Commentary
Commentary: Reproductive freedom is under attack in New Hampshire
As a New Hampshire resident and a specialist in reproductive health, it is shocking and unsettling to watch unprecedented attacks on access to family planning and abortion care play out in our state. My unique and privileged position allows me to care for patients through life-changing medical events. Many experience happy, fulfilling, and joyful outcomes […]
Editor’s Notebook: A chill in January
The weather app reported a temperature of zero degrees early Tuesday morning, and I took it at its word. There’s probably somebody in town with a thermometer on the sunny side of their barn who could dispute the data – who could offer proof that zero was an exaggeration or an outright lie and that […]
Commentary: The impact of social media on the mental health of everyone
In 2015, Sherry Turkle, a social scientist and licensed psychologist, wrote a bestseller – “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power Of Talk In a Digital Age” – on how in-person interactions are being replaced by devices such as smartphones. This book was released years after Facebook and other platforms began to not only replace conversations, but also […]
3-Minute Civics: Presidents, justices, and just presidents
“He was only president for one term, but he changed the balance of the Supreme Court for the next generation. How is that allowed?” I recently heard this comment regarding President Donald Trump’s court appointments. And I think we can all understand where it’s coming from. Supreme Court justices serve virtually for as long as […]
Commentary: Sununu wrongly equates New Hampshire abortion ban with Massachusetts law
I proudly grew up in the Granite State; the “Live Free Or Die” mantra is etched on my psyche. Now, as a Massachusetts resident, I cringe every time I hear New Hampshire elected officials disparage those of us “south of the border.” The irony, however, is that these same politicians point to Massachusetts to justify […]
Commentary: Have we learned the necessary lessons in the year since last Jan. 6?
One year after the attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., our country finds itself in even graver danger than it was on that terrible, unprecedented day. A year after the attempted coup – and it was an attempted coup – we must understand and respond to that day in the context of history, because […]
Editor’s Notebook: The ultimate New Year’s resolution
I wrote the headline for this notebook entry before I started writing the essay. What’s more, I wrote it without having any idea what the resolution is or what would make it “ultimate.” It’s the kind of thing a desperate writer does in the foggy wake of a long holiday. Guy Clark said, “Some days […]
Commentary: Anti-public health bills threaten New Hampshire’s present, future
This week, as the New Hampshire Legislature gathers to open the 2022 session, lawmakers will have to navigate not only the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to ravage our state, but also an unprecedented assault on New Hampshire’s public health system. This session, more than 30 pieces of legislation have been introduced that, if passed into […]
Commentary: How effective are vaccines against omicron? An epidemiologist answers 6 questions
The pandemic has brought many tricky terms and ideas from epidemiology into everyone’s lives. Two particularly complicated concepts are vaccine efficacy and effectiveness. These are not the same thing. And as time goes on and new variants like omicron emerge, they are changing, too. Melissa Hawkins is an epidemiologist and public health researcher at American […]
Commentary: 2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions
The Arctic has long been portrayed as a distant end-of-the-Earth place, disconnected from everyday common experience. But as the planet rapidly warms, what happens in this icy region, where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the rest of the globe, increasingly affects lives around the world. On Dec. 14, a team of 111 scientists […]
Commentary: The high price of student loans for parents who borrow for their children
When people take out student loans for themselves, certain risks are involved. The debt can negatively affect a person’s mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. It can also harm a person’s financial well-being. But when taking out a student loan for one’s child, the risk is even higher that the loan could be associated with […]
Commentary: What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them
The deadly tornado outbreak that tore through communities from Arkansas to Illinois on the night of Dec. 10-11 was so unusual in its duration and strength, particularly for December, that a lot of people, including the U.S. president, are asking what role climate change might have played – and whether tornadoes will become more common […]