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

Donald Kaul’s Departure

An old friend and former colleague pays tribute to the longtime Des Moines Register and OtherWords columnist.

The Lineup: Week of August 6-12, 2012

Jim Hightower describes Wall Street’s latest efforts to extract the earnings of college grads.

Letters to the Editor: Readers Respond to Kaul’s Departure, Part III

Readers from Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, California, Maine, Michigan, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Washington state, Arizona, Missouri –and of course Iowa–urge Don to write again when he recovers.

Crashing the GDP

A harrowing road trip on the first day of my summer internship helped me get the point of my work on the Genuine Progress Indicator.

The Separate-but-Equal Sale

While charter proponents claim that their schools are less bureaucratic, more efficient, and more effective, the evidence doesn’t really back that up.

Shortcut to Nowhere

For desperate workers that turn to temp agencies for a step up, too often they find only quicksand.

A Rotten Cop on the Beat

When one country polices the world, who polices the police?

Grabbing Bigger Slices of Pie

New research shows that we shouldn’t swallow conservative claims about taxes.

Turning College Students into a Commodity

After graduation, students’ incomes would be “attached” by financiers.

Privatizing Public Schools

Watch the magic of the market at work.

Washington’s Democratic Double-Standard

Uncle Sam isn’t making much fuss over Latin America’s law-breaking lawmakers.

Supreme Court, Inc.

The precedents the Roberts Court is setting are making it easier for corporations to exercise the rights of American citizens without corresponding civic responsibilities.

The Lineup: Week of July 30-August 5, 2012

This week’s OtherWords editorial package features Sam Pizzigati’s first column.

Smoldering Planet

Colorado’s wildfires and the record heat waves should sober up some climate change doubters.

Plain Old Murder

The Pakistani government loudly protests that many of the casualties of drone strikes are civilian.

Your Labor Rights or Your Life

A hostile labor environment in a country like Colombia, connected through a trade agreement to the U.S., has repercussions for workers at home as well.

Cleaning Up Campaign Finance

Citizens United is here to stay unless we show it the door.

Marching Toward Greater Inequality

The world’s super rich, according to a new report, are squirreling away phenomenal quantities of their cash in secret tax havens.

How Mitt Got His

Romney keeps playing hide-and-seek with his booty.

Unmanly Drones

A real man could never kill so many men and women and live with himself.