Cloe Axelson

Massachusetts

Senior Editor at WBUR-FM (Boston, MA)

Senior editor @cogwbur at @wbur. Writer, runner, Cubs fan, mom of three girls. “Let’s play two.”

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Articles

Thoreau's mom did his laundry, but it's not what you think

5 days ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cog's newsletter, sent every Sunday. We share stories that remind you we're all part of something bigger. Sign up here. We’ve arrived at the second Sunday in May – Mother’s Day — a day celebrated by some and fraught for others. Every year Cog is flooded with submissions pegged to this (Hallmark) holiday and we labor over our decisions about which essays to publish.
The things we carry - in our totes

2 weeks ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Cog's Weekly NewsletterThe things we carry — in our totesAristides Aquino #44 of the Cincinnati Reds looks on during the second inning against the Chicago Cubs at Field of Dreams on August 11, 2022 in Dyersville, Iowa. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cog's newsletter, sent every Sunday. We share stories that remind you we're all part of something bigger. Sign up here. I’ve got two things on my mind this week: glimmers and the things we carry — in our bags.
'By Power and Pride': A Minuteman for life

3 weeks ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

If a cat has nine lives, I bet Carl Sweeney has 11. He is a Renaissance man. The 69-year-old is a retired educator (for 24 years, he was a beloved custodian at Willard Elementary in Concord, where he also he had an alter ego — “Captain Zero, the Math Superhero”); an award-winning golf coach; a veteran of the Massachusetts National Guard; a one-time traffic reporter for WBZ and WRKO; and a poet (more on that later). He’s got three kids and nine grandkids.
It's the small stuff that endures

1 month ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

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. My college softball coach has given me loads of good advice over the years on matters big and small: the proper technique to lay down a bunt, the best strategy to pursue in a cut-throat game of Hearts and the value of hand-written correspondence.
When your reporting beat becomes personal

1 month ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

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. As you probably know, Cog is part of WBUR, Boston’s NPR station. We sit in WBUR’s newsroom — though as a journalistic institution, Cog is editorially independent. Our newsroom colleagues don’t tell us which political commentaries and personal essays to publish; our small but mighty team gets to decide.
It's our job to remember the pandemic - even as the beat goes on

1 month ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cognoscenti's newsletter, delivered weekly on Sundays. To become a subscriber, sign up here. The New York Times published 30 charts last week showing how American life has changed since the pandemic began in March 2020. The Times’ data journalists created bar charts and line graphs showing dramatic swings in the average time spent commuting, alcohol sales, the share of women in the labor force, online shopping, marriage rates and a whole lot more.
Lies are not truth

2 months ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Editor's Note: The Firehose is a regular column in which Cog contributors provide a high-level recap of what actions the Trump administration has taken in the preceding two weeks, and help us make sense of it. Imagine you and your partner are planning what to prepare for dinner. Without a common definition of nouns like “chicken” and verbs like “bake”-- even of adjectives like “spicy” or “sweet” — the meal will likely turn out to be an unpleasant surprise for at least one of you.
How to endure a partner who snores

2 months ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

How to endure a partner who snoresHaving a partner who snores can be a challenge. WBUR's senior editor Cloe Axelson shares her own journey in this essay. This segment airs on March 6, 2025. Audio will be available after the broadcast.
The cost of being a baby-making being

2 months ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Editor's Note: This essay appeared in Cog's newsletter, sent every Sunday. We share stories that remind you we're all part of something bigger. Sign up here. My mother tells me menopause can be summed up like this: “There’s a cost to being a baby-making being.”It’s such a good line. But she knows — and I know, too — that there’s much more to it than the symptoms that have been the punchline of jokes for eternity: hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, hormonal rage.
Q&A with Theresa Okokon: She wrote a memoir for her future self

2 months ago | wbur.org | Cloe Axelson

Editor's Note: An excerpt of this interview appeared in Cognoscenti's weekly Sunday newsletter of ideas and opinions. To become a subscriber, sign up here. Having the opportunity to work with writers of all backgrounds and experiences is one of my very favorite things about working at Cog. Just this week, I got to work with Anita Diamant on the second installment of “The Firehose” and chat with Julie Wittes Schlack about her lifelong obsession with the Guinness World Records.