Opinion: Latest Reports from The Washington Posts ‘In Theory’

Is the international community failing to protect vulnerable civilians?
In 2011, popular uprisings against repressive leaders were sweeping the Arab world. In Libya, then-President Moammar Gaddafi responded to challenges of his rule quickly and brutally — by attacking protesters and targeting citizens, threatening to “cleanse Libya house by house.” The United Nations sprang into action: Its Security Council authorized military intervention and a NATO-led force […]
Why single men may not be having the most fun
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Bradford Wilcox is the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow of the Institute for […]
Why being single in your 30s is better than in your 20s
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Lisa Bonos is the lead writer and editor for Solo-ish, a Washington Post blog about unmarried life. At a party recently, a woman […]
The dangers of celebrating single motherhood
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Naomi Schaefer Riley is a weekly columnist for the New York Post and a former Wall Street Journal editor. “Single Mom by Choice: […]
Advertisers want you to hate being single. Don’t buy in.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Michael Cobb is a professor of English at the University of Toronto and author of “Single: Arguments for the Uncoupled” (NYU Press). You […]
Being single shouldn’t mean being alone
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Eve Tushnet is author of “Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith,” which explores the possibilities for life-giving love […]
Single or married: Does it really matter anymore?
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Stephanie Coontz is director of research at the Council on Contemporary Families and author of the forthcoming revised edition of “The Way We Never […]
Why it’s time to stop glorifying marriage.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about singlehood in America. Need a primer? Catch up here. Sarah Wright is the board chair of Unmarried Equality, which advocates for fairness and equality for unmarried people. Find her on Twitter: @socwkinprogress […]
The right to a fair trial: A primer
Three episodes into the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer,” Steven Avery of Manitowoc, Wis., is locked up for a crime he insists he didn’t commit. Avery calls home from prison and tells his parents that there’s no point in fighting for his innocence. “They’re gonna win anyway,” Avery says, referring to the local prosecutors […]
The presumption of innocence exists in theory, not reality
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Keith Findley is an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he is co-director of the […]
Americans are bargaining away their innocence
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Tim Lynch is director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice. Follow him on Twitter: @CatoTimLynch. The presumption of innocence helps […]
Why do prosecutors go after innocent people?
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. John Pfaff is a professor of law at the Fordham University School of Law in New York City. His research focuses […]
The presumption of innocence doesn’t apply to my child
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Karen Dolan is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. She directs the Criminalization of Poverty Project […]
No country has a monopoly on fair trials
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Rebecca Shaeffer is a legal and policy officer at Fair Trials, a London- and Brussels-based nongovernmental organization campaigning for the right to […]
Journalists are supposed to protect the innocent, but it’s easy to fail.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Janell Ross is a reporter for The Washington Post’s The Fix. At the start of any job, it’s best to understand […]
We accept assembly-line justice for the poor. But we shouldn’t.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the right to a fair trial. Need a primer? Catch up here. Donna Lieberman is executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. In “Making a Murderer,” Steven Avery says, “Poor people […]
David Bowie was wrong about copyright — thankfully
David Bowie was a visionary artist who left behind a sprawling cultural legacy. But there’s one thing he got totally wrong: his claim that, by 2016, copyright laws in the United States would have been eliminated. In 2002, David Bowie made some foreboding predictions in an interview with the New York Times about the future […]
How the idea of a ‘world order’ is changing: A primer
In his State of the Union address on Jan. 29, 1991, then-president George H.W. Bush made a momentous claim: The global political structure has reached a “new world order,” one where “diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind — peace and security, freedom, and the rule of […]
The world is getting better. Why don’t we believe it?
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the shifting world order. Need a primer? Catch up here. Ali Wyne is a fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a master in public policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. […]
American leadership may be in crisis, but the world order is not.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the shifting world order. Need a primer? Catch up here. John Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of many books, […]
One person’s world order can be another’s disorder
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the shifting world order. Need a primer? Catch up here. Kim Ghattas covers international affairs and the Hillary Clinton campaign for the BBC and is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine. She’s […]
Politicians say American leadership is in decline. They’re wrong.
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about the shifting world order. Need a primer? Catch up here. Joseph S. Nye Jr. is University Distinguished Service Professor and former dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and author of “Is the […]
The space race is not over yet — and the stakes are as high as ever
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about space exploration. Thirty years ago, as footage of the Challenger space shuttle explosion streamed across television screens, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation to reassure citizens that the tragedy would not […]
Why a Mars landing could be terrible for science
Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we’re talking about space exploration. Emily Lakdawalla is senior editor and planetary evangelist for the Planetary Society, where she blogs about space science. Imagine a field geologist hiking a dusty landscape. She spies a ridge […]