The politics of going gray

Also: I'm a registered dietitian. My #1 tip? Stop dieting [View in browser](    [❤️]( January 16, 2022 Dear Cog reader, You know that old, dusty saying? That women are capable of doing everything men are, but are often forced to do it backward and in high heels? It’s 2022 and things are changing… gradually. But beauty standards for women are still stubbornly entrenched. That’s especially true for female politicians. Just ask Massachusetts Congresswoman and Assistant Speaker of the House Katherine Clark. Clark wrote [a commentary]( for us this week about her decision, seven years ago, to stop coloring her hair. At the time, she believed it was a personal choice. But then, the unsolicited feedback started pouring in. “Supporters pulled my staff aside and asked if I was ill because that was the only explanation they had for why I would age myself,” she writes. “America has been led almost exclusively by gray-haired men for more than two and half centuries. But as a woman, my career seemed to be hanging in the balance because I was going natural.” It’s a fascinating look at the politics of aging as a woman. We hope you’ll [read it — and/or listen, too](. Also this week: Tufts political scientist Jeffrey Berry on how Trump’s “Big Lie” has [become a big business](. Two Boston University professors on [their decision to stop grading]( student writing. And finally, our beloved former WBUR colleague Andrea Asuaje offers an inside scoop on [what it was like to compete]( against reigning Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider. Have a great Sunday. Frannie Carr Toth Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads [The politics of going gray]( Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark says she naively believed her decision to stop coloring her hair was personal. In this commentary, she explains how as an elected official, her choice quickly became political. [Read more.]( [The politics of going gray]( Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark says she naively believed her decision to stop coloring her hair was personal. In this commentary, she explains how as an elected official, her choice quickly became political. [Read more.]( [I lost to Amy Schneider on 'Jeopardy!' but now I want her to keep winningÂ]( Andrea Asuaje always wanted to be a contestant on "Jeopardy!" She finally got her chance last fall, when she took the stage with Amy Schneider, who was just beginning her record-breaking win streak. [Read more.]( [I lost to Amy Schneider on 'Jeopardy!' but now I want her to keep winningÂ]( Andrea Asuaje always wanted to be a contestant on "Jeopardy!" She finally got her chance last fall, when she took the stage with Amy Schneider, who was just beginning her record-breaking win streak. [Read more.]( [Why we stopped grading our students on their writing]( External motivations like grades squash internal ones like curiosity and interest, the mindsets that motivate learning, write Marisa Milanese and Gwen Kordonowy. [Read more.]( [Why we stopped grading our students on their writing]( External motivations like grades squash internal ones like curiosity and interest, the mindsets that motivate learning, write Marisa Milanese and Gwen Kordonowy. [Read more.]( [Riding (the latest) COVID rollercoaster]( It's a COVID fire hose and tough to handle, writes Holly Robinson, but all we can do is hold on, forgive ourselves for mistakes, and keep trying to protect each other. [Read more.]( [Riding (the latest) COVID rollercoaster]( It's a COVID fire hose and tough to handle, writes Holly Robinson, but all we can do is hold on, forgive ourselves for mistakes, and keep trying to protect each other. [Read more.]( ['Stop the Steal' is about Trump. It's also about lots and lots of money]( A big reason why a majority of Republicans still believe Trump won the 2020 election, writes Prof. Jeffrey Berry, is because lots of people are making money telling them so. [Read more.]( ['Stop the Steal' is about Trump. It's also about lots and lots of money]( A big reason why a majority of Republicans still believe Trump won the 2020 election, writes Prof. Jeffrey Berry, is because lots of people are making money telling them so. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "There must be a way set aside the hollow satisfaction of right-thinking and to find out why other people believe what they believe." "[I like being right. I don’t like how I handle it.]( The Washington Post "Long COVID doesn’t come for you all at once; instead, with methodical precision, it slowly robs you." "[My wife had long COVID and killed herself. We must help others who are suffering]( The Guardian "They forge connections everywhere they go. In their past lives, it was politics. In their current one, it’s a community of people whose lives have been upended by ALS, hundreds of whom were simply waiting for a chance to act." "[‘I’m going to prove you wrong’: How a D.C. power couple used an ALS diagnosis to create a political juggernaut]( STATThe politics of going gray "I continue to cling to the hope that adults in our society will model the same behaviors that we seek to cultivate in our young people. " — Neema Avashia, "[It's been a long, arduous week for Mass. teachers. Why won't our state leaders apologize?]( ICYMI [Extremism is our new normal]( For those of us who immigrated to the U.S. after surviving war, violent coups and state-sponsored political violence, the insurgency was a vicious reminder that no place is immune from authoritarianism, even the oldest and most developed democracy of them all, writes Yordanos Eyoel. [Read more.]( [Extremism is our new normal]( For those of us who immigrated to the U.S. after surviving war, violent coups and state-sponsored political violence, the insurgency was a vicious reminder that no place is immune from authoritarianism, even the oldest and most developed democracy of them all, writes Yordanos Eyoel. [Read more.]( This week's newsletter was produced by Kathleen Burge. If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.](    Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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