Op-Ed Columnists

Why Coronavirus Is Killing African-Americans More Than Others

Higher rates of infection and death among minorities demonstrate the racial character of inequality in America.

When Coronavirus Lockdowns Go Too Far

The closures were necessary. Chasing picnickers and closing paint aisles is petty overreach.

The conversation

We’re Not Going Back to Normal, but What Can We Go Back To?

Every question about the damage done by the coronavirus and a tanking economy is hard.

What to Do With Tara Reade’s Allegation Against Joe Biden?

A sexual assault accusation against the presumptive Democratic nominee is being used to troll the #MeToo movement.

Republicans Don’t Want to Save Jobs

Billions for oil, nothing for nurses and teachers.

The Brother Killer

Many factors make blacks, especially black men, particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The One Kind of Distancing We Can’t Afford

The only way to fight this pandemic is through identification with its victims, not deliberate estrangement from them.

A Politician Takes a Sledgehammer to His Own Ego

Just in time for Easter, the story of a blind state leader who is giving up his office to join the Jesuits.

The Pandemic and the Will of God

The purpose of suffering may be mysterious, but the search for meaning is obligatory.

Life and Death in the ‘Hot Zone’

“If people saw this, they would stay home.” What the war against the coronavirus looks like inside two Bronx hospitals.