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

Where We Dwell Is Changing Fast

The American homeownership rate has declined.

The Lineup: Week of April 2-8, 2012

Chuck Collins explains what’s behind the “99 percent spring.”

The 99 Percent Spring

The people aren’t powerless in the face of extreme inequality.

Our Failed Cuba Policy Fixation

In an election year, presidential candidates spend a great deal of time bowing before the altar of the creaky Cuban embargo.

Catching up to the Local Food Revolution

Government policies and spending primarily support industrialized agriculture and the giant farms and corporations that profit from it.

Congress: Listen to Lt. Col. Daniel Davis

The 17-year Army veteran risked his career by speaking out about the Afghanistan War.

Riding on the Wrong Track

Stop the world; I want to get off.

Congress Opts to Keep Poisoning Children

Lead poisoning is entirely preventable.

Off Our Backs

I know how you guys feel.

Energy: Too Important to Leave to Corporations

In the United States, profits rule while the environment takes a back seat.

Letter from Kenya: An On-the-Ground Take on Kony 2012

The issues addressed and distorted in that video may seem like old news in the United States, but they are going to be pressing and current for many years to come for Uganda and its neighbors.

Health Care Q & A

Not all the arguments about the Affordable Care Act take place in the Supreme Court.

The Lineup: Week of March 26-April 1, 2012

Salvatore Babones debunks Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare concerns

Ryan’s Medicare Hot Air

It’s simply not time to hit the panic button.

Greening the Pentagon

If we want to build up a green manufacturing economy, we should directly invest in it, not plow more money into military spending.

Washington’s Strange Nuclear Bedfellows

The United States, as the world’s undisputed nuclear weapons superpower, should finally ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Avoiding the Next Arctic Oil Disaster

Exxon’s Valdez disaster had ruinous and enduring impacts.

Grand Old Pedagogy

We’re a diverse nation of many religions and each has the same rights as any other group, including the right to be left alone.

Down and Out on Wall Street

We should all be as broke as they are.

Nuclear Alert

The red alert from Iran, with some context.