Columns

Former Indiana U,S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, in his office at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington on Nov. 24, 2006. (Pete Souza/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: We need Congress to ponder the long term with a new future-focused group

By John T. Shaw

October 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Half a century ago, many lawmakers viewed their responsibilities differently and created a forum to...

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia's Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on Oct. 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Daniel DePetris: Resumption of war between Houthis and Saudis is bad timing for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 12, 2026 at 1:27 p.m.

The attacks in Saudi Arabia come when Donald Trump is in a standoff over the...

Attorneys for Christa Pike hold a news conference after a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Corrections must preserve all evidence related to the failed execution of Pike, on Oct. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. (George Walker IV/AP)

Clarence Page: A botched execution shakes our death penalty presumptions

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The botched execution of Christa Pike offers a gross illustration of the cruelty that capital...

Journalist Danny Fenster, shown in September 2019 in Kraków, Poland. Fenster, an American journalist working for a news magazine in Myanmar has been detained by the authorities there.

Column: Columbia College alumnus detained in Myanmar for committing journalism

By Clarence Page

June 8, 2021 at 2:37 p.m.

He was so close. Columbia College journalism alumnus Danny Fenster was about to board a...

Column: I turned 50 and AARP started sending me mail. I had to find out why.

By Rex W. Huppke

June 8, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

I have a secret to reveal: I'm part of a vast left-wing conspiracy hellbent on...

Spin instructor Jason Easterly, of Bronzeville, who stands along the lakefront near the Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. art installation Demand Justice, is hosting a Juneteenth Freedom Ride through Bronzeville and downtown.

Column: Bronzeville spin instructor hosting a Juneteenth Freedom Ride. ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if this became a global movement?’

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2021 at 2:39 p.m.

It started as a simple request — student to teacher, friend to friend. Jason Easterly...

President Joe Biden speaks to a joint session of Congress on April 28, 2021, in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. As part of Biden's COVID-19 economic relief package, some parents will be able to receive $300 a month for each child under 6 and $250 a month for older children.

Column: Allowing poor children to go hungry would cost society more than Biden’s child tax credit expansion

By Dahleen Glanton

June 7, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

For some, President Joe Biden's plan to deposit up to $300 per child into the...

A demonstrator burns an American flag during a march in the Loop on May 29, 2020, to draw attention to the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Column: That thin line between order and chaos in Chicago and other towns

By John Kass

June 5, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

There is a thin line in big cities like Chicago, New York, Detroit and Los...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, center, stands among other politicians and civil leaders to shovel dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony for AIDS Garden Chicago on June 2, 2021.

Column: It’s Pride Month. Let’s take a moment to remember Jon-Henri Damski, Chicago’s gay philosopher and chronicler

By Mary Schmich

June 4, 2021 at 7:10 p.m.

On Wednesday morning, at the beginning of Chicago Pride Month, the city finally broke ground...

Column: Catching you up on the heartbreak and happiness in my family

By Eric Zorn

June 4, 2021 at 6:35 p.m.

I used to joke that my mother remembers John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt better than she...

Vice President Kamala Harris takes part in an event about high-speed internet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on June 3, 2021.

Column: Kamala Harris and the worsening job of vice president

By Steve Chapman

June 4, 2021 at 2:46 p.m.

Kamala Harris has been vilified by critics on the right, but the people who may...

Former NFL player Najeh Davenport in Miramar, Florida, on Aug. 24, 2020. Davenport is one of two Black former NFL players who have raised questions about potential racial bias in how their applications for dementia claims in the concussion settlement were evaluated.

Column: NFL’s ‘race-norming’ policy — now scrapped — is a sad example of systemic racism

By Clarence Page

June 4, 2021 at 4:12 p.m.

Oops! Who would have guessed that the NFL, after committing $250 million to combat "systemic...

Column: ‘Hunt, Gather, Parent’ makes a poignant case for American parents to ask for — and receive — a whole lot more help

By Heidi Stevens

June 4, 2021 at 2:43 p.m.

Michaeleen Doucleff had me at "control." "Our culture focuses almost entirely on one aspect of...

Columnists