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
- Opinion: Connecting communities across Washington serves the UW's public mission | The Spokesman Review1 day ago
"While much has been written recently about declining trust in higher education, research points to a simple conclusion that the University of Washington has long embraced: Trust is built locally," writes UW Provost Tricia Serio about the UW's annual Faculty Field Tour. - Opinion: Public health risk of unpermitted food vendors in Kitsap | Kitsap Sun6 days ago
"I want to take a moment to discuss an issue that has become increasingly urgent in the public health community: unpermitted food vendors," writes Dr. Herbie Duber, professor of emergency medicine, of global health and of health metric sciences in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: The Diabetes Association crosses a line | Los Angeles Times1 week ago
"The tally from Trumpian attacks on science now includes billions of dollars in damage to farmers and ranchers and assaults on scientists’ freedom of speech," writes business columnist Michael Hiltzik. Dr. Steven Kahn, a professor of medicine in the UW School of Medicine, is quoted. - Opinion: How AI clouds the future of WA’s rivers | The Seattle Times1 week ago
"Back in 2024, when our team of UW scientists was introducing a satellite-based tool to track river temperature for improving fisheries management by tribal governments along the Columbia River, I was asked a question that stayed with me," writes Faisal Hossain, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the UW. - Opinion: Elders need more robust protections from abuse and neglect | The Spokesman-Review1 week ago
"As physicians, we choose to work at a Level I trauma center serving the region’s most vulnerable adults, but witnessing suffering up close never gets easier. The most difficult cases to stomach are those of abuse," write Dr. Manasvi Khullar, a UW neurology resident, and Dr. Reema Navalurkar, an assistant professor of clinical practice in the UW School of Medicine and assistant medical director of Harborview Senior Care Clinic. - Editorial: We can protect WA forests from wildfires, preserve snowpack, too | The Seattle Times2 weeks ago
"Climate change is a dual threat to Washington’s expansive forests, delivering a combination of longer and hotter dry seasons with less snowy, warmer winters. Increasing temperatures elevate the risks of wildfire, threaten water supplies and create the potential to wreak havoc on coveted landscapes across the Pacific Northwest. A UW study, released in March, suggests one potential forestry solution can successfully mitigate both extreme wildfire risk while also preserving snowpack," writes The Seattle Times editorial board. - Analysis: Every neuroscience lab needs an ethicist | The Transmitter3 weeks ago
"The ethics issues that arise in neuroscience research are usually novel, unresolved and understudied. Embedding ethicists in labs helps scientists navigate these challenges and develop strategies in real time to prevent harm," writes Timothy Brown, assistant professor of bioethics and humanities in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: AI is about to do all our thinking for us — here’s why that’s bad | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"From auto-generated news articles to social media posts to entire websites, AI already produces more online articles than humans, and much of it is low-quality and misleading. This is a problem. Not just for humans in discerning what is true or not. But also for the machines auto-generating this synthetic information that’s sometimes disconnected from the real world," write the UW's Jevin West, a professor in the Information School and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public, and Damian Hodel, a doctoral student in the Information School and research assistant in the CIP. - Editorial: Juniper Blessing: A life well-lived | Santa Fe New Mexican1 month ago
Juniper Blessing left her mark on this world. Cruelly slain at 19, the Santa Fe teen loved to sing, became obsessed with the weather and kept her friends close even after high school graduation. - Opinion: Hydropower changes could raise electricity costs in Idaho | Idaho Statesman1 month ago
"The truth is that salmon returns to Idaho are higher since the Lower Snake River Dams went into operation. We know this because experts track adult returns at the federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers," write Will Hart, executive director of the Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association, and Clark Mather, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners. A study by the UW School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences is referenced. - Editorial: It’s past time for Seattle to make e-bikes, scooters safer rides | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"It’s bike season, and you can see two kinds of people around Seattle. Those with their own ride, who almost invariably wear a helmet and stick to the rules of the road. And those on rented e-scooters and e-bikes with no brain buckets and little regard for niceties such as safe sidewalks," writes the Seattle Times editorial board. A UW study is referenced. Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, professor of radiology at the UW School of Medicine, is quoted. - Opinion: Nursing homes are in trouble — and there’s a good chance you’ll end up in one | MarketWatch1 month ago
"Think you won’t end up in a nursing home? Think again: There’s a 1 in 3 chance you will, and the chances rise with age. Which is why you might want to take an interest in what’s actually happening inside these homes — even if only for selfish reasons. Another medical investigation has uncovered yet more worrying signs of neglect in America’s nursing homes," writes Brett Arends. Research by the UW is mentioned. - Analysis: ‘Beauty of the Beasts’ review | Wall Street Journal2 months ago
"'Beauty of the Beasts' is chock-a-block with wonderful scientific and cultural facts. We get a clear-eyed look at disgust, a nearly universal human response to the likes of maggots, cockroaches, ticks, leeches, slugs and lice," writes David Barash, professor emeritus of psychology at the UW. - Opinion: Amid Trump's threats on judges, these legal minds offer hope | USA Today2 months ago
"You may not have heard it yet, but America’s legal community recently let out a roar here in the Emerald City, a collective call from retired federal judges and a bipartisan array of academics and legal organizations: The rule of law matters, and it will be protected," writes Rex Huppke. Robert Harlan Henry, jurist-in-residence in law at the UW, is quoted. - Opinion: They championed DEI — now they're divided | The New York Times2 months ago
Four former DEI leaders come together to examine the system they once built — and question what it’s really doing. The UW is mentioned. - Analysis: ‘Infinite Jest,’ the internet, and the politics of reading | Los Angeles Review of Books2 months ago
"David Foster Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest,' which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is the perfect parable for reading in the internet age. This is true of the novel itself, but it is even truer of its extremely online reception: It’s hard to think of a work of literary fiction that belongs to the internet more than 'Infinite Jest,'" writes Melanie Walsh, assistant professor in the Information School at the UW. - Opinion: RFK's FDA peptide plan fails to deliver the safety consumers need | Bloomberg2 months ago
"The Food and Drug Administration will hold meetings this summer to discuss whether compounding pharmacies should be allowed to manufacture half a dozen commonly sought, yet unproven peptides ... Something must be done to rein in the current free-for-all," writes Lisa Jarvis. Matt Kaeberlein, professor of laboratory medicine and pathology in the UW School of Medicine, is quoted. - Opinion: WA law banning noncompete clauses goes too far in voiding existing ones | The Seattle Times2 months ago
"The policy debate over noncompetes is real and legitimate. But in its rush to win that debate, Olympia made a choice that has received almost no public attention: It made the ban retroactive," writes Victor Menaldo, professor of political science at the UW. - Opinion: Request access for surprise visits? Only ICE would do that | Tacoma News-Tribune2 months ago
"For decades, complaints about the water quality, food and general sanitation have surfaced in written grievances and accounts collected by groups who support people held in the detention center," writes Laura Hautala. The UW Center for Human Rights is mentioned. - Analysis: Why the Persian Gulf has more oil and gas than anywhere else on Earth | The Conversation2 months ago
"It has been said that Persian Gulf countries are both blessed and cursed by their vast oil and gas reserves. Geologic forces over millions of years have meant the region is an energy-rich global flash point, as it is now with a war underway that’s causing a global energy crisis," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Opinion: Going analog in the writing classroom | The Seattle Times2 months ago
"As a writing teacher based in college classrooms around Seattle, I find myself returning to a question each time I prep for a new quarter: How should I use or refuse technology?" writes Joe Concannon, part-time lecturer of English at the UW. - Opinion: What grief taught me about emotional regulation | The Seattle Times3 months ago
"On Dec. 30, 2024, my mother, Brenda Louise Baker, died. I have known grief most of my life. I was 9 when my uncle died. By high school, death no longer felt shocking. It felt familiar. I decided I wanted to become a pathologist, as if understanding the science of death might quiet the ache it caused," writes KD Hall, affiliate instructor of communication leadership at the UW. - Opinion: Judge made right call in striking down RFK Jr.’s vaccine plan | The Seattle Times3 months ago
"I was in graduate school studying infectious diseases in the early 2000s, just before rotavirus vaccines became available. When we learned about pathogens that cause diarrhea, I wrote in my notes, 'Rotavirus: the democratic diarrhea.' It earned that nickname because it infected children across the social order — rich and poor, in both low- and high-income countries. Nearly every child was infected with rotavirus by the time they reached their fifth birthday," writes Karen Levy, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW. - Opinion: Over 400 million barrels will be added to the oil market soon – what are strategic reserves and what can they do? | The Conversation3 months ago
"In the second week of the Iran war – with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, cutting off shipping of 20% of the world’s oil supply – the International Energy Agency announced the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history. Thirty-two countries will sell a combined 412 million barrels from their reserves into the global market over four months, beginning in late March 2026," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Opinion: Dr. André Ritter: A month in Spokane to advance oral health | The Spokesman-Review3 months ago
"Keeping your mouth healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your body and your mind," writes André Ritter, dean of the UW School of Dentistry. - Opinion: From where I sit, ICE should target dangerous criminals, not random folks | Yakima Herald-Republic3 months ago
"Yakima is experiencing an immigration raid upswing. In the past, ICE generally focused its arrests on immigrants with serious criminal records. A recent University of Washington Center for Human Rights report suggests the focus has changed," writes Yakima resident Peter Fretwell. - Editorial: Indiscriminate ICE enforcement harms Eastern Washington farms | Tri-City Herald3 months ago
"As spring arrives in Eastern Washington, farmers need workers to prepare their fields and orchards. It is getting harder to find those workers, however, because federal immigration enforcers have made the region a hot spot for arrests and deportations. These enforcement actions disrupt lives and communities with little regard for the disastrous consequences," writes the Tri-City Herald editorial board. A report from the UW Center for Human Rights is mentioned. - Opinion: Iran is a $1.3M-a-minute war | The New York Times3 months ago
"Let’s ponder for a moment the vast sums that we’re pouring into the war with Iran," writes Nicholas Kristof, an opinion columnist. Dr. Linda Eckert, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UW School of Medicine, is quoted. - Opinion: Trump’s threats to judicial independence in United States | Tacoma News Tribune3 months ago
"Although the phrase has not been used, the horror many Americans have felt over recent events is the breakdown in our rule of law. Warrantless searches, masked agents, the lack of independent investigations, the denial of court hearings, the defiance of court orders and the entire 'justice' process being carried out summarily on the street," writes Robert Harlan Henry, jurist-in-residence in law at the UW. - Editorial: Dems ignore shaky legality of millionaires tax | The Columbian3 months ago
"As of early Tuesday, the Legislature appeared poised to pass Senate Bill 6346, which would impose a 9.9 percent tax upon annual household earnings of more than $1 million. Washington is one of nine states that does not have an income tax, although the Legislature did pass a capital gains tax in 2021," writes The Columbian's editorial board. Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.