Cognoscenti

Cognoscenti Ideas and opinions presented by WBUR, Boston’s NPR® News Station. We want to foster robust conversations about issues that matter, and we want you to take part.

Here you will find world-renowned experts in their respective fields, great writers and deep thinkers, as well as fresh new voices — young emerging talent that will provoke, delight and surprise you. You will find commentary on everything from global politics to personal musings, from innovations in technology to the latest trends in child-rearing. So join the discussion. Weigh in. Tell us what you think. Engage our commentators and each other. But remember, please be civil.

From a mathematical point of view, ranked choice voting asks for more information from the voter so that the algorithm c...
16/07/2025

From a mathematical point of view, ranked choice voting asks for more information from the voter so that the algorithm can do more with it, writes Ismar Volić, director of the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy at Wellesley College. Because it has more data to work with, RCV is much better at representing the will of the voters than plurality voting.

The real story from the New York City mayoral primary isn't Zohran Mamdani's victory, but voters' response to a different way of voting, writes Ismar Volić, director of the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy at Wellesley College.

A dog-loving friend once voiced the widespread belief that cats don’t interact with humans, writes Rich Barlow. Accordin...
15/07/2025

A dog-loving friend once voiced the widespread belief that cats don’t interact with humans, writes Rich Barlow. According to this view, they’re furry goldfish: cute to look at, but too aloof to be fun. This may explain why cats place second behind dogs in popularity as pets. But their silver-medal status belies the fact that some shelters report 90% of families that foster kittens end up adopting their purring guests permanently.

Animal shelters, scrambling for temporary foster homes to avoid overcrowding and the resulting health issues, face myths and misapprehensions about cats that scare off potential fosters, writes Rich Barlow. Allow me to dispel your doubts.

After the high court’s ruling on nationwide injunctions, it looked like Trump had won another victory, but the lower cou...
13/07/2025

After the high court’s ruling on nationwide injunctions, it looked like Trump had won another victory, but the lower courts may surprise us yet, writes former federal Judge Nancy Gertner.

The courts continue to be the only bulwark against an overreaching executive, writes Nancy Gertner, a former U.S. District Court judge. After the high court’s ruling on nationwide injunctions, it looked like Trump had won another victory, but the lower courts may surprise us yet.

The way couples divide unpaid, household labor seems to fall in three categories, writes therapist Oona Metz. "The most ...
13/07/2025

The way couples divide unpaid, household labor seems to fall in three categories, writes therapist Oona Metz.

"The most common is the marriage in which one spouse (usually the husband) works full-time, earns a higher income and expects his wife to manage the house, the kids, the family’s social life," she explains. "The second kind of marriage is one where the woman does the bulk of the domestic and parenting labor, but her husband thinks he is contributing equally."

Many women who initiate divorce tell me their spouse was more like an unreliable assistant than a true partner, writes psychotherapist Oona Metz. Eventually, after years of unproductive conversations, the imbalance tipped so far that the marriage fell over.

"We’re all learning. Bees, like people, need each other. Bees, like all of us, do best when they lean on each other’s st...
12/07/2025

"We’re all learning. Bees, like people, need each other. Bees, like all of us, do best when they lean on each other’s strengths."

When Linda Button's other half decided to become a beekeeper, he transformed their backyard. He cleared a space for the hives, lining it with rocks and building trellises with flowering vines to guide the bees away from the kids next door. This is who Peter is, a nurturer, she writes. It’s what dr...

"[W]here Congress is passive, the courts — courts at all levels, including the district court on which I served — contin...
11/07/2025

"[W]here Congress is passive, the courts — courts at all levels, including the district court on which I served — continue to be the only bulwark against an overreaching executive," writes former federal Judge Nancy Gertner.

The courts continue to be the only bulwark against an overreaching executive, writes Nancy Gertner, a former U.S. District Court judge. After the high court’s ruling on nationwide injunctions, it looked like Trump had won another victory, but the lower courts may surprise us yet.

ESSAY: "Many women who initiate divorce tell me their spouse was more like an unreliable assistant than a true partner,"...
10/07/2025

ESSAY: "Many women who initiate divorce tell me their spouse was more like an unreliable assistant than a true partner," writes psychotherapist Oona Metz. "Partnerships that were somewhat disproportionate before kids suddenly became grossly unequal. Many of these women worked full-time, yet became default caretakers — of their home, their children, and for many, their husbands, too."

Many women who initiate divorce tell me their spouse was more like an unreliable assistant than a true partner, writes psychotherapist Oona Metz. Eventually, after years of unproductive conversations, the imbalance tipped so far that the marriage fell over.

When Linda Button's other half, Peter, decided to become a beekeeper, he transformed their backyard. He cleared a space ...
09/07/2025

When Linda Button's other half, Peter, decided to become a beekeeper, he transformed their backyard. He cleared a space for the hives, lining it with rocks and building trellises with flowering vines to guide the bees away from the kids next door. "This is who Peter is, a nurturer," she writes. "It’s what drew me to him."

When Linda Button's other half decided to become a beekeeper, he transformed their backyard. He cleared a space for the hives, lining it with rocks and building trellises with flowering vines to guide the bees away from the kids next door. This is who Peter is, a nurturer, she writes. It’s what dr...

We belong in the homes we miss, and the ones we’re building as we go, writes Evy Peña. We belong in the losses that root...
03/07/2025

We belong in the homes we miss, and the ones we’re building as we go, writes Evy Peña. We belong in the losses that root us, and the stories we carry. We belong in the different versions of the songs we’ve loved, and the people we’ve sung them with.

The immigrant experience is defined by the quiet courage of reconciling where we come from with whom we hope to become, writes Evy Peña. We belong in the different versions of the songs we’ve loved, and the people we’ve sung them with.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" to honor the soldiers who gave their lives in the American Revolution ...
03/07/2025

Katharine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" to honor the soldiers who gave their lives in the American Revolution and the Civil War. But, writes John de Graaf, there's much more to it than that.

“America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates is as much critique as celebration, writes documentary filmmaker John de Graaf. While Bates’ first verse celebrates America’s beauty, the other three ask us to fully honor the values that we claim to hold.

Walk into an establishment to ask for work and you’ll be told to apply online, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. Go to the pr...
01/07/2025

Walk into an establishment to ask for work and you’ll be told to apply online, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. Go to the prospective employer’s website and you’ll be presented with a text-only interface. Then, after you submit an application, you must be able to read the email or text that explains next steps. In our over-reliance on technology, we are undermining our ability to rely on people quite capable of doing necessary work.

While literacy might not be required to do a job laying bricks or hammering nails, it is required to get it, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. From online applications to QR codes, in our over-reliance on technology, we are undermining our ability to rely on people quite capable of doing necessary work.

Cog editor Cloe Axelson should be great at keeping a journal. But she has a nagging (if slightly unhinged) worry if she ...
30/06/2025

Cog editor Cloe Axelson should be great at keeping a journal. But she has a nagging (if slightly unhinged) worry if she died suddenly, all of her private musings could become public. Author Suleika Jaouad might have the answer for that.

Theoretically, Cog editor Cloe Axelson should be great at keeping a journal. But she has a nagging (if slightly unhinged) worry that she could be run over by a bus: What if all of her private musings immediately became public? Author Suleika Jaouad might have the answer for that.

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