- Social:
Harvard University
Writer for Slate and the Atlantic; PhD student in Anthropology at Harvard University, where he works with the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research
PROFILE
Jason Silverstein
Guest
FROM Jason Silverstein
To the Point
Race and the Justice System: Can We Talk? President Obama wants white Americans to understand why blacks are so angry over George Zimmerman's acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Polls show 51% of whites approve the verdict while almost 90% of blacks disapprove — so on Friday, the President got personal about stereotyping and fear. Can whites really "feel the pain?" Are we talking honestly about race for the first time in years, or is the so-called "national conversation" all too familiar? Does it create false expectations of healing, when it's really a debate that opens old wounds?
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To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.