via the NY Times: Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday…. But alcohol directly contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said. He called… Read More Surgeon General: Add Cancer Warnings on Alcohol

via the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life: As an eventful 2024 comes to an end and we approach a new year, a new presidential administration, and a new Congress, how can American Catholics and people of good will bring principles of Catholic social thought—human life and dignity, family and community, solidarity and… Read More Catholic Responsibilities and Opportunities After the Election and Synod

At the NY Times, Pope Francis writes: Narcissists are continually looking into the mirror, painting themselves, gazing at themselves, but the best advice in front of a mirror is to laugh at ourselves. It is good for us. It will prove the truth of the proverb that there are only two kinds of perfect people:… Read More Pope Francis: There Is Faith in Humor

via the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose: On November 14th 2024, Prof Mazzucato convened a historic dialogue at the Vatican, featuring Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley and Pope Francis, to make the case for a fundamental reimagining of economics to serve the common good. This conception of economics is underpinned by the… Read More Economics of the Common Good

Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, writes: The Syrian people have endured 14 years of brutal civil war and 24 years under the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, who stayed in power by torturing and killing – including with chemical weapons – any of his people who dared to oppose him.… Read More The End of the Butcher Bashar al-Assad’s Murderous Regime

David Brooks writes: In trying to construct a society that maximized talent, Conant and his peers were governed by the common assumptions of the era: Intelligence, that highest human trait, can be measured by standardized tests and the ability to do well in school from ages 15 to 18. Universities should serve as society’s primary… Read More Reimagining Our Broken Meritocracy