Recent opinion and analysis pieces written by UW-affiliated experts. See The Conversation for only the analysis pieces.
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Full archive of opinion and analysis stories
- Analysis: Trying to unlock shrimp biology with baking soda | Chinook Observer3 days ago
"Burrowing shrimp are a well-documented native pest species in Willapa Bay that have been a nuisance to bottom-culture shellfish farmers for over a century. Methods for controlling shrimp populations have varied over the years, including mechanical and chemical controls," writes Emma Guerrini Romano, UW doctoral student in biology. Andrea Durant, UW assistant professor of biology, and Jennifer Ruesink, UW professor of biology, are mentioned. - Analysis: How Venezuelan oil, Hugo Chávez and geopolitics led to Maduro’s capture | Forbes3 days ago
"Venezuela has long played a part in the global history of oil and its geopolitics, and the capture of its former president, Nicolás Maduro, should be viewed in this context," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Analysis: How Trump’s Greenland threats amount to an implicit rejection of the legal principles of Nuremberg | The Conversation3 days ago
"U.S. President Donald Trump has, for the moment, indicated a willingness to abandon his threat to take over Greenland through military force – saying that he prefers negotiation to invasion. He is, however, continuing to assert that the United States ought to acquire ownership of the self-governing territory," writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW. - Opinion: Improving how we track progress for river protection | Forbes1 week ago
"Protection of the environment generally receives strong support from the public. Yet there has always been a paradox at the heart of that support: Protection for water resources is consistently the highest environmental priority for the pubic, yet the sources of that water—freshwater ecosystems—are often less protected and more degraded than terrestrial or marine ecosystems," writes Jeff Opperman. UW research is mentioned. - Opinion: ICE killed Renee Good and the deaths didn't start there | South Seattle Emerald1 week ago
"On Jan. 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers for protesting the harm and violence inflicted on her immigrant neighbors. This tragedy is not an isolated event; the Trump administration has been killing and disappearing people of color long before this tragedy came to light," writes Georgina Olazcon Mozo, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the UW. - Opinion: Why WA’s tenant right-to-counsel law isn’t working | The Seattle Times2 weeks ago
"In 2021, Washington lawmakers transformed the legal process of eviction when they passed a groundbreaking 'right-to-counsel' law meant to ensure legal representation for tenants who receive public assistance or who have very low incomes. But nearly five years later, eviction court in King County and other parts of the state remains deeply inaccessible — and thousands of tenants are still losing their homes without ever speaking to a lawyer," writes Will von Geldern, a doctoral student in public policy and governance at the UW. Rachel Fyall, associate professor of public policy and governance at the UW, and Karin Martin, assistant professor of public policy and governance at the UW, are mentioned. - Opinion: Model MLK Jr. and ask: What am I doing for others? | The Seattle Times2 weeks ago
"As we honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., it’s fitting to also honor service to others and challenge ourselves to give time and love to our communities. King believed that the central question in life was: 'What are you doing for others?'" writes Ed Taylor, UW vice provost and dean of undergraduate academic affairs. - Analysis: What ending atmospheric research would really cost The US | Forbes4 weeks ago
"NCAR is a legendary institution in the global scientific community. That it is now threatened with liquidation by the Trump Administration marks a blunt repudiation of its long history of support and denial of the recognized status it has earned over many decades of fundamental contribution," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies. - Opinion: Homelessness in Seattle: We can’t unsee it | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"Visible homelessness, like a car wreck, both horrifies and transfixes us. Or many of us. We hate to witness the “squalor” of disheveled, desperate people. And then we crane our necks to see it more closely," writes Walter Hatch, affiliate professor of international studies at the UW. Gregg Colburn, associate professor of real estate at the UW, is mentioned. - Letter to the Editor: Seniors’ mental health: Limit access to firearms, medication | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"At Forefront Suicide Prevention, we’ve long been concerned about suicide among seniors. In the highest risk group, men ages 80 to 84, a shocking 85% of suicides involve firearm use. Medication overdoses are the most frequent type of suicide attempt," write Rebecca Vaux, communications director of the UW's Forefront Suicide Prevention center, and Dr. Jeffrey Sung, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: Epstein files’ lessons echo in WA: Stop protecting sex buyers | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"Survivor accounts of the lasting effects of their prostitution at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy friends repeat the story of every trafficked girl and woman on Aurora Avenue in Seattle," writes Debra Boyer, affiliate faculty in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at the UW. - Analysis: The ‘one chatbot per child’ model for AI in classrooms conflicts with what research shows: Learning is a social process | The Conversation2 months ago
"As a public school teacher, I was often the first to bring technology into my classroom. I was dazzled by the promise of a digital future in education. Now as a social scientist who studies how people learn, I believe K-12 schools need to question predominant visions of AI for education," writes Niral Shah, associate professor of education at the UW. - Opinion: Susan Kane-Ronning: Wolf recovery is ongoing in Washington and across the West | The Spokesman Review2 months ago
"The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s recent vote against translocating Washington wolves to Colorado was not a referendum against Colorado’s wolf recovery. Washington’s wolf population declined by 9% in 2024, and breeding pairs dropped from 23 to 18. The request for Washington wolves also came after conservationists beat back a legislative attempt to downlist wolves from endangered to sensitive, weakening wolf protections," writes Susan Kane-Ronning. A University of Washington study is mentioned. - Opinion: The ignorance of South Asian cardiovascular disease outcomes by the US healthcare system | NW Asian Weekly2 months ago
"The United States healthcare system continues to overlook the urgent need to improve South Asian cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, and it shows," writes Adelyn Emil, an undergraduate in the UW School of Public Health. UW Medicine is mentioned. - Automated systems decide which homeless Philadelphians get housing and who stays on the street — often in ways that feel arbitrary to those waiting | The Conversation2 months ago
