Author: Neil Schoenherr

Excess and bleak caprice mark Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, a film that, for all its convolutions, is as glorious as it is gory. With critical responses inconsistent at best, the film has already been pegged “2017’s Most Hated Movie.” Be that as it may, it could also be the year’s most loved.

The greater St. Louis area is home to the highest concentration of plant scientists in the world. These creative, innovative scientists in companies, universities and research institutes are addressing one of the world’s greatest challenges: How do we provide the nutritious food needed to sustain a growing global population?

Though recent protests by NFL players during the national anthem are not protected by the First Amendment by law, they matter as free speech, said Greg Magarian, an expert on constitutional law at Washington University in St. Louis.

First Amendment Law is distorting public debate. We need the Supreme Court to do better. Public political debate in the United States seems to have run off the rails. The gulf between Republicans and Democrats in political opinions, views of the other party, and even factual beliefs keeps growing. From a broader perspective, though, our problem isn’t too much chaos. It’s too much stability.

When disasters occur, we are all emotionally affected. But much of the work of rebuilding, in cities large and small, will fall squarely on the shoulders of an often unrecognized party: the supply chain manager. In today’s tightly connected supply chain, a localized disaster — regardless of where it takes place — can have global implications. It is no exaggeration to say that, in the weeks and months to come, the whole world will feel their after-effects.

Many American presidents have claimed that the United States has a distinct responsibility to fight for freedom across the world. Rising out of the Cold War era and continuing through the Obama presidency, there came to be some consensus on the rhetoric for interventions abroad. These days, the rhetoric has changed.

Today is the International Day of Peace at the United Nations. It is celebrated with a theme, with meetings, with videos, and is undertaken each year with a view to bringing the voice of peace into the halls of the United Nations during the Organization’s plenary opening sessions each year. It is a beautiful event. I had the opportunity to be present the day before to moderate an important event on the eve of International Peace Day entitled “Completing the Legacy of Nuremberg: Activating the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court Over the Crime of Aggression in 2017.”

The city where I live and work has been roiled by protests after the acquittal of former city police officer Jason Stockley on first-degree murder charges for his 2011 shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith. Again, to many of us, the justice system seems unwilling to hold law-enforcement officers to account for violence against people of color.

A more comprehensive picture of mental health that includes subjective well-being and other positive mental health characteristics could lead to more successful educational experiences among black youth, finds a recent study from Sean Joe, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

I first sat down to write a piece like this three years ago, when my city, St. Louis, was wracked with the initial convulsions of what would later be known simply as “Ferguson.” I didn’t submit it for publication then. I wasn’t sure it would make a useful contribution. I didn’t know if it would jeopardize other important work I was involved in. I wasn’t confident that people would understand my meaning.