24
2017Instead of Dumbing Down Shakespeare, Smarten Up the Kids
July 24, 2017 The Checkup By PERRI KLASS, M.D. I marked Father’s Day this June by attending a special showing of “High Noon” at Film Forum in the West Village, glorious on the big screen, with comments afterward by Maria Cooper Janis, the daughter of its star, Gary Cooper, and Glenn Frankel, who wrote a book, “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of…
24
2017‘No Jab, No Play’: How Australia Is Handling the Vaccination Debate
The Breakdown By ADAM BAIDAWI July 24, 2017 This much is clear: Australia’s strict vaccination laws are working — and they’re set to become even stricter. The state of South Australia has introduced legislation that would ban the enrollment of unvaccinated children in preschool and child care centers. The proposal would set fines of up to 30,000 Australian dollars, or about $24,000, on centers that admit an…
22
2017
My Grandfather, My ‘Bona Fide’ Best Friend
Contributing Op-Ed Writer July 22, 2017 Wajahat Ali Until his untimely death in 1986, my grandfather was my best friend. On weekend mornings he’d let my parents sleep in while he brought me downstairs to watch cartoons. We made regular trips to the San Jose, Calif., flea market where he’d buy me cheap toys and impress me with his masterful bargaining, which made them even…
22
2017
Charlie Gard and the Experts
Op-Ed Columnist July 22, 2017 Ross Douthat In the case of Charlie Gard, the dying British infant whose parents are being denied the right to attempt a long-shot treatment despite having a willing doctor and the money to pay for it, there is a hard question and an easy one. The hard question is when medical interventions become too extreme and pointless, when illness and…
21
2017How My Son Picked Out My New ‘Best Friend’
July 21, 2017 By JANINE ANNETT Recently, my “best friend” Jeanette invited my family over to her house on a quiet evening in our little suburb north of New York City. The grown-ups ate guacamole and chips and sipped wine while the kids ate macaroni and cheese and caused chaos in the living room. It was all thanks to my son’s intuitive friendship matchmaking skills….
19
2017What Should Parents Make of the ‘Summer Bucket List 2017’?
July 19, 2017 Adolescence By LISA DAMOUR By now you may have heard about the “Summer Bucket List 2017” that was seemingly written by a teenage girl and reportedly discovered in an Urban Outfitters dressing room in Pittsburgh. The items on the list range from endearing (“Pet a giraffe”) to alarming (“Get crossfaded” — simultaneously drunk and high — “17 times”) and from fanciful (“Tie…
17
2017Why Smoking in Films Harms Children
July 17, 2017 The Checkup By PERRI KLASS, M.D. We want to believe we’re raising our kids to think for themselves, and not to do dumb or unhealthy things just because the cool kids are doing them. But research shows that when it comes to smoking, children are heavily influenced by some of the folks they consider the coolest of the cool: actors in movies….
14
2017‘To the Bone’ Opens Frank Dialogue on Eating Disorders: ‘They Steal Your Voice’
By TALYA MINSBERG July 14, 2017 When Marti Noxon set out to make “To the Bone,” a film about a 20-year-old battling an eating disorder, she initially faced the question: Was the topic too niche? The answer came in the form of a rousing premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, Netflix’s reported $8 million purchase of the film, a trailer that went viral with 54…
14
2017Learning to Bridge a Generation Gap in Philanthropy
July 14, 2017 Wealth Matters By JOANNE KAUFMAN A decade ago, shortly before their daughter, Caitlin Heising, started her freshman year at Brown University, Liz Simons, a former teacher, and her husband, Mark Heising, the founder of an investment firm, established the Heising-Simons Foundation, a family philanthropy focused initially on education, climate and the physical sciences. “I’ve always asked a lot of questions and have…
14
2017
Sons Without Fathers
Op-Ed Columnist July 14, 2017 Roger Cohen In her novel “The Bird’s Nest,” Shirley Jackson writes: “I was thinking what it must feel like to be a prisoner going to die; you stand there looking at the sun and the sky and the grass and the trees, and because it’s the last time you’re going to see them they’re wonderful, full of colors you never…