Even with addictive substances, we usually let adults make their own decisions. But companies such as Juul targeted their products to kids. Those kids, almost by definition, are unable to make reasoned, mature decisions about what risks they should take.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/1…

An essential tenet of freedom is the right to take risks. We don’t have the right to impose those risks on others (hence, bans on smoking in bars or restaurants), but adults should have the right to impose those risks on themselves. bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/1…

As he walked into his lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, filled with cheering staffers and supporters, Bill Kaelin’s thoughts weren’t on the molecular biology of cancer. bostonglobe.com/2019/12/10/opi…

He remembers them talking about the someday-movie of her life, documenting her hoped-for recovery. “She was going to be played by Julia Roberts.” And him? “Pee-wee Herman,” he offers up with a laugh. bostonglobe.com/2019/12/10/opi…

One day, about two years after Carolyn’s death, he asked someone out on a date. He had a personal epiphany: “I realized it was the first time in years that I allowed myself to look forward in time rather than backward in time.” bostonglobe.com/2019/12/10/opi…

Nobel Prize laureates or not, we all live much the same lives: supporting our families; doing our bit to contribute to the world; loving, laughing, and crying through the years. bostonglobe.com/2019/12/10/opi…

It’s a Sunday morning and my wife and I are arguing... bostonglobe.com/2020/01/07/mag…

Cars at Blue Hills Reservation practicing appropriate social distancing.

I'm playing this new drinking game as I watch CNN. Every time there's a story that is not coronavirus related, I have a drink. I haven't had a drop in three days.

One possible lesson from the coronavirus pandemic: Maybe the suburbs really are better. bostonglobe.com/2020/05/04/opi…

I live in downtown Boston, in a too-small place for too much money. But the argument I always made to myself was that he energy and intellectual ferment of folks packed together was worth it. Well, that’s all gone. bostonglobe.com/2020/05/04/opi…

The thrill of city living is gone, perhaps never to return. Couple that with our newfound fear of crowds, and I expect we’ll soon see urbanites heading out to the suburbs they once disdained. bostonglobe.com/2020/05/04/opi…

Just because Question 2 lost doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem with the way we run our elections. wbur.org/cognoscenti/20…

Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have already had their joyrides in space. Elon Musk can’t be far behind. Everyone seems offended at the notion of billionaires rocketing around outside of the atmosphere. Not me. Someone’s got to do it. bostonglobe.com/2021/08/12/mag…

Billionaires seem to be everywhere, increasing in number each year. The United States has 724. China — the world’s largest Communist nation, ahem — ranks second with 698. bostonglobe.com/2021/08/12/mag…

True, as NASA loves to remind us, the space program has given us a plethora of innovations, including satellite communications, dramatically improved weather forecasting, GPS, water purification systems, and, lest we forget, freeze-dried ice cream. bostonglobe.com/2021/08/12/mag…

Granted, some of the hype about the metaverse is absurd. (People buying virtual real estate? What? You didn’t lose enough in crypto?) But take a spin and you get a glimmer of just how transformative it could be. bostonglobe.com/2022/08/24/mag…

If you’re the owner of a real brick-and-mortar office building, stuff like this is downright scary. bostonglobe.com/2022/08/24/mag…

If he wins, would Ricardo Arroyo remain district attorney for the next four years? Probably. But not necessarily. There are two possibilities that might trip him up. bostonglobe.com/2022/09/01/opi…

If Arroyo is elected, he’ll join a long parade of scandalous public figures such as Clarence Thomas, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Brett Kavanaugh. One lesson each proved is that if politicians tough it out, the controversy eventually dies. bostonglobe.com/2022/09/01/opi…