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

Opinion

Hosted by NPR

Saturday December 19, 2020

Opinion: 'Twas The Night Before Christmas in 2020

With countless lights, Christmassy illuminated man-high trees and reindeer decorate the entrance of a shop dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Opinion: 'Twas The Night Before Christmas in 2020

December 19, 2020 • With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, NPR's Scott Simon updates "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for 2020.

Opinion: 'Twas The Night Before Christmas in 2020

Listen · 2:28 2:28

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/948257955/948316414" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Saturday December 12, 2020

Opinion: COVID-19 Has Taken Away Nutcracker Season

The loss of "The Nutcracker" has affected The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and other companies across the country. Courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet

Opinion: COVID-19 Has Taken Away Nutcracker Season

December 12, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon notes how the pandemic has impacted the arts, including seasonal performances of "The Nutcracker." Without ticket sales from that ballet, many organizations are struggling.

Opinion: COVID-19 Has Taken Away Nutcracker Season

Listen · 2:42 2:42

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/945701467/945788834" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Thursday December 10, 2020

Code Switch Is An Overnight Sensation 7 Years In The Making

NPR's Code Switch is Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year for 2020 NPR hide caption

toggle caption

NPR

Code Switch Is An Overnight Sensation 7 Years In The Making

December 10, 2020 • How a startup show grows in a legacy organization

Saturday December 5, 2020

President Trump commuted the sentence of and later pardoned Alice Marie Johnson, who had received a life term in a drug case. NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Opinion: The Truth About Pardons

December 5, 2020 • The history of presidential pardons is often surprising — and revealing.

Opinion: The Truth About Pardons

Listen · 2:33 2:33

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/943352401/943454079" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Wednesday December 2, 2020

Opinion: With Biden, America Is Back — But Not At The Head Of The Table

President-elect Joe Biden introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments last week in Wilmington, Del. Mark Makela/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Mark Makela/Getty Images

Opinion: With Biden, America Is Back — But Not At The Head Of The Table

December 2, 2020 • The world needs convincing that the U.S. can lead again, and it may not let it, according to foreign policy experts Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky.

Saturday November 28, 2020

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

Irish poet William Butler Yeats circa 1920. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

November 28, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon reflects on what a 100 year-old poem by William Butler Yeats means today.

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

Listen · 2:43 2:43

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/939561949/939629432" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Wednesday November 25, 2020

NPR Released An Explicit Podcast On Hip-Hop And Prison, Here's Why It Matters

Mac Phipps Dale Edwin Murray for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Dale Edwin Murray for NPR

NPR Released An Explicit Podcast On Hip-Hop And Prison, Here's Why It Matters

November 25, 2020 • Louder Than A Riot combines research, reporting and cultural criticism to tell the story of hip-hop and the U.S. prison system.

Saturday November 21, 2020

Opinion: Remembering Jan Morris, Historian And Writer

In this May 29, 2013 file photo, travel writer, journalist and author, Jan Morris, center, with the Duke of Edinburgh, right, during a reception to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the ascent of Everest, at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Yui Mok/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Yui Mok/AP

Simon Says

Opinion: Remembering Jan Morris, Historian And Writer

November 21, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon remembers historian and travel writer Jan Morris, who died Friday at age 94.

Opinion: Remembering Jan Morris, Historian And Writer

Listen · 2:47 2:47

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937331831/937448479" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Thursday November 19, 2020

A Doctor's Thanksgiving Plea: Stay Home And Stay Safe

Ada daSilva/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

A Doctor's Thanksgiving Plea: Stay Home And Stay Safe

November 19, 2020 • With COVID-19 cases surging and more than 250,000 dead, the CDC is recommending people not travel for Thanksgiving. And doctors worry the holiday could be a superspreader event.

Saturday November 14, 2020

A woman holds her 1-year-old son as they wait in line to get a coronavirus test. Boston Globe via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Boston Globe via Getty Images

Simon Says

Opinion: A New Phase Of Uncertainty

November 14, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon notes that as coronavirus cases in the U.S. rise rapidly, it can be hard to hear that we don't know when this will all be over.

Opinion: A New Phase Of Uncertainty

Listen · 2:38 2:38

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/934839112/934920743" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Friday November 13, 2020

OPINION: To Solve The Pandemic, Biden Must Focus On Equity

Kristen Uroda for NPR

Shots - Health News

OPINION: To Solve The Pandemic, Biden Must Focus On Equity

November 13, 2020 • Doctors who helped stop Ebola call on Joe Biden's transition team to address COVID-19's racial and economic inequities. The evidence shows a safety net under the most vulnerable protects us all.

Saturday November 7, 2020

Opinion: Campaigns Are Rewarded For Winning, Not Being Cost-Effective

A close-up of the front of the US 10-dollar bill bearing the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, America's first Treasury Secretary. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

Simon Says

Opinion: Campaigns Are Rewarded For Winning, Not Being Cost-Effective

November 7, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the record amount of money spent this campaign season, a goodly amount spent by candidates who did not win.

Opinion: Campaigns Are Rewarded For Winning, Not Being Cost-Effective

Listen · 2:41 2:41

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/932289533/932422904" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Saturday October 31, 2020

Opinion: Kidney Transplant Chain Is A Touching Act of Kindness

An American flag flies outside the Houston Methodist Hospital at the Texas Medical Center (TMC) campus in Houston, Texas. Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Simon Says

Opinion: Kidney Transplant Chain Is A Touching Act of Kindness

October 31, 2020 • A five-way kidney swap was a chain of selfless kindness that allowed several people to help their loved ones and others.

Opinion: Kidney Transplant Chain Is A Touching Act of Kindness

Listen · 2:39 2:39

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/929802669/929802670" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Saturday October 24, 2020

Opinion: Football Parents Could Learn From Their Kids' Activism

A football lies on the turf prior to the NFL Week 1 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks on September 13, 2020. David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Simon Says

Opinion: Football Parents Could Learn From Their Kids' Activism

October 24, 2020 • NPR's Scott Simon tells the story of young football players just 8 and 9 years old who decided to take a knee along with their coaches and what happened next.

Opinion: Football Parents Could Learn From Their Kids' Activism

Listen · 2:27 2:27

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/927337170/927384423" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Opinion: The U.S. Can't Afford To Ignore The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

A burned helmet lying on the ground of the hospital in Martakert, a day after shelling during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

Opinion: The U.S. Can't Afford To Ignore The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

October 24, 2020 • Risks of a wider conflict are too high. The U.S. should use diplomacy to stop the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, writes Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO supreme commander in Europe.