current law leaves nonbiological parents of children in the lurch, legally and financially.

Letters

Antiabortion and abortion rights advocates protest outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 1.
After court arguments, the abortion debate is striking a lot of nerves
The debate about abortion rights is really a debate about equal rights, men to women.

Alarm sounded over continual gaps in care at nursing homes

Perhaps it’s time to re-imagine how older adults and people with disabilities are treated and use federal and state dollars to provide accessible, affordable housing along with increased access to home and community-based services.

Imagine what a free T could do for area’s tourism industry

I’m willing to bet that if Boston made the MBTA free for all people, and widely publicized this move, it would not only draw more riders from within the metropolitan area but also make Boston an even more attractive tourist destination.

Killer cats

Non-native house and feral cats have been killing billions of wild birds in the United States each year for many years.

Power plant that would meet peak demand is drawing opposition

To preserve a livable climate, the science shows that we simply cannot build any new fossil fuel infrastructure. Counting on offsets carries substantial ethical and technical risks.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

EDITORIAL

Future-proofing the presidency

Donald Trump brought our democracy to the brink and exposed its weak spots. Here’s how to thwart the next American tyrant.
Read more
Brave New Planet is a podcast that delves deep into the most exciting and challenging scientific frontiers, helping us understand them and grapple with their implications. Dr. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is host.
Watching the 2020 DNC felt like watching an infomercial for a product that was not made for me, but that I’m being told to buy anyway.
Political coverage often focuses on voters who oscillate between political parties in a few key swing states. Here we feature perspectives and opinions from and about demographics of Americans — young voters and Black and brown voters —who swing between voting and not voting.
Voters observed social distancing guidelines as they waited in line to cast ballots in the Wisconsin presidential primary election, in Milwaukee in April.
From voter suppression to gerrymandering to foreign interference, the integrity of US elections is under attack. In a three-part weekly series, Globe Opinion examines how the nation arrived at this moment and what needs to be done to protect voting rights.

Trapped: Why the GOP's death is imminent

The Republican Party is destroying itself. Thomas Patterson of the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center explains the five traps the party has set for itself and warns that the party's future is in peril without reform.

Black voices now

Globe Opinion seeks to amplify the perspectives and the voices of Black community members, scholars, activists, doctors, teachers, business leaders, students, and parents as op-ed and letter writers, and as innovators and provocateurs featured in Globe Ideas. Here we feature Black voices from the community amid the historic protests following the killing of George Floyd. We aim to amplify yet more Black voices going forward.

Legal Lens documentaries

Law and documentary film may seem far apart, but they actually share many connections. With the guidance of filmmaker and producer Joseph Tovares and support from the Hewlett Foundation, 12 Harvard Law School students from eight countries have worked since January on the Legal Lens project. You can view the films here on BostonGlobe.com.

Choosing, using, and losing your health care: A policy first-aid kit

In a four-part weekly series, Globe Opinion offers a baseline assessment of health care as well as prescriptions for fixing the industry.

Journalists are not the enemy

A central pillar of President Trump’s politics is a sustained assault on the free press. Journalists are not classified as fellow Americans, but rather “the enemy of the people.”
National Student Essay Competition winners announced