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

Opinion

Hosted by NPR

Saturday August 30, 2014

Syrian Artists Denied Visas, And A Voice In The U.S.

Syria: The Trojan Women inserts current events into an ancient Greek tragedy, performed here in Amman, Jordan, in 2013. Lynn Alleva Lilley/Lynn Alleva Lilley hide caption

toggle caption

Lynn Alleva Lilley/Lynn Alleva Lilley

Syrian Artists Denied Visas, And A Voice In The U.S.

August 30, 2014 • U.S. performances of Syria: The Trojan Women are postponed, but NPR's Scott Simon says when art stops at the border, American audiences are the ones who miss out.

Syrian Artists Denied Visas, And A Voice In The U.S.

Listen · 3:06 3:06

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/344317101/344477070" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Friday August 29, 2014

On Ferguson's Streets, Echoes Of Another Fatal Shooting

A memorial at the site where Michael Brown was shot, on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Mo. Myles Bess/Youth Radio hide caption

toggle caption

Myles Bess/Youth Radio

On Ferguson's Streets, Echoes Of Another Fatal Shooting

YR Media

August 29, 2014 • Youth Radio's Myles Bess lived through the aftermath of the 2009 police shooting of an unarmed young black man, Oscar Grant, in Oakland, Calif. — and sees parallels in Ferguson, Mo., today.

On Ferguson's Streets, Echoes Of Another Fatal Shooting

Listen · 3:28 3:28

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/344327996/344327997" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

iStockphoto

In Praise Of Being Bored

August 29, 2014 • Boredom is increasingly a thing of the past. We've got devices to fill up every instant. Some people say baseball is boring. But maybe its popularity is in the fact that it allows us room to be bored?

Thursday August 28, 2014

Controversy Over Sofía Vergara Obscures An Industry's Failings

Sofía Vergara and Television Academy CEO Bruce Rosenblum enact the notorious pedestal stunt at the 2014 Emmy Awards. Vince Bucci/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Vince Bucci/AP

Controversy Over Sofía Vergara Obscures An Industry's Failings

August 28, 2014 • When the Colombian actress appeared in a widely derided stunt at the Emmys, much of the attendant outrage centered on her very prominent image. Juan Vidal argues this lets Hollywood off the hook.

iStockphoto

Atheists Feel Awe, Too

August 28, 2014 • Some people of faith claim that the world is meaningless without belief in God or gods or an afterlife. Commentator Barbara J. King says the view of some atheists is mirrored in two recent novels.

Wednesday August 27, 2014

iStockphoto

The Universe Is Still Dark After All These Years

August 27, 2014 • We've learned so much, yet we still don't know the composition of 95 percent of the cosmos. Commentator Marcelo Gleiser says it is good to stay humble and keep an open mind as the search continues.

Tuesday August 26, 2014

Beware The 'Waitmare,' And Other Restaurant Frights

To turn something so beautiful into a thing of evil, it takes a terrible fear indeed. Geoff Peters/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption

Geoff Peters/Flickr

Beware The 'Waitmare,' And Other Restaurant Frights

August 26, 2014 • The restaurant can be a daunting workplace — even more so when you don't know the lingo. Take it from a few vets: The "monkey dish" is a mystery, and the "waitmare" is, well, nacho average nightmare.

Beware The 'Waitmare,' And Other Restaurant Frights

Listen · 3:17 3:17

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/343484231/343484232" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

iStockphoto

Has Next Tuesday Already Happened?

August 26, 2014 • Your birth and death define the end points of a line in the four dimensions of space-time, explains commentator Adam Frank. All the moments and all the places in between fill out this line.

Monday August 25, 2014

iStockphoto

Using Science To Blame Mothers

August 25, 2014 • The complex science of fetal and early childhood development is sometimes distilled into a single, unhelpful message: It's all about mom. Psychologist Tania Lombrozo explains how values can play in.

Sunday August 24, 2014

An Outcast Teen Attacked With Slurs, Fists, Gasoline And A Match

Darnell Moore (right) tells his friend Bryan Epps about growing up in Camden, N.J., where a group of boys once attacked him and attempted to light him on fire. Moore now mentors LGBTQ teens. StoryCorps hide caption

toggle caption

StoryCorps

An Outcast Teen Attacked With Slurs, Fists, Gasoline And A Match

August 24, 2014 • When Darnell Moore was a teenager in the late '80s, a group of boys doused him in gasoline and tried to light him on fire. One of his attackers was his next-door neighbor.

An Outcast Teen Attacked With Slurs, Fists, Gasoline And A Match

Listen · 3:57 3:57

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/342755415/342873701" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Saturday August 23, 2014

The Risks And Rewards Of Reporting In A War Zone

Journalist James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria, November 2012. Nicole Tung/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Nicole Tung/AP

Simon Says

The Risks And Rewards Of Reporting In A War Zone

August 23, 2014 • James Foley's murder by the Islamic State raises questions about the risks journalists take to report from conflict zones. NPR's Scott Simon remembers the mixed motives and rewards of the job.

The Risks And Rewards Of Reporting In A War Zone

Listen · 3:04 3:04

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/342430548/342652027" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Friday August 22, 2014

As Summer Winds Down, Wistful Dreams Of A 'Lost Estate'

cover detail hide caption

toggle caption

Review

This Week's Must Read

As Summer Winds Down, Wistful Dreams Of A 'Lost Estate'

August 22, 2014 • The scent of fresh pencils is in the air, and homework assignments are around the corner. In honor of back-to-school season, author Alexander Aciman recommends The Lost Estate by Henri Alain-Fournier.

As Summer Winds Down, Wistful Dreams Of A 'Lost Estate'

Listen · 2:02 2:02

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/342476932/342494255" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript