OPINION COMMENTARY:

Achieving racial equity has gone beyond a moral imperative to become an economic imperative for this nation. Peter Williams explains how the Supreme Court’s decisions on affirmative action and student loan debt makes the problem worse.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

To combat the homeless crisis in America, bureaucratic obstacles that hinder those in need must be overcome. Harvard ALI Fellows Melinda Giovengo and Betsy Schwartz critically examine HUD's Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act and showcase how the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, Texas has successfully implemented a multi-stakeholder approach.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

When the doors of college were reserved for whites only, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) gave African Americans the education they deserved and the strength to rise above bigotry. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions that throttle affirmative action, 2021 Harvard ALI Fellow Terry Edmonds reminds us of the role HBCUs played in the past and the expanded role they may play now.

The Big Myth, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, makes a compelling and well documented case that under the guise of protecting individual freedom, corporations and influential individuals organized to resist efforts to regulate industry. Oreskes and Conway peel away the cloak to expose concerted efforts across broad spectrums of society to propagandize against government efforts to protect the common good, to a point where any government intervention into the marketplace is labeled anti-capitalist. The book is not an assault on capitalism, but an assault on the myth that equates capitalism with freedom.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The decision has had a devastating impact on women's health in the U.S. Cecile Richards, a national leader for women’s rights and social and economic justice and former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund for 12 years, reflects on the decision, its impact, and an urgent path forward.

Mark Medish, co-founder of Keep Our Republic, discusses strategies to protect our democratic electoral operating system — including through "hyper-localized community dialogue."

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Technology and the marketplace have changed substantially in the last three decades, and so must our expectations about the obligations of online platforms. The Supreme Court issued an opinion on Gonzalez v Google that increases the need for congressional action on Section 230 at the same time that generative AI is in front of society highlighting the dilemmas about the ethical use of data and algorithms.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Fierce political polarization is threatening democracy in the world and acting as a barrier to crafting effective solutions to critical social challenges. Alice Lombardo Maher, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, has succeeded in bridging the divide by bringing together people on opposite sides of the political spectrum and modeling the skills that are core to effective dialogue.

HEALTH & HOMELESSNESS SERIES:

The Biden Administration’s plan to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025 is focused on preventing homelessness before it occurs in the first place. Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, discusses how they are urgently addressing basic needs of people in crisis, and expanding housing and support to help people get and stay housed.

HEALTH & HOMELESSNESS SERIES:

Many think mental illness leads to homelessness, but a bidirectional relationship exists, and homelessness can lead to mental illness as well. Katherine Koh, MD, a practicing psychiatrist at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses how her innovative practice of street psychiatry supports our unhoused neighbors.

HEALTH & HOMELESSNESS SERIES:

Inside Safe, Los Angeles’s program to reduce homelessness, recently achieved its ambitious goal of housing 1,000 people in its first 100 days. Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, discusses the nature of the challenge, the approach, and the city’s early progress.

Nina Khrushcheva, great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, former Premier of the Soviet Union, discusses how Hollywood’s “soft propaganda” about Russia and Russians may hinder diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine – and how reading Russian literature may provide important clues to the Russian mind.

SOCIAL EQUITY SERIES:

How can investing in gang members transform our communities? Michelle Caldeira and Mark Culliton discuss the counterintuitive approach that Uncornered takes to address violent crime.

Author, immigration reform advocate, and pro bono lawyer, Linda Dakin-Grimm, discusses how her faith influences her work and one of her many successful asylum cases reuniting a family from Guatemala separated at the U.S. border.

SOCIAL EQUITY SERIES:

Police practices and racial bias remain joined in a tortured dance that many times leads to tragic consequences. How does creative and thoughtful leadership resolve this historical relationship and produce equitable and fair outcomes? Former Chief of Police Renée Hall discusses the continuing struggle to align effective police practices with meaningful solutions.

INNOVATIONS IN ORGAN DONATION SERIES:

In the United States, the number of people on the transplant waiting list and those who die waiting for an organ continues to rise. James Lytle explains why policy changes are not, by themselves, likely to solve this crisis and why technological advances are necessary to save lives.

FUTURE OF WORK SERIES:

Among younger workers, labor unions are gaining popularity. Steven Greenhouse explains how this movement has become more democratic than it was a generation ago, and he provides policy recommendations for the future of work.

THE IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE SERIES:

Despite the war disrupting many of Ukraine’s development goals, Valeriya Ionan, the Deputy Minister for Eurointegration, outlines the digital innovations born out of conflict and how the Ministry of Digital Transformation is accelerating the digitalisation of Ukraine.

THE IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE SERIES:

As the war in Ukraine continues, millions of people have been displaced from their homes. Stefan Leonescu discusses the response of the Jesuit Refugee Service Romania to the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis, and details the challenges encountered with international humanitarian law and the areas for improvement.

THE IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE SERIES:

The hundreds, the partisans, the barriers — these and more make up the “secret sauce” that is helping Ukraine win. Robert Homans, who worked in Ukraine, describes some of their tactics and what he hopes will happen after the war.