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

Cereal Crimes

Your family’s “natural” granola may contain toxic chemicals and sewage sludge.

Move Your Money to a Better Bank

Smaller financial institutions take the time to get to know their clients.

At Peace with Christmas

What you call credit card debt is what some other person calls a job.

Missoula’s Supremely Important Vote

Making clear that corporations aren’t people takes people power.

Shiny New War

This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.

We Should Buy More White Flags

Today, the business of America is war.

The Lineup: Week of Dec. 12-17, 2011

This holiday season, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to OtherWords.

The 10 Greediest Americans of 2011

Whether they manage football pageants or Ford Motor Co., these guys remind us how much needs to change, economically and politically, in 2012 and beyond.

Wealth is the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Whether you are religious or secular, make holidays a celebration of family, tradition, and values instead of unsustainable spending and materialism.

Ratcheting up the Rhetoric on Iran

The Democratic Party has tried to out-hawk Republicans since the early days of the Cold War.

Occupy the Food System

The world can feed itself, without corporate America’s science-experiment crops and expensive chemicals.

The Rich are Profiting Like It’s 1929

We’re being sold a bill of goods, people.

Influence Peddler for President

Gingrich, his lawyers, and his staff adamantly insist that it’s rude and crude to call him a lobbyist.

We’re Not Even Paving a Road to Nowhere

Our highways and bridges are decaying.

GOP Closets

You think you have skeletons in your closet?

No Execution For Mumia Abu-Jamal

Philadelphia prosecutors threw in the towel on Dec. 7.

The Other 99 Percent: How the U.S. Compares

The other 99 percent fare much worse in the United States than in any other developed country.

The Lineup: Week of Dec. 5-11, 2011

Jim Hightower lampoons a luxury tent Neiman Marcus is marketing to the uber-rich this holiday season.

2012 Won’t Be the Same without Herman Cain

The Institute’s deadline poet bids farewell to the former GOP front-runner’s entertaining presidential bid.

The Rich Don’t Need a Free Ride

Why should I pay no taxes while someone who gets up and goes to work every day does?