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.

"Congress’ nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts will endanger the services that millions of other disabled Americans and ...
10/08/2025

"Congress’ nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts will endanger the services that millions of other disabled Americans and older adults and I rely on every day — not only to live in the community, but also to make important contributions to it," writes Anne Fracht.

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago, but this year they cut Medicaid, and my future is uncertain, writes Anne Fracht. Without Medicaid, I might never have had the chance to be a part of my community the way I am today.

While I was cheering for the Hulk, my immigrant grandmother was cheering for something bigger, writes Jennifer Serafyn. ...
09/08/2025

While I was cheering for the Hulk, my immigrant grandmother was cheering for something bigger, writes Jennifer Serafyn. She was cheering for her adopted homeland, for freedom and safety, for the simple pleasure of watching TV with her granddaughter.

My immigrant grandmother’s English wasn’t great, and I didn’t speak Polish, so our closeness didn’t come from deep conversations, writes Jennifer Serafyn. Instead, our bond was forged watching Hulk Hogan wrestle on Saturday mornings.

What continues to make Yafa so special is that what might feel sacred elsewhere is the standard here, writes Lydia Begag...
09/08/2025

What continues to make Yafa so special is that what might feel sacred elsewhere is the standard here, writes Lydia Begag.

What continues to make Yafa so special is that what might feel sacred elsewhere is the standard here, writes Lydia Begag. Over time, I started paying attention not just to how Abdulla’s practice of ‘amanah’ was unfolding, but how it was quietly changing me.

The unvarnished horror of mass starvation and suffering in Gaza must be seen for what it is – an unfathomable abominatio...
08/08/2025

The unvarnished horror of mass starvation and suffering in Gaza must be seen for what it is – an unfathomable abomination that must not continue, yet which cannot be undone, writes Daniel Osborn.

The unvarnished horror of mass starvation and suffering in Gaza must be seen for what it is: an unfathomable abomination that must not continue, yet which cannot be undone, writes Daniel Osborn.

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago, but this year they cut Medicaid, and my future is unce...
06/08/2025

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago, but this year they cut Medicaid, and my future is uncertain, writes Anne Fracht. Without Medicaid, I might never have had the chance to be a part of my community the way I am today.

Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago, but this year they cut Medicaid, and my future is uncertain, writes Anne Fracht. Without Medicaid, I might never have had the chance to be a part of my community the way I am today.

My immigrant grandmother’s English wasn’t great, and I didn’t speak Polish, so our closeness didn’t come from deep conve...
04/08/2025

My immigrant grandmother’s English wasn’t great, and I didn’t speak Polish, so our closeness didn’t come from deep conversations, writes Jennifer Serafyn. Instead, our bond was forged watching Hulk Hogan wrestle on Saturday mornings.

My immigrant grandmother’s English wasn’t great, and I didn’t speak Polish, so our closeness didn’t come from deep conversations, writes Jennifer Serafyn. Instead, our bond was forged watching Hulk Hogan wrestle on Saturday mornings.

Now, as we face a growing list of challenges to the Constitution, attacks on higher education, cuts to Medicaid, and stu...
27/07/2025

Now, as we face a growing list of challenges to the Constitution, attacks on higher education, cuts to Medicaid, and students snatched off the street, people of conscience are asking “What can we do?” writes Michael Ansara. The answer is that we must urgently build the power of decency and democracy.

Michael Ansara, the author of a new memoir, “The Hard Work of Hope,” writes, the demonstrations, sit-ins, boycotts and marches of the ’60s and ’70s were possible because of the constant work of building organization, engaging those sitting on the sidelines, developing leaders. Organizing is ...

"My daughter will be five in a few months. She’s off to kindergarten in the fall," writes Ruthie Ackerman. "If you ask, ...
25/07/2025

"My daughter will be five in a few months. She’s off to kindergarten in the fall," writes Ruthie Ackerman. "If you ask, she’ll tell you about the lady with the extra eggs she was nice enough to share, and the doctor who helped make it all happen."

When Ruthie Ackerman first decided to use a donor egg to conceive, she worried there could be a lingering, lifelong wedge between her and her child, because they wouldn't share genetic material. But today Ruthie knows something she only understood intellectually before: Family isn’t biology or ge...

ESSAY: Michael Ansara, the author of a new memoir, “The Hard Work of Hope,” writes that the demonstrations, sit-ins, boy...
24/07/2025

ESSAY: Michael Ansara, the author of a new memoir, “The Hard Work of Hope,” writes that the demonstrations, sit-ins, boycotts and marches of the ’60s and ’70s were possible because of the constant work of building organization. Organizing is what transforms hope from aspiration into actuality.

Michael Ansara, the author of a new memoir, “The Hard Work of Hope,” writes, the demonstrations, sit-ins, boycotts and marches of the ’60s and ’70s were possible because of the constant work of building organization, engaging those sitting on the sidelines, developing leaders. Organizing is ...

"I have to move my body to still my mind. I’ve always been this way, so it surprised no one when I took up running as a ...
23/07/2025

"I have to move my body to still my mind. I’ve always been this way, so it surprised no one when I took up running as a teenager, or when it carried me through adulthood."

Cog editor Kate Neale Cooper is a runner. Or at least she used to be. In midlife, I’m not willing to accept that my running days are over, she writes, but I have accepted that I need to find new ways to move. Still, I told people, I do not like yoga.

"Two of my favorite musicians, Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, are being feted in the twilight of their careers," writes...
23/07/2025

"Two of my favorite musicians, Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, are being feted in the twilight of their careers," writes Mark Schlack. "I’m thrilled to see them get their due, but what’s missing for me is an acknowledgement of the daring brilliance of their lesser known, or at least less celebrated, work."

Two of my favorite musicians, Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, are being feted in this twilight of their careers, writes Mark Schlack. I’m thrilled to see them get their due, but what’s missing for me is an acknowledgement of the daring brilliance of their less celebrated work.

Pavithra Natarajan ran triathlons in her 20s, before she lost herself in the quotidian of being a wife and mother. Years...
18/07/2025

Pavithra Natarajan ran triathlons in her 20s, before she lost herself in the quotidian of being a wife and mother. Years passed, then a chance encounter nudged awake something inside her and she registered for another race.

Pavithra Natarajan ran triathlons in her 20s, before she lost herself in the quotidian of being a wife and mother. Years passed, then a chance encounter nudged awake something inside her and she registered for another race.

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