Accessibility links
Opinion Editorial opinions and commentary on news events and world events. Download podcasts and subscribe to RSS feeds.
Opinion

Opinion

Hosted by NPR

Tuesday

Take Four Minutes To Reflect On Your Place In The Cosmos

In 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Earth from Saturn. Seen here, our planet is 898 million miles away (1.44 billion kilometers) and appears as a blue dot at center right. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute hide caption

toggle caption
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Take Four Minutes To Reflect On Your Place In The Cosmos

This New Year, stop to consider the point of it all with this beautiful animation of Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" meditation on Earth's place in the cosmos.

Monday

Sunday

Double Take 'Toons: Mandela and Kalashnikov RIP

Cartoonist Group/Washington Post Writers Group Clay Bennett hide caption

toggle caption
Clay Bennett

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Mandela and Kalashnikov RIP

The life works of Nelson Mandela (b. 1918) and Mikhail Kalashnikov (b. 1919) transcend nations and spanned decades. Clay Bennett honors Mandela for choosing reconciliation over retribution, while Arend Van Dam noted that the inexpensive and robust AK47 assault rifle did some of its deadliest work on the African continent.

Saturday

Muslim 'Hipsters' Turn A Joke Into A Serious Conversation

The YouTube video "Somewhere in America," featuring diverse Muslim women wearing hijab, immediately sparked strong reactions — both positive and negative. Sheikh and Bake Productions/YouTube hide caption

toggle caption
Sheikh and Bake Productions/YouTube

Code Switch

Muslim 'Hipsters' Turn A Joke Into A Serious Conversation

In a video released by a group of people calling themselves Mipsterz, young Muslim women wear the hijab while they do quirky, random things like skateboarding. Fans of the video say it shows the diversity of Muslims in America; critics call it "a fluffed-up version of hijab."

Friday

Recalling His Inspiration, A Neurosurgeon Thanks A Teacher

After a patient told neurosurgeon Lee Buono to thank the teacher who inspired him, he called up Al Siedlecki. StoryCorps hide caption

toggle caption
StoryCorps

StoryCorps

Recalling His Inspiration, A Neurosurgeon Thanks A Teacher

As a middle-school student in the '80s, Lee Buono stayed after school one day to remove the brain and spinal cord from a frog. He did such a good job that his science teacher told him he might become a neurosurgeon someday. That's exactly what Buono did.

Recalling His Inspiration, A Neurosurgeon Thanks A Teacher

Listen · 3:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/257401046/257542497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Double Take 'Toons: August 2013

politicalcartoons.com David Fitzsimmons hide caption

toggle caption
David Fitzsimmons

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: August 2013

Syrian government forces killed an estimated 1,400 people in a chemical weapon attack and Americans looked back 50 years to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. David Fitzsimmons had sympathy for President Obama's much criticized response to the assault, while Clay Bennett thought the drive towards equality still had miles to go.

Wednesday

No Rest For Ye Merry NBA Players This Christmas

Benny and the Elevators perform during the game between the NBA's Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets Dec. 25, 2012. The Bulls are one of 10 NBA teams playing on Christmas Day this year. David Banks/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
David Banks/Getty Images

Sweetness And Light

No Rest For Ye Merry NBA Players This Christmas

Pro sports have become almost part and parcel of major American holidays. The NBA's Christmas Day lineup this year has grown to a whopping 13 straight hours of nationally televised games.

No Rest For Ye Merry NBA Players This Christmas

Listen · 3:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/256846344/257035245" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

The Christmas Now: How To Be The Center Of The Universe

Step back in time: This is what 100 million years ago looked like, in a galaxy far, far away. ESO hide caption

toggle caption
ESO

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Christmas Now: How To Be The Center Of The Universe

Ebenezer Scrooge was famously visited by three ghosts who woke him to the wonders of the life right before his eyes. We can also let the past, present and future converge on us to the same effect. All we have to do is step outside and let the night sky become a time machine.

The Christmas Now: How To Be The Center Of The Universe

Listen · 3:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/256713079/257160187" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript