Opinion and analysis

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: Federal access to license plate data alarming, not surprising | Tacoma News Tribune1 week 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 Times2 weeks 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 Today3 weeks 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 | PubliCola1 month 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 Conversation1 month 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 | Forbes1 month 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 Conversation2 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 Spectrum2 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 | STAT2 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.
• Analysis: The sneaky gender bias in picture books: Animal characters | Publishers Weekly3 months ago
  "I recently published a data analysis with The Pudding, a digital publication known for data-driven storytelling, about animal characters in picture books. We read approximately 300 popular English-language picture books from the past 70+ years and noted the gender of any anthropomorphized animal character that was important to the story," writes Melanie Walsh, an assistant professor in the Information School at the UW.
• Opinion: Trump needs an Epstein files distraction — enter Fox News and Russiagate | MSNBC3 months ago
  "At gaggles, in interviews and on his social media platform, (President Donald Trump) has made explicit his desire to shift attention away from Jeffrey Epstein — the disgraced financier found dead from suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges," writes Brandy Zadrozny. Kate Starbird, professor of human centered design and engineering at the UW and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public, is quoted.
• Analysis: The bacteria killing sea stars in the Pacific: How our team uncovered a decade-long mystery | The Conversation3 months ago
  "...Sea Star Wasting Disease has been described as the largest epidemic ever recorded in a wild marine species, and one of the 10 greatest unsolved ocean mysteries. Attempts to identify the pathogen responsible have turned up more questions than answers, until now. We have recently published the findings of our five-year research project into the cause of SSWD," write Grace Crandall, doctoral student of aquatic and fishery sciences at the UW; Drew Harvell, affiliate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences and a research scientist at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories; Melanie Prentice; and Alyssa-Lois Gehman.
• Opinion: Breast cancer strikes men, too — my husband is one of them | The Seattle Times3 months ago
  "Most people know someone with breast cancer, and I am no exception. My mother had breast cancer, and my aunt died of breast cancer. With one in eight women diagnosed with the disease during her lifetime, it is common knowledge that women are at risk for breast cancer as they age," writes Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: When socialists win Democratic primaries: Will Zohran Mamdani be haunted by the Upton Sinclair effect? | The Conversation3 months ago
  "It has happened before: an upset victory by a Democratic Socialist in an important primary election after an extraordinary grassroots campaign," writes James Gregory, professor of history at the UW.
• Opinion: Stop studying Lake Washington Boulevard traffic safety and just act | The Seattle Times3 months ago
  "Recently, I felt hopeful knowing Seattle  planned to extend traffic calming all the way north to Mount Baker Beach. So it was a gut punch when Seattle Parks announced watered-down plans, most notably halting  additional speed-cushion implementation until further study. To protect those who live, drive, walk, take transit and/or bike through Southeast Seattle, Seattle must recommit to implementing the full traffic-calming and pedestrian infrastructure plans this year," writes Katherine Hoerster, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the UW School of Medicine.
• Opinion: Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ reimagines AI through a black girl’s lens | Forbes4 months ago
  "What might the virtual assistant in your phone sound like if the artificial intelligence that powered it emerged from the consciousness of a Black girl from Chicago?" writes Timeka Tounsel, associate professor of Black studies in communication at the UW. Golden M. Owens, assistant professor of cinema & media studies at the UW, is quoted.
• Analysis: Could Iran really make a nuclear weapon? | Forbes4 months ago
  "Whether Iran has actively sought a nuclear weapon remains unanswered, but there is no doubt it pushed the limits of its enrichment program too far, and not by a little," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW.
• Opinion: What makes ‘Boys in the Boat’ shell house special is in danger | The Seattle Times4 months ago
  "The UW has proposed defacing alterations that are now under review by the Seattle Landmarks Board. If this plan proceeds without substantial changes, Seattle will lose what makes this building nationally significant — its original architectural form, living history and historical relationship to the lake," write Judy Rantz Willman, co-chair of UW Shell House Advisory Board; Marilyn Oliver Bard; and Peter Steinbrueck.
• Analysis: Family and friends shoulder the real cost of dementia — $224B in unpaid care | The Conversation4 months ago
  "About 5.5 million Americans live with dementia, requiring US $53 billion in annual medical spending on doctor visits, hospitalizations, medications, home health aides and nursing homes. But the true cost of dementia care in the U.S. is far higher because it relies heavily on unpaid care from family and friends," writes Amy Lastuka, lead research scientist at the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
• Opinion: Patients hurt most by Aetna-UW Medicine contract failure | The Seattle Times4 months ago
  "On June 1, Aetna and UW Medicine failed to agree on a new insurance contract. More than 50,000 Aetna members learned that every UW hospital, clinic and doctor was now out-of-network, forcing them to choose between paying sky-high bills or abandoning physicians they’ve trusted for years," writes Dr. Ryan Clodfelter.
