Michael Smerconish, 03/25/12

Radio host

On at least one of the 911 calls logged by neighbors, a man is heard crying in distress just before the fatal gunshot is audible. Who was it, Zimmerman or Martin?

Roderick Spencer, 03/25/12

Screenwriter, producer, comedian, teacher and social activist

I'm a sports fan and I care about politics, so let's mash them together. It is likely that Barack Obama is the most knowledgeable US President ever when it comes to NCAA basketball. How can the remaining GOP candidates use that against him?

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 03/24/12

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

On Friday, President Obama took two important steps with respect to the world's premier development agency.

Kristian Ramos, 03/24/12

Policy Director, Hispanic Demographics, Immigration NDN

A state like Arizona should be working with the federal government and private businesses to invest more in the ports of entry's with Mexico to increase legal travel and commerce into their state, not trashing it.

Ira Glasser, 03/24/12

Executive Director, ACLU (1978-2001, Retired)

Chait's emphasis on demographic shifts is powerful and mainly on target, but there is a broader historical context to his analysis that complements, extends and better explains the hysteria dominating the current rhetoric of the Republican party.

Lubomir Kavalek, 03/25/12

International Chess Grandmaster

How much do you have to know to become a strong chess player? According to Russian folklore you have to know 300 chess positions to become a grandmaster, but nobody knows what exactly these positions are.

Avis Jones-DeWeever, 03/25/12

Executive Director, National Council of Negro Women

I do not know Sybrina Fulton. Nor can I claim to understand the depth of her pain. Yet, we share a deep connection. You see, Ms. Fulton is living my nightmare. A constant worry that has lingered in the back of my mind since the birth of my eldest son, some sixteen years ago.

Pauline Millard, 03/25/12

NYC-based writer

Not everyone can stay up late on a Sunday night and watch a television show. Some of us have jobs. Most shows, if you miss them, you can catch up with them somewhere online if your DVR spazzes out. Not Mad Men.

Michael Shank, 03/25/12

US Vice President, Institute for Economics and Peace

A bigger question that must also be asked is "Who is Florida?" We could ask a question about the direction America is headed on race and violence but let's stick to Florida for a moment.

LearnVest, 03/24/12

The pre-eminent website for women and their money

Forbes' comprehensive list of the world's billionaires (there are 1226) came out recently, and we were curious -- are there women on the list? Turns out, there are.

Raymond J. Learsy, 03/25/12

Author, 'Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption Continues'

What should have been said by our president is that this government is moving heaven and earth to convert our transportation fleet from gasoline and diesel to being powered by compressed natural gas.

Richard Steiner, 03/24/12

Professor, conservation biologist

The Exxon Valdez disaster remains a tragic lesson in what can be lost with a few bad policy decisions and a few broken promises. The spill became an enduring symbol of recklessness, hubris, arrogance, complacency and outright dishonesty.

Jim Sleeper, 03/25/12

Political Science Lecturer, Yale University

Few of us who oppose the past century of corporate "personhood" jurisprudence would accept government censorship. But we do wonder why conservatives are so accepting of the Chinese Communist government setting up and censoring a corporation that employs American reporters.

Dr. Josef Olmert, 03/25/12

Adjunct Professor, University of South Carolina

It is simply correct to refer to the uprising as being that of the Sunni majority against a regime based on the support, either active or passive, of non-Sunni minorities. One of the latter are the Druze.

Michael Hodin, 03/24/12

Executive Director, Global Coalition on Aging

As Americans live longer is it any wonder the country is struggling to balance its budget? Is it any wonder we can't figure out how to pay for long-standing "entitlements"?

Stephanie Sandberg, 03/24/12

Consultant

The sad account of Tyler Clementi's short time at Rutgers exposes a deficit that feels like a missed opportunity: direct conversation. To me there seemed to be an alarming lack of simple human interaction around him in his final days.

Rhiana Maidenberg, 03/25/12

Writer, wife, and mother of toddlers.

My life may seem glamorous with its endless routine of carpools, play dates, and half-asleep coffee breaks at the neighborhood latte joint, but to be able to maintain an outward appearance of order I have developed a few shortcuts.

Sam Pizzigati, 03/25/12

Editor, 'Too Much,' on excess and inequality

What's going on here? Inequality is going on. Inequality generates a chronic stress that saps and zaps our physical health, and no major developed nation has become more unequal over recent decades than the United States.

Rabbi Ben Greenberg, 03/24/12

Orthodox Jewish Chaplain, Harvard University

The need is great and the time has to be now. If we sit idly by we risk the marginalization of not only those most affected by the increasing stultification of Orthodoxy, but we risk the marginalization of the Torah itself.

ShermansTravel, 03/25/12

Hand-Picked Deals. Expert Advice.

Pedaling through a major U.S. city is not just the province of daredevil bike messengers. With warmer weather and rising gas prices, there's never been a better time to hop on a bicycle.

BJ Gallagher, 03/25/12

Sociologist, best-selling author and popular speaker.

While the outlook for our country is getting brighter, the outlook for hundreds of thousands of individuals still seems bleak. What can you do if you're one of those folks whose job -- and/or company -- is gone forever?

Lu Curran, 03/24/12

Image consultant, Style By Lu

It's important, when shopping for a bathing suit, to focus on finding a suit that looks good on you now; not with a tan, not after you hit the gym hard core for the next couple weeks, or after you go on an extreme diet.

David Katz, M.D., 03/24/12

Director, Yale Prevention Research Center

If measles does make a meaningful comeback, it would imply public health is sliding back as we head into the future. We don't want to go there.

John Lundberg, 03/25/12

Writer, Poetry teacher

In his "Ode to Autumn," John Keats somewhat cheekily asks the question, "Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?" Well, spring is back and singing again.