Perspectives

“WashU and St. Louis share a powerful potential for progress when the people of this region work together,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin writes in an op-ed focusing attention on the university’s “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” initiative and marking the 150th anniversary of the Eads Bridge.

The imagined community that American fans feel part of when they root for Team USA is no accident. The alluring dynamics of fandom, nationalism and dramatic storytelling have been carefully orchestrated to capture our attention, for better or worse, writes Noah Cohan.

To the extent that doctrinal rules do make a difference, however, the result of the court’s decision will be that judicial interpretations in regulatory cases will be less insightful, less predictable and more dependent on the preferences of lifetime-appointed federal judges who are in no way accountable to the electorate, writes Ron Levin.

Our recommendations are largely aimed at governmental agencies overseeing public health at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels, but they can apply to other aspects of the system, from the political leaders who oversee these entities to the other governmental and private organizations whose work affects population health, wrote Ross Brownson, along with Jonathan Samet.

As museums around the world celebrate the centennial of the birth of surrealism, it’s important to recognize that embracing randomness allowed these artists to think outside the box, writes Mark Rank.

Andrew Reeves, director of the Weidenbaum Center in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, writes ahead of Thursday’s debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump about what the candidates may promise — and how little power a president really has over areas that matter to voters.

Cody Musselman, a postdoctoral researcher at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, co-writes an article amid the NHL playoffs about how hockey and oil take on almost religious significance in Canada.

When their condition is well managed, employees diagnosed with bipolar disorder are likely to bring unique talents and perspectives to an organization, writes Hillary Anger Elfenbein.

Sandro Galea, MD, DrPh, the incoming dean for the planned School of Public Health, shares thoughts about the future of public health.

It turns out that flipping a coin or throwing darts to predict short-term movement of stocks often produces results on par with professional investors, writes Mark Rank.