• Opinion: Connecting communities across state serves UW's public mission | Yakima Herald-Republic4 months ago
  "The reality of our lives in Washington is that people want to connect. Our faculty have a desire to understand how wheat becomes a loaves of bread on tables throughout our state and world. How children, elders and all in between can live well and flourish in our state. How to assure that a student from Spokane, Sprague, Omak, Colville, Tacoma, Sedro Wolley, Olympia — can find their way home — as aspiring physicians, teachers, scientists, musicians, leaders, winemakers, and as the citizens and neighbors we need most," writes Ed Taylor, UW vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
• Opinion: Education: Teacher training | The Seattle Times5 months ago
  "The Seattle Times editorial board misrepresents educational research and promotes a deeply flawed evaluation of teacher preparation," co-write Wayne Au, professor of educational studies and acting dean of diversity and equity at UW Bothell; Mia Tuan, dean of the UW College of Education; and Rachel Endo, professor and dean of education at UW Tacoma, in a letter to the editor.
• Opinion: 'Foolhardy at best, and deceptive and dangerous at worst': Don't believe the hype — here's why artificial general intelligence isn't what the billionaires tell you it is | Live Science5 months ago
  "Unfortunately, the goal of creating artificial general intelligence isn’t just a project that lives as a hypothetical in scientific papers. There’s real money invested in this work, much of it coming from venture capitalists," co-writes Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW.
• Opinion: Add this to the list for improving education: teacher training | The Seattle Times5 months ago
  "When trying to solve the riddle of declining student scores, policymakers and advocates point in every direction, blaming overlarge classes, low funding and socioeconomic disadvantage. Much less scrutinized are educators themselves, though virtually every expert credits teachers with having the greatest impact on student outcomes," writes the Seattle Times editorial board. The UW is mentioned.
• Opinion: Harvard as symbol and target | The New York Times5 months ago
  "Among the many points of complaint in Steven Pinker’s opinion essay are statistics that show a lack of 'viewpoint diversity' among university faculty. As a retired university professor, may I suggest that this is unlikely to change despite the pressures from the Trump administration?" writes Phil Bereano, professor emeritus of technology and public policy at the UW, in a letter to the editor.
• Opinion: Trump’s new ‘gold standard’ rule will destroy American science as we know it | The Guardian5 months ago
  "The new executive order allows political appointees to undermine research they oppose, paving the way for state-controlled science," co-writes Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW.
• Editorial: Air report a warning of things to come | The Seattle Times5 months ago
  "Seattle’s reputation for being clean and green took a little bit of a hit in the latest American Lung Association 'State of the Air' report," writes the Seattle Times Editorial Board. Robin Evans-Agnew, professor of nursing and healthcare leadership at UW Tacoma, is mentioned.
• Opinion: Federal cuts: ‘Assault on research funding’ | The Seattle Times5 months ago
  "The current assault by President Donald Trump and the GOP on research funding at the National Institutes of Health and more than 100 universities will cause many deaths from preventable disease. Most of us who are over 60 are still alive because of vaccines (such as for polio, measles, diphtheria, pneumonia, COVID-19 …) plus many newly discovered medicines. In my case, I am still healthy because of antibiotics, birth control pills for family planning and the drug Synthroid for daily use after thyroidectomy. What medicines that were discovered in the past 75 years by NIH funding are helping you survive?" writes Margaret Byers, research professor emeritus of neurobiology and biophysics in the UW School of Medicine.
• Opinion: The loss of Bartell Drugs weighs heavy on a city rich with assets | The Seattle Times5 months ago
  "After the many misfortunes Seattle has suffered since it received yet another nickname — Superstar City... the most damaging might be losing so many businesses in the central core and downtown," writes columnist Jon Talton. A UW study is referenced.
• Analysis: Empathy can take a toll — but 2 philosophers explain why we should see it as a strength | The Conversation5 months ago
  "Empathy can make people weaker – both physically and practically, according to social scientists. Consider the phenomenon known as “empathy fatigue,” a major source of burnout among counselors, nurses and even neurosurgeons. These professionals devote their lives to helping others, yet the empathy they feel for their clients and patients wears them down, making it harder to do their jobs," co-writes Colin Marshall, associate professor of philosophy at the UW.

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