The Week in Ideas: Read our favorite op-eds of 2019 22DEZ19

Opinions you may have missed.

By Fred Hiatt   Email A special holiday treat: Many of us in Opinions picked a favorite op-ed from 2019 that we found unforgettable, and we’ve collected them here, along with brief notes about what made these choices stand out. Funny ones, sad ones, furious ones, beautiful ones — I loved rediscovering them, and I hope you will also. And in case those 25 aren’t enough, we compiled the best of our Global Opinions columns, too. Are we shaping the Web, or is it shaping us, or … maybe both? Molly Roberts turns to Baby Yoda for some answers. Clint Eastwood gets history very wrong in his movie about Richard Jewell — and Kevin Riley, editor in chief of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, explains why those distortions matter. Former vice president Joe Biden clings to the top spot in our final Post Pundit Power Ranking of the year — but you may be surprised to see who clambered up to No. 2 after Thursday’s debate. Finally, our China expert John Pomfret says that much of the debate in the United States about how to treat China misses a key point. China gets a vote, too — and right now China is voting for confrontation. That scary thought notwithstanding, I hope you have a great holiday.   Our favorite Washington Post op-eds of 2019 Opinions staffers explain why their favorite pieces from non-Post writers stand out. Read more »              These Global Opinions columns helped us make sense of the world in 2019 A collection of columns to understand the political and social developments that shook the world. Read more »              The secret that makes Baby Yoda so captivating Who is the force really with? By Molly Roberts  ●  Read more »              How Clint Eastwood blew the story of 1996 Crucial scenes in “Richard Jewell” are distortions of the truth. By Kevin Riley  ●  Read more »              The progressive alternative to Biden might not be who you think anymore Does it matter that the small fry finally got their moment in the spotlight? By The Ranking Committee  ●  Read more »              It’s not all on Trump: China favors confrontation with the U.S. It takes two to fight a Cold War. So far, China doesn’t seem ready to put down its gloves. By John Pomfret  ●  Read more »