We are familiar with Christianity Today book awards here at Current. Our editor, Eric Miller, won the award in the History/Biography category in 2011 for Hope in a Scattering Time: A Life of Christopher Lasch. Some good historians made the […]
Archives for December 2021
Andrew Sullivan to Al Mohler: “It is not conservative to declare absolute truths and then impose then on society”
Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of World magazine’s new “Opinions” section, recently challenged the politics of New York Times columnist David Brooks in a piece titled “Sir, you are not a conservative.” In response […]
Trump Jr., Hannity, Ingraham, and Kilmeade communicated with Mark Meadows on January 6, 2021. Here is what they said:
Last week I wrote that the House Select Committee on January 6th had the political equivalent of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss’s little black book. Well, thanks to Liz Cheney, we now know some of the things in that book. The […]
Springsteen plays some classics at NYC benefit concert
Bruce played “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Promised Land,” “Glory Days,” and “Pink Cadillac” in a short set at the John Henry Friends Benefit. Watch: Here is a better video of “Darkness”:
The Author’s Corner with Sandra Moats
Sandra Moats is Professor of History at University of Wisconsin-Parkside. This interview is based on her new book, Navigating Neutrality: Early American Governance in the Turbulent Atlantic (University of Virginia Press, 2021). JF: What led you to write Navigating Neutrality? […]
Is it time to expand the House of Representatives?
Lee Drutman and Yuval Levin think this might be a good idea. Here is a taste of their piece at The Washington Post: Americans observing the members of the House of Representatives in action generally don’t end up wishing there […]
Christmas Transcendence
Even a little bit of quiet can take us a long way
The Author’s Corner with Damian Pargas
Damian Pargas is Professor of the History and Culture of North America at Leiden University. This interview is based on his new book, Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800–1860 (Cambridge University Press, 2021). JF: What led you to […]
800,156 Americans have died of COVID-19
According to NBC News. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the two years the virus has been in the United States is now higher than some of the most liberal estimates of the number of deaths in the […]
Evangelical roundup for December 13, 2021
What is happening in Evangelical land? More scandal at Liberty University. A sports ministry legend has died. Another QAnon conference at an evangelical megachurch: The next big religious liberty case before the Supreme Court. Evangelical views on Joe Biden: Evangelical […]
Cynical Political Moves Are Not the Best Way to Overturn Roe v. Wade
A failure of integrity and goodwill blemish the pro-life cause
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: How to make you research accessible to public audiences? Vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans are angry with each other. Independent journalism The editors of the Journal of the Early Republic talk […]
Was Chris Cuomo an entertainer or a journalist?
CNN fired him because he violated journalistic “standards and practices” by helping craft his brother Andrew’s response to sexual harassