The Opinions Essay
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‘Liberation is born from the soul’: Oswaldo Payá’s struggle for a free Cuba
This is the story of how one man fought the Castros.
Susan Collins confronts a moment of truth
The Maine senator made a bet on Judge Kavanaugh. Was she naive — or strategic?
She was paid to stay off drugs. Here’s why this approach could help others.
A treatment known as “contingency management” has been shown to help people abstain from highly addictive drugs. So why is it vastly underused?
Consent is not enough. We need a new sexual ethic.
Our consent-first culture has left us liberated – and miserable. Here’s how to fix it.
More Opinions Features
(Luci Gutiérrez for The Washington Post)
Americans need to get better at taking sick days
With many employees either working from home or lacking paid sick leave, taking time to recover is harder than ever.
The Supreme Court’s crisis of legitimacy
Even before the Supreme Court took the unpopular step of overturning the right to abortion, its approval rating had fallen to a historic low.
Susan Collins, school shootings, forced birth: The week in audio essays
This collection of audio stories read by their authors covers topics such as abortion, being at school when another mass shooting occurs, and why the Golden State Warriors are "America’s Team."
6 solutions to gun violence that could work
No proposed reform alone will stop our gun epidemic. But together, they can make a serious impact that will save lives.
Breastfeeding isn’t ‘free.’ Here’s what it cost me.
Breastfeeding costs money and time. I know, because I tracked every minute I spent nursing and pumping for the first six months of my son’s life.
These people did not have to die
The lives lost in Uvalde, Tex. — and all those before them — must be a spur to action.
Editors’ Picks: The most powerful audio essays of the month
Post editors choose some of our favorite audio op-eds of the month, brought to life by their authors. May’s list includes essays from actor James Cromwell, lawyer Ben Crump and U.S. Navy veteran Allison Gill.
The formula shortage, James Cromwell explains his Starbucks protest and more: 6 essays read by the author
This collection of audio stories covers topics such as how overturning Roe would affect the U.S. military and the ethics of taking formula from migrant babies.
How 1 million covid deaths compares to other tragedies in U.S. history
1 million people in the United States have died of covid-19. Here's how to visualize that staggering loss.
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.
