SUMMARY: Why would author Casey Gerald want people to stop highlighting success stories like his own? Gerald says he grew up on “the wrong side of the tracks” and went on to Harvard Business school. But he says celebrations of the American Dream distract from reality, letting society off the hook for failing to give all children a fair shot. Gerald offers his humble opinion on the reality of American opportunity.
SUMMARY: Our culture and heritage is part of who we are. But if we treat it as something that can't change, if we feel threatened by other cultures, says award-winning children's books author Grace Lin, "we make our lives smaller." Lin shares her humble opinion on the importance of allowing culture to change.
SUMMARY: There will be some advantages to non-beingness, says Sheila Nevins, namely, avoiding the family squabbles after her death. The author and former president of HBO Documentary Films offers her humble opinion on preparing for the end of life, and finding the greatest pleasure is still a big ice cream sundae.
SUMMARY: What does it take to walk alongside another human being over time? Writer Dani Shapiro set out to explore the beauty and the troubles of enduring love. Shining a light on her and her husband's life course together, Shapiro offers her humble opinion on keeping the flame alive.
SUMMARY: On an unannounced visit to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed the U.S. alliance with the South in the face of increasing provocations from the North, while declaring a commitment to diplomacy and denuclearization of the peninsula. John Yang reports on the administration's efforts to increase pressure on North Korea.
SUMMARY: When Min Jin Lee sees the latest headlines about nuclear weapons in North Korea, she thinks of her father, who fled the republic when he was 16, and lost touch with his family. And Lee thinks of not just the remains of her family still there, but the millions of people in that nation who are like hostages in their own land. Lee offers her humble opinion on having compassion for the people of North Korea.
SUMMARY: Inside the search for new drugs and techniques to replace habit-forming opioids, science correspondent Miles O'Brien discovers future pain treatments may rely on virtual reality.
SUMMARY: In northeastern Ohio, employers say they see jobseekers all the time who look like "the walking dead," would-be workers struggling with opioid addiction. The problem is so great, reports economics correspondent Paul Solman, that it's had a noticeable effect on the nation's labor force.
SUMMARY: They visit overdose victims in the hospital. They hand out lifesaving drugs on the streets and educate their peers about their own relapses. In Rhode Island, former drug addicts are the most valuable fighters on the front lines of the war against opioids. William Brangham reports as part of our series, “America Addicted.”
SUMMARY: Keeping up appearances as a family hid the denial and shame Anita Devlin felt as her son struggled with an addiction to opioid painkillers. But when she finally shared their experience, it opened the door to healing and recovery. Devlin, author of "S.O.B.E.R." about her son Mike's addiction and road to recovery with Caron Treatment Centers, shares her humble opinion about banishing judgment and reaching out to others.
SUMMARY: The social media culture of “likes” is contributing to our conformity, says novelist and creative writing teacher Charmaine Craig. Instead of trying to empathize with the unfamiliar, we “like” and find refuge only in the things that seem most relatable. Craig offers her humble opinion on why we should move beyond what's “relatable” or “likeable” and begin to open up to the unfamiliar.
SUMMARY: Numbers and algorithms aren't just useful to mathematician Eugenia Cheng -- they're exhilarating. That's why she's on a mission to help transform math's notoriously boring reputation in education into one of thrilling wonder and creativity. Cheng gives her humble opinion on how to make math really matter to students.
SUMMARY: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz spent five years studying Google search data that revealed people's darkest and weirdest thoughts. It actually made him feel better. It also changed what he thought he knew about how the world works. Stephens-Davidowitz offers his humble opinion on the difference between our hidden digital lives and the lives we project on social media.
SUMMARY: With marijuana legal in some form in 26 states and the District of Columbia, the old script for talking to your children about pot is changing. Behavioral scientist Elizabeth D'Amico, who has researched drug and alcohol use among teens for more than 20 years, giver her humble opinion about what kids need to know.
SUMMARY: Journalist Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's mother — a union Democrat who worked at the phone company during the day and sold Tupperware at night — lied about her address so Lemmon could attend a better elementary school. Lemmon talks about her own experience with school choice and why she now sees it not as an "issue,” but as a matter of life and death.
SUMMARY: When Elizabeth Silver's daughter was 6 weeks old, she suffered a serious stroke and spent weeks in the NICU. Confronted with damning statistics, Silver began to see the numbers as one version of a story, with room for interpretation. The author and attorney offers her humble opinion on how to consider a difficult prognosis.
SUMMARY: Caroline Kitchener grew up hearing that strong women don't need to rely on a partner to have a happy and successful life. But after graduating college, her values clashed with real life: She decided to move to a new city with her boyfriend. Kitchener, author of "Post Grad: Five Women and Their First Year Out of College," shares her humble opinion.
SUMMARY: Sometimes author Brian Castner asks himself, “How many tours would have been enough to know, deep down in my bones, that I had done my part?” After three tours, Castner got home from Iraq a decade ago. But the war isn't over, it's just gone on without him. Castner gives his humble opinion on why being a veteran today feels like having unfinished business.
SUMMARY: Richard Ford's parents were ordinary people, "all but un-noticeable to the world's disinterested eye." But the acclaimed writer still decided to write a memoir of their lives because, to him, being their son felt like a privilege. And more simply, he missed them. Ford offers his humble opinion on the power of memoir to make us remember what's most vital to us.
SUMMARY: One of the core tenants of the American Dream is the belief that individuals from all walks of life can make it big. Millionaire tech entrepreneur Jason Ford has done just that, but believes he and other successful people end up receiving a lot of help they often do not acknowledge. Ford gives his humble opinion on how community, race and privilege make a big difference in whether we get to the top.
SUMMARY: More and more, people don't care about expert views. That's according to Tom Nichols, author of "The Death of Expertise," who says Americans have become insufferable know-it-alls, locked in constant conflict and debate with others over topics they actually know almost nothing about. Nichols shares his humble opinion on how we got here.
SUMMARY: As a Syrian-American journalist who has covered Syria's refugee crisis, Alia Malek understands where they are coming from and where they're going. The circumstances today are so different from when her parents left Damascus, yet it could have been her family caught in the horrors of war. Malek offers her humble opinion about how to practice empathy for the victims of the Syrian conflict.
