OtherWords

OtherWords is a free, non-profit editorial service published by the Institute for Policy Studies. Each week, OtherWords distributes a batch of publication-ready op-eds, along with a cartoon, to thousands of readers — including hundreds of editors of small and medium-sized newspapers. Each year, these op-eds appear thousands of times in local newspapers throughout the country, as well as in a growing number of online outlets. We believe that strong social movements need informed citizens, and that people learn best from conversations in their own communities — neighbor-to-neighbor. But between a consolidated, corporate-controlled mass media and a deafening social media echo chamber, it’s gotten harder than ever to have these conversations, especially in smaller communities with few local media options.

Through OtherWords, we’re able to provide millions of readers in America’s heartland with intelligent commentary on a range of progressive causes — on climate, inequality, war and peace, the movements for race and gender justice, and beyond. Through the trusted local papers that use our service, we reach readers in red, blue, and purple states alike with well-written, timely commentaries on the national issues that affect their lives. To read our work or get information about publishing it in your community, check out OtherWords.org.

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Latest Work

The War on Woke Is a Scam on Middle America

The MAGA bargain goes something like this: If we hurt other people worse, is it ok if we hurt you, too?

We Need to Broaden Our Conversation About Guns

Looking at gun manufacturing rather than just gun ownership can help break down our status quo red-blue divide.

20 Years On, What Did the Iraq War Truly Cost?

The war claimed more than lives and treasure — it claimed a future’s worth of lost opportunities. Now, younger generations are demanding them back.

Immigration Policy Doesn’t Have To Be This Way

For 20 years, the Department of Homeland Security has made life a nightmare for millions — but Dreamers like me have seen that there’s another way.

Biden’s Budget Would Level the Playing Field and Reduce the Deficit

The president’s plan for jobs, families, and health reflects the things most of us value. But it should spend more on those and less on the Pentagon.

Rail Workers Warned Us: Greed Is Dangerous

Following derailments across the country, rail workers have a solution to the nation’s rail crisis: public ownership.

Biden Is Right: You Shouldn’t Pay a Higher Tax Rate Than Billionaires

The president has renewed his call for a “billionaire minimum tax.” If Congress won’t listen, states should.

Biden Presented a Bold Agenda. Can He Back It Up?

The president had much to celebrate in his State of the Union address. But to finish the job, he needs to take executive action.

Helping Students Sort Fact from Fiction

More schools need to teach kids how to recognize BS when they see it.

No, ‘Independent State Legislatures’ Can’t Shred Constitutional Rights

Far-right state lawmakers say the Constitution gives them the right to stiff voters. Legal experts say that’s bogus.

We Need a Smaller Pentagon

Sorry, but we have too many other needs in this country to spend $858 billion on a department that can’t even pass an audit.

Elon Musk May Not Be So Brilliant After All

As Twitter implodes under Musk’s rule, a lawsuit argues Tesla is vastly overpaying the world’s richest man.

Young Voters Delivered Big Wins for Abortion Rights

Lawmakers should take note: Young people will resist radical efforts to violate our reproductive freedoms and our futures.

How Low-Income Voters Shaped the Midterm Elections

Americans across the spectrum voted to raise wages, expand health care, and protect abortion rights. These issues have a common thread.

This Year, Voters Made an End Run Around Out of Touch Politicians

Citizen-led initiatives scored big wins in the midterms. But now this form of direct democracy is under attack.

Republican ‘Solutions’ Will Make Inflation Worse

If cutting corporate tax rates and making billionaires wealthier actually fixed inflation, it would have been fixed ages ago.

Can’t Beat the Heat? Blame Inequality

Why poor neighborhoods are often hotter than rich neighborhoods — and what to do about it.

The Human Cost of LGBTQ Book Bans

Banning kids from learning about themselves and each other isn’t just ineffective — it’s cruel.

Student Debt Relief Is a Big Deal

I borrowed modestly, worked on campus, and still had to skip meals to make loan payments — and I was one of the lucky ones.

The Great Migration Failed to Bridge the Racial Wealth Divide. What’s Next?

Real and lasting economic opportunities for Black families will come only through a serious national reckoning on race.