The Conversation

Letters: The Thrill of Garbage Trucks

Readers consider why kids are so fascinated by trash-pickup vehicles—and why adults aren’t.

• January 5, 2020

Letters: Are Eye Exams Necessary?

Readers discuss why glasses and contact lenses are so difficult to get in the United States.

• December 24, 2019

Letters: Sharing a Bed Is ‘a Comfort, Not a Burden’

And other reader opinions on whether you should sleep alone

• December 3, 2019

Letter: The Other Important Function of Stag-and-Doe Parties

The value of these pre-wedding social events reaches far beyond the happy couple.

• November 6, 2019

Letters: Was It Fair to Boo the President?

Readers discuss whether the crowd’s reaction to Trump at Game 5 of the World Series was an act of patriotism or bullying.

• November 1, 2019

Letter: Menopause Can Be a ‘Passage of Liberation’

Gail Sheehy and Liza Mundy discuss the end of fertility—and the diversity of women’s experiences.

• October 28, 2019

Letters: Oral Immunotherapy for Peanut Allergies ‘Is More Than Worth the Risk’

Readers defend the risks of a costly new peanut-allergy treatment.

• October 23, 2019

Letter: Justin Trudeau ‘Exploited the Culture of the “Woke”’

A former member of the prime minister’s foreign-policy staff encourages Canadian progressives to consider other candidates.

• October 18, 2019

Letters: ‘The Anthropocene Epoch Is Not Hubris’

Members of the Anthropocene Working Group defend the proposed geological epoch.

• October 11, 2019

Letters: College Presidents Should Focus on ‘Mission, Purpose, and Student Success’

Two leaders in higher education respond to Senator Ben Sasse’s (incomplete) list of the questions facing American colleges and universities.

• October 2, 2019

Letter: Banning Corporate Lawyers From the Federal Bench Would Be Bad for Diversity

Readers push back on a proposal to exclude corporate-law partners from federal judiciary nominations.

• September 27, 2019

Readers Respond: The Case Against Paper Straws

“Paper straws are not going to solve the ocean plastics crisis,” a reader writes. But they’re a good first step.

• September 13, 2019

What Daniel Patrick Moynihan Actually Thought About Race

A reader pushes back on the notion that Moynihan was “quiet” in the face of Richard Nixon’s racism.

• September 9, 2019

‘Extreme Larks’ Share Their (Very) Early Morning Routines

Some get right to work. Others watch the sun come up and listen to the birds.

• September 1, 2019

Letters: The Medieval World of Incarceration

After Jeffrey Epstein’s death, readers discuss the mistreatment of inmates in U.S. correctional facilities and state penitentiaries.

• August 24, 2019

When Public Schools Rely on Local Property Taxes: Letters

Readers discuss the phenomenon of school districts being isolated from financial resources in their communities.

• August 17, 2019

Singapore’s Ambassador: ‘Our Laws Are for Us to Make’

The city-state’s ambassador to the United States defends a new law that allows Singapore’s government to determine what is true and what is “fake news.”

• August 8, 2019

Letters: How to Help Monarch Butterflies

Two readers discuss their efforts to support the migration of wild monarchs.

• July 28, 2019

Letters: Trump Is a ‘Source of Hope’ for Taiwan

A Taiwanese American reader reflects on American-Taiwanese relations in the age of Trump.

• July 22, 2019

Qatar Responds: Don’t Cancel the 2022 World Cup

The tournament’s host country pushes back on Franklin Foer’s proposal that FIFA change course and reallocate funds to women’s soccer.

• July 15, 2019