Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, has spent the week defending comments he made a few years ago in which he, among other things, referred to having children as an “investment in the future of…

As a practitioner engaged with peace processes around the world for the past four decades, I am asked with increasing frequency an unsettling question: Are we headed toward civil war here in these United States?…

Before Gov. Tim Walz became the most famous person in America to coach high school football, there was Eric Taylor. Coach Taylor was sensitive. Coach Taylor put his players first. Coach Taylor could motivate without…

Imagine that well-meaning politicians created a government program that was supposed to help people.  Now, imagine that same program getting 30 years of tax dollars and helping precisely nobody.  Worse yet, imagine that the program’s…

My daughter, Becca Schmill, would have turned 23 this year. Becca was a beautiful, caring person whose smile lit up every room. She had hopes and dreams of her own, but before she was able…

One of the seminal sports memories of my childhood was watching Greg Louganis dive in the 1988 Olympics.  I was in awe when he hit his head on the springboard, got stitches at the side…

We are drawn to stories of individuals who not only embody the pursuit of excellence, but also have humility. Think of the American gymnast Simone Biles, who worked through mental health issues that kept her…

I bristled when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, now running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, was labeled a “West Coast wannabe” as well  a “San Francisco-style liberal,” by the Trump/Vance campaign Since when do “coastal…

I began playing basketball at my school in Kabul, Afghanistan, at age 14. Because of the Taliban, I have been a refugee twice. First in Iran as a child, and now a second time, I…

They’re unpredictable, volatile and prone to sharp emotional swings. They have short attention spans and find change difficult because they are frequently scared of new things or overly enthusiastic about them. They’re impulsive, demand attention…