Kate Cooper

Editor's Note: This Q&A appeared in Cognoscenti's newsletter of ideas and opinions, delivered weekly on Sundays. To become a subscriber, sign up here. When “Legally Blonde” premiered in movie theaters on July 13, 2021, I doubt anyone imagined we’d still be talking about it 25 years later. Or that it would become a hit musical. But to Heather Hach, screenwriter, author and Broadway librettist, it makes perfect sense.

Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cognoscenti's newsletter of ideas and opinions, delivered weekly on Sundays. To become a subscriber, sign up here. Back in April, local photographer Kylie Harrigan reached out to us about potentially publishing a photo essay. We’ve never published a photo essay at Cog. But we loved Kylie’s pitch so much we couldn't think of a reason not to.

Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cognoscenti's newsletter of ideas and opinions, delivered weekly on Sundays. To become a subscriber, sign up here. Many moons ago, my friend Vicki and I came up with a complicated incentive program to get our kids to do their school-mandated summer reading. I put four Mason jars on a table in our hallway. One jar was filled with gummy worms. The other three jars started out empty and were each labeled with one of my child’s names.