The Opinions Essay
Latest Essays
(James Yang/For The Washington Post)
These radically simple changes helped lawmakers actually get things done
Want to make Congress more effective? Start by moving the furniture.
The America trap: Why our enemies often underestimate us
In the 1930s, Germany and Japan bet against the United States going to war. They miscalculated.
Biden needs allies to keep China and Russia in check. Here’s how to do it.
Like his predecessors during the Cold War, Biden must deploy free trade as a weapon for isolating enemies and cementing friendship.
Originalism is bunk. Liberal lawyers shouldn’t fall for it.
The more liberals present originalist arguments, the more they legitimate originalism.
More Opinions Features
(Michelle Kondrich/The Washington Post)
Alexandra Petri presents: Real or fake? A history quiz!
Or, what happens when I spend my spare time making up Important American Documents.
Just how big should the House be? Let’s do the math.
Renovating our democracy for today's America requires smaller congressional districts. But what formula should we use? Let's look at some options.
Why Americans are so pessimistic about their finances
Inflation is less severe than it was a few months ago. But constantly monitoring how and where they spend money is stressing more than Americans' wallets.
My ‘Spring’ quilt is a patchwork of history, memory and hope
A year-long fabric-art project 'Seasons' honors the centuries-old traditions of African American fabric art.
The House was supposed to grow with population. It didn’t. Let’s fix that.
The framers never wanted members to represent such large districts — and with good reason.
What are America’s priorities? Ask the fashion world.
In the clothes we wear, all of us convey something about who we are — and what we think.
They clicked once. Then came the dark prisons.
Imagine being locked up for a tweet. That is what is happening to a new generation of political prisoners across the world.
America is in a ‘Great Pulling Apart.’ Can we pull together?
Our challenges are simply that our family is bigger now. Systems are straining under the scale and complexity of our family’s needs.
To build a delightful library for kids, start with these 99 books
The war over children's books is depressing. As a reset, we asked parents from across the political spectrum to tell us which books they consider essential.
The 9 best Thanksgiving songs I definitely didn’t just make up
The best Thanksgiving songs with which everyone is familiar and which we didn’t entirely write and record this week!
From the Archives
How our democracy has made dependency a right
Progressives want to dilute the concept of individualism, but that’s antithetical to America’s premise.
Want to build a far-right movement? Spain’s Vox party shows how.
Vox blazed across the Internet, dividing its country. Now it’s in parliament.
The strongmen strike back
Authoritarianism has reemerged as the greatest threat to the liberal democratic world — a profound ideological, as well as strategic, challenge. And we have no idea how to confront it.
Iran has reinvented the hostage crisis, 40 years later
Taking hostages has become a tool of diplomacy.
Jamal Khashoggi: A missing voice, a growing chorus
The quests that animated the Saudi journalist’s life cannot be so easily defeated.
China tried to erase the memory of Tiananmen Square. But its legacy lives on.
Three decades after the crackdown, Beijing is still terrified of the movement and what it stood for.
As brands keep wading in, it’s time to ask: Is Pride for sale?
Pride celebrations and the corporations that sponsor them are deeply intertwined, with far-reaching consequences.
Voices of the Movement podcast: Stories from civil rights leaders who changed America
A collection of memories from the past and lessons for the future from the people who lived through the movement, as told through a nine-episode podcast series.
‘If you don’t get at that rot, you just get more officers like Josh Hastings’
The shooting of 15-year-old Bobby Moore revealed a horror show of misconduct, cover-up and cascading institutional failure at the Little Rock Police Department.
She reported her rape. Her hometown turned against her. Can justice ever be served?
Twelve years later, past and present residents of Arlington, Tex., are still reckoning with Amber Wyatt’s story.
Trump’s travel ban is tearing couples apart: ‘My entire life has been put on hold’
One is American. The other is Iranian. This short film shows what happens when the U.S. government keeps you from your spouse.
Gun reforms can save lives. Science proves it.
Those who oppose reforms say nothing can be done. That’s demonstrably wrong.
The tweets, statements and speeches that defined Trump’s first year as president
We present the highlights: Year One of the Trump administration, as told by those who are (or were) part of it.
The one best idea for ending sexual harassment
We asked 16 leaders what one change could help stop sexual harassment in their fields.
Ken Burns wants ‘The Vietnam War’ to unite America. Can anyone do that under Trump?
When the filmmaker started his new series, he had no idea it would coincide with the most divisive era since Vietnam.
How police censorship shaped Hollywood
The police story is one of the elemental dramas of American popular culture.
