“One of the things you learn as a journalist is that when there's no ac...” — Nicholas Kristof Quote

One of the things you learn as a journalist is that when there's no accountability, we humans are capable of tremendous avarice and venality. That's true of union bosses - and of corporate tycoons. Unions, even flawed ones, can provide checks and balances for flawed corporations.

A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.

Most of the time in the 21st century, we dominate our surroundings: We tweak the thermostat, and the temperature falls one degree. We push a button, and Taylor Swift sings for us. It's the opposite in the wilderness, which teaches us constantly that we are not lords of the universe but rather building blocks of it.

Neither left nor right has focused adequately on maternal health.

We shouldn't turn the home of our democracy into a fortress. We don't want the Capitol to become a 'Green Zone' that is unwelcoming - indeed even hostile - to constituents and journalists. This should be open - safely open - to the public and representatives should govern with transparency and accountability.

The police are not taking accountability for the violence that they enact in our communities, and yet there isn't as much outrage about that as there is about some broken windows and lost property.

The royal family are protected from public accountability by law.

We must aim for a zero-tolerance approach to hospital-acquired infections; we have to be clear about who's in charge at ward level, so there's proper accountability, and we need to reduce the reliance on agency nursing staff.