Perspectives

We should protect religious organizations — even those we disagree with, argues John Inazu, JD, PhD, of the School of Law, in an essay in The Washington Post. The federal tax exemption for religious organizations welcomes and encourages a diverse set of viewpoints, he says.

Michael Sherraden, PhD, and Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, at the Brown School, write a commentary in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the importance of child development accounts, which the Ferguson Commission recommends expanding. Such accounts help save for children’s college education.

Psychologist Brian Carpenter, PhD, discusses his research on how family relationships affect aging and death in an episode of an Arts & Sciences video series.

In the era of corporate social responsibility, Anthropology’s Peter Benson, PhD, discusses tobacco companies’ actions in selling cigarettes around the world for Arts & Sciences’ “Hold That Thought.”

Ben Lake and Quincy Marting, Bears football players and seniors in the School of Engineering, discuss why they came to Washington University and what it’s like to be a student-athlete.

Bill Eades, of the School of Medicine, talks in a video about why Pedal the Cause, which raises funds for cancer research, is so important to him. The St. Louis event, set for Sept. 26-27, will benefit Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

L. Lewis Wall, MD, DPhil, discusses the “Dignity Period” project and his efforts to help adolescent girls in Ethiopia manage their menstrual cycles and stay in school with Arts & Sciences’ “Hold That Thought” podcast.

Robert Henke, PhD, of Arts & Sciences, has published a new book, “Poverty & Charity in Early Modern Theater and Performance.” The transnational work helps demonstrate how early modern theater revealed the gap between official policy and actual treatment of the poor.

The JAMA Network conducts an audio interview with cancer expert Timothy Ley, MD, of the School of Medicine, about his new study on acute myeloid leukemia.

James V. Wertsch, PhD, vice chancellor for international affairs, writes in The Straits Times about the need for a coherent account of the past in light of the 70th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.