"Seeing a person huddled under a makeshift roof of tarps or curled up on a warm grate can evoke powerful emotions and questions. How did they get here? Why doesn’t someone help them? What can I do about this? The answers to these questions are complex. However, a significant body of research suggests that there is a highly effective solution for many individuals who experience homelessness. It is called supportive housing," writes Pelle Tracey, assistant professor in the Information School. - Opinion: The state of healthcare in America | KCSB3 months ago
"America spends twice as much per person on health care than any other nation, yet millions of people here do not have access to health care. Given how the government has savaged the agencies comprising the Department of Health and Human services, I can't see how there can be any progress to make America healthy again," says Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, associate teaching professor emeritus of global health and of health services at the UW. - Opinion: Biodegradable, done right: Make sustainable product choices | Los Angeles Times3 months ago
"Microplastics can start in the kitchen. Swap short-life wipes, liners and everyday packaging for biodegradable options and match them to real home or industrial compost routes," writes Junjie Yang. A University of Washington study is referenced. - Editorial: ICE is checking law enforcement databases — WA has a law against that | The Seattle Times3 months ago
"As federal immigration authorities step up their roundup of Black and brown people they suspect of being undocumented, Washington should make sure local law enforcement agencies follow the state’s law designed to protect its immigrant residents and the state’s economy," writes The Seattle Times editorial board. A report from the UW Center for Human Rights is referenced. - Opinion: How AI Is changing higher education | The Chronicle of Higher Education3 months ago
"When we tell students they can get 'answers' from a chatbot, we are failing to model or encourage the kind of sophisticated information-seeking behavior that underlies critical thinking," writes Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW. - Opinion: Idaho WWAMI a lifeline for rural physician shortages today | Idaho Statesman3 months ago
"The Idaho WWAMI program — a groundbreaking partnership between the state of Idaho, the University of Idaho and the University of Washington School of Medicine — has been a lifeline for our state’s health care system for over 53 years," writes Dr. Joey Florence. UW Medicine is mentioned. - Editorial: Police should protect the public, not the feds | Yakima Herald-Republic3 months ago
"At the very least, local and federal authorities shouldn’t be bending or breaking state laws. And local law officers shouldn’t have to choose whether to serve the public that they’ve sworn to protect or obey federal officials who increasingly see themselves as accountable to no one," writes the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board. A report by the UW Center for Human rights is referenced. - Opinion: Federal access to license plate data alarming, not surprising | Tacoma News Tribune3 months ago
"Civil libertarians have long warned about the risks of allowing law enforcement agencies to track people through license plate readers as a tool for criminal investigations. One of their arguments: how can we be sure we’ll know when other government agencies access this data?" writes Laura Hautala. A report by the UW Center for Human rights is referenced. - Opinion: In today’s world, we need real stories, not just facts | The Seattle Times4 months ago
"When our expectations of reality, shaped by the stories we collectively tell ourselves about how the world works, no longer align with our experiences, reality itself can begin to feel like it’s unraveling. I call this fracture between expectation and experience the 'authenticity gap,'" writes Danielle Lee Tomson, research manager at the UW Center for an Informed Public. - Opinion: Reframing the narrative on physics readiness | Physics Today4 months ago
"Alternative undergraduate physics courses expand access to students and address socioeconomic barriers that prevent many of them from entering physics and engineering fields," write Suzanne White Brahmia, associate professor of physics at the UW, and Geraldine L. Cochran. - Opinion: The siren song of forced drug treatment | PubliCola4 months ago
"...'Forced treatment,' also known as involuntary treatment, should remain an option of last resort, used only in extreme cases of grave disability or imminent harm to self or others," writes Susan Collins, co-director of the Harm Reduction Research & Treatment Center at the UW School of Medicine. - Analysis: Can violent extremists be deradicalized? I spoke with 24 former terrorists in Indonesia to find out | The Conversation5 months ago
"Can a person who once embraced terrorism and violence truly change? As a researcher who studies soft power and ideological violence, I set out to answer that question by asking 24 Indonesian former terrorists and holding focus group discussion with ex-jihadists," writes Bernard Loesi, a doctoral student in international relations at the UW. - Analysis: Silenced labs, exiled minds: How global science was set back a century | Forbes5 months ago
"Modern science has yielded immense benefits to society, yet it has also suffered greatly at the hands of several major nations. Politics and ideology, not religion, have been the reason," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Analysis: How RFK Jr.’s misguided science on mRNA vaccines is shaping policy — a vaccine expert examines the false claims | The Conversation5 months ago
"As a vaccinologist who has studied and developed vaccines for over 35 years, I see that the science behind mRNA vaccine technology is being widely misstated. This incorrect information is shaping long-term health policy in the U.S. — which makes it urgent to correct the record," writes Deborah Fuller, a professor of microbiology in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: Home humanoid robots survey reveals surprising preferences | IEEE Spectrum5 months ago
"While humanoid companies (and their investors) dream of a single humanoid capable of doing it all, our survey participants seem to be more on board with a toolbox of smaller, specialized machines for most tasks: a Roomba for cleaning, a medication dispenser for pills, a stairlift for stairs," writes Maya Cakmak, associate professor of computer science and engineering at the UW. - Opinion: How wildfires hurt children’s brain development | STAT5 months ago
"Sometimes the most severe effects of environmental disasters on brain development, health, and function don’t manifest until months to years after exposure, with some impacts not fully apparent until the next generation," writes Clayton Page Aldern, research affiliate at the UW Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology.