Lynn Schmidt: When medical misinformation costs lives — balancing free speech and public health
In my corner of the world, it feels like 2020 all over again, experiencing the push and pull between losing someone I love due to medical misinformation, all while holding respect for free speech. The tension between combating medical misinformation and protecting free speech represents one of the most challenging...
Kathleen Enright: As Americans look for unity, the charitable sector provides a model
As the United States confronts the limits of its own divisions, it can feel as though blame has replaced problem-solving in nearly every area of public life. That perception has led to public trust in just about every major institution — from government to media, religious institutions and nonprofits —...
Martin Schram: Teaching the world’s lost leaders
Just about a week ago, we saw how fast a viral video could virally whip around the world. It was taken during Australia’s Hanukkah-by-the-Sea family-fest that turned into a mass shooting tragedy. Yet it ended with that astonishing, made-for Hollywood heroic twist. It was quickly seen by just about all...
Counterpoint: Ban kids from social media? Yes, absolutely.
Should the United States follow Australia’s lead in banning children under 16 from social media platforms? Absolutely! Australia has set a new global standard by requiring platforms to act in children’s best interests. Its new law raises the minimum age to 16, requires age verification, and holds platforms financially accountable...
Point: Throwing parental rights on the barbie won’t fly in the United States
The world’s first social media ban of users under age 16 is in effect in Australia. Whatever parents’ genuine concerns and understandable frustrations around their kids’ safety online, the Aussie approach is not the answer and should not be emulated by U.S. lawmakers. The Australian ban covers Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat,...
Cal Thomas: Why stop at the Kennedy Center?
Earlier this month I attended the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with my wife and two friends to listen to a wonderful performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” The Kennedy Center has been among the few places in Washington (sports arenas are another) where one can get through a...
Sharon Sedlar: When students fear for their lives, families deserve genuine choices
Sending kids to school shouldn’t be an act of courage — but for many families, it is. Just one mile from my home, at Carrick High School in Pittsburgh, there was a stabbing. During this horrifically violent episode, kids texted with their parents to let them know they were ok....
Robin Abcarian: Australia just banned kids from social media. Shouldn’t we all?
Earlier this month, Australia became the first country in the world to enact a social media ban for kids under 16. As the children of Oz wept and gnashed their teeth (I presume), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged them to “start a new sport, learn a new instrument or read...
Todd L. Pittinsky: The Ivies can weather the Trump administration’s research cuts — it’s the nation’s public universities that have the most to lose
Most of the media coverage of the federal government’s recent cuts in federal research money for universities has focused on its effects on a handful of elite Ivy League universities, such as Harvard, Columbia and Cornell. “When you take money away from a Columbia or a Harvard or other institutions,...
Joe Palaggi: The season to remember we’re still one nation
Every year around this time, the noise starts to drop. The pace eases a bit. Families gather, neighbors reconnect and people who disagree on just about everything still manage to pass plates across the same table. Something about late November into December nudges us toward reflection. Whatever you call it...
‘This year nearly broke me as a scientist’ — researchers reflect on how 2025’s science cuts have changed their lives
From beginning to end, 2025 was a year of devastation for scientists in the United States. January saw the abrupt suspension of key operations across the National Institutes of Health, not only disrupting clinical trials and other in-progress studies but stalling grant reviews and other activities necessary to conduct research....
Matt K. Lewis: Who can afford Trump’s economy? Americans are feeling Grinchy.
The holidays have arrived once again. You know, that annual festival of goodwill, compulsory spending and the dawning realization that Santa and Satan are anagrams. Even in the best of years, Americans stagger through this season feeling financially woozy. This year, however, the picture is bleaker. And a growing number...
Eva M. Meyersson Milgrom: You need more friends who aren’t like you
On a recent French language immersion course in Nice, I got to know one of my classmates, an academic from Russia. On the final day of class, I gathered the courage to bring up the war between Russia and Ukraine. This conflict is deeply personal for me. Though I am...
Brittany Shoup: Aging out at 5 — Pa. cutting off kids too soon
When Maya entered our preschool program at age 3, she struggled not only with academics — identifying colors, shapes and letters in her name — but with behavior. Transitions overwhelmed her. She often bolted from group activities, had difficulty regulating big emotions and sometimes resorted to hitting or throwing things...
Sheldon Jacobson: The perfect gift may be the most difficult to give
The holiday season is here, and many are still searching for the perfect gifts for those special people in their lives. It may be a child or grandchild who means much to you, a friend who has been there for you during difficult times or a spouse who has the...
Point: Is Trump derangement syndrome real?
The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is often used by supporters of President Donald Trump to discredit virtually any criticism of him. It is a convenient slur because it allows someone to sidestep the actual criticism of Trump by suggesting the person making the criticism is mentally flawed. In fact, a...
Counterpoint: It’s real, and it’s spectacular
So there’s a scene in one of the old ”Star Trek” movies in which James Kirk is trying to persuade the bad guy to beam Spock onto his ship. When the bad guy refuses, Kirk asks why.” Because you wish it!” he replies. Message: Opposing something reasonable simply to show...
Dave Anderson: Democrats and Republicans should each support some independents
The Democratic Party sent a strong message to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the 2025 elections, but ironically one part of their overall strategy forward should be to support Independents in House and Senate races where the chances of victory for a Democratic candidate are low. Double...
John E. Jones III: A year of challenges to the US justice system
Dickinson College President John E. Jones III was appointed as a federal judge by President George W. Bush and spent 20 years on the bench after being confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2002. Jones spoke with The Conversation U.S. Senior Politics Editor Naomi Schalit about America’s legal landscape...
Kate Harper and Conor Lamb: New energy sources needed now to combat soaring prices
From the industrial revolution to the digital revolution, Pennsylvania has led the way in American energy production. But now it’s clear that the AI-fueled tech industry boom is poised to push our electrical grid to the brink. The question is: Will Pennsylvania keep its place as America’s energy leader? Or...
Zoey Mundorff: Conformity culture destroys our personal identity
Our resumes promise perfection. Our “For You” pages guide us. Our ultra-connected generation drowns in a sea of unoriginality as we chase trends to fit in. We sacrifice genuine self-expression for digital status, searching for individuality in a conformed society. When I traveled to Italy last spring, I mapped the...
Peter Roff: How to save the post office
The more things change at the U.S. Postal Service, the more they stay the same, unfortunately. The volume of mail moving through the system continues to drop, yet the size of the workforce, thanks to a bad decision by former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to add full-time employees, has ballooned....
Matt Shorraw: Pa. must protect workers from extreme heat
Think about the last time the temperature approached 90 degrees, with oppressive humidity. Now imagine working under those conditions all day — maybe in a warehouse, on a farm, on a roof, inside a sweltering kitchen or factory, or delivering goods. Across Pennsylvania, many essential workers do this every summer,...
Bob Kustra: It’s time to rebuild the Republican Party, not rename it
President Donald Trump’s recent comments about renaming the Republican Party after him raises the question of whether this might be the spark that ignites a serious reconsideration of just what the Republican Party stands for and what the future holds for the party. Some will write off Trump’s ruminations about...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Some Democrats showed promise in 2025 as future party leaders
Like most parties that lose presidential races, the Democrats have struggled through a difficult aftermath. But the handwringing over their lack of effective leadership failed to temper their strength at the polls. Exacerbating their difficulties has been the fact that neither of their two top congressional leaders — Sen. Chuck...
