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.

Sign up for Otherwords

Latest Work

Congress, Don’t Scrooge the Jobless

Extending unemployment benefits immediately would save what otherwise will be another dismal holiday season for American retailers.

Bring Back American Manufacturing

Without a solid industrial base, the United States cannot rebuild its strong middle class.

Patriotic Schlunk

Always vote, even if you have to hold your nose.

Simmering Water War

Boneheaded executives and greed-headed investors might be draining the fresh water supplies where you live.

Food Pyramid Scheme

Let them eat pie in the sky.

Recession? What Recession?

The rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer, with many who used to be middle class sliding into the second camp.

The Lineup: Week of November 8-14, 2010

OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul marvels at the GOP’s “magical” gains in the midterm elections and FCNL’s Joe Volk urges the Senate to ratify the New START nuclear weapons treaty before the year ends.

How about Saving all the Miners?

Mining endangers communities everywhere with safety hazards and environmental destruction.

Negotiating with Nutjobs

The Obama-hating rhetoric is non-stop.

Will the Senate Come Together to Make a Safer World?

The New START treaty is a no-brainer.

The Pentagon Must Protect Whistleblowers

Military whistleblowers deserve safe channels to report wrongdoing they find on the ground without the fear of retaliation.

GOP Magic Act

Voters responded to hard times by increasing the power of an avowed enemy of prosperity.

Spreading Weapons in the Name of Peace

The theory is that somehow this escalation of military testosterone in the explosive Middle East might produce harmony some day.

Money Bags

Thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, candidates for office in the United States accept unlimited donations from unspecified sources.

Free Trade: A Corporate Scam

There’s a lot of money to be made in destroying the environment and abusing workers.

Speaker Bachmann?

Here’s a snapshot of three huge stories currently buried by breaking electoral news.

Turning Right into a Dead End

I don’t buy the notion that our country is abruptly or eternally shifting rightward.

The Lineup: Week of November 1-7, 2010

John Feffer ponders a new sitcom that treats outsourcing as a gag and Larry Cox calls on the state of Georgia to not execute Troy Davis.

Outsourcing Television

American television viewers are being asked to sympathize with a group of Indian workers who have jobs that Americans have recently lost.

Sweet Tomato Victory

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ longtime strategy is bearing fruit.