Column: Colin Powell, we’ll miss you in the ‘sensible center’
When I heard that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had died, my mind raced back to the autumn of 2004, when I asked him whether he had given a...
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Column: ‘Squid Game’? ‘Parasite’? Here’s why they find a global audience
Since pop culture tells us a lot about our national state of mind, I have been intrigued by the internet buzz that has surrounded "Squid Game," a South Korean survivalist...
Column: Dave Chappelle’s pushback against cancel culture chills the joke
Dave Chappelle is in hot water again, testing the boundaries of public sensibilities so you don't have to. Netflix is defending his latest comedy special, "The Closer." Critics, particularly in...
Column: Crime in the tweets. Can social networks make gangs even more angry?
It was a terrible week for Facebook. First, an investigative series by The Wall Street Journal reported that for years Facebook has been studying how Instagram, which it owns, has...
Column: Still we ask, what caused the Great Chicago Fire? Not a cow.
Congratulations, Chicago. The city is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, although "celebrate" is not the best verb to use. "Commemorate" is better. After all, the fire...
Column: For Joe Biden and Donald Trump, an autumn of discontents
For all of his talk about the "fake," "biased," "dishonest," "corrupt," and "left-wing" media, I know Donald Trump loves us. He really does. He feeds off of our attention. His...
Column: The R. Kelly verdict: Yes, Black girls’ lives matter too
At last, Black girls' lives matter too. That was my response to the news that Chicago-born R&B star singer, songwriter and producer R. Kelly had been convicted Monday in New...
Column: Arne Duncan takes on Chicago’s violent crime wave at the grassroots
As Chicago ended the summer on pace to have its highest annual murder tally in a quarter century, I asked former Education Secretary Arne Duncan where he finds hope for...
Column: No, those aren’t whips the Border Patrol is using while dealing with Haitian migrants
A picture, as an old saying (almost) goes, is worth 10,000 mixed messages. That's what I saw in the startling weekend news video of what looked like U.S. Border Patrol...
Column: Larry Nassar scandal shows how the ‘twisties’ can take different forms
As I watched Simone Biles and three other U.S. Olympic gymnasts tell a Senate committee of how badly their complaints of sexual abuse had been handled by the FBI, I...