Editor’s note: This article kicks off our collaboration with Point Taken, a new program from WGBH that premieres Tuesday, April 5 on PBS and online at pbs.org. The show will feature fact-based debate on major issues of the day, without the shouting.

The American Dream that has existed in this country for over 50 years is on life support. For...

As a toddler growing up in the 1950s, Richard Wawro threw violent tantrums. Often, he would tap the same piano key for long stretches of time.

When he was three, his parents took him for testing at a nearby hospital. They were told that he was moderately to severely retarded. His...

You might think the only people who wind up in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) are at the brink of death and in dire need of specialized care. ICUs are designed to look after patients who need ventilators, medications to support blood pressure, high-tech treatments and...

Following the March 2016 bombings in Brussels, Donald Trump stated:

We have to be smart … We’re taking in people without real documentation. We don’t know where they are coming from … they could be ISIS-related.

Not to be outdone, Sen. Ted Cruz added:

We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim...

Last month, my colleagues and I were moved by a beautiful and tragic New York Times editorial by Kate Bowler, a religion professor from Duke Divinity School who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Bowler recently wrote a book – Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel –...

The outlook is often bleak for young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Even when they manage to graduate from high school or college, it’s very difficult for them to find a full-time job.

While there are many...

Officials in Washington, D.C. said this week they may have to shut down portions of the Metro subway system for months because its piecemeal approach to maintenance is no longer sufficient.

The disclosure follows a...

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory this week said that rooftop solar panels have the potential to generate nearly 40 percent of electricity in the U.S. But what about the cost of going solar?

Many...

For Major League Baseball teams, spring brings the promise of a better year. For the baseball media, it means putting their expertise to the test and forecasting player and team performances. Most of these forays into the future will be quickly forgotten, and for baseball’s prognosticators, the public’s amnesia is fortunate:...

When we think about disadvantages and challenges in the labor market, unemployment generally takes center stage, clearly exemplified by the monthly jobs report hype over one stat: the unemployment rate.

Is it up or down? What will it be next month?

The same is true in the academic world. While there is voluminous research on the causes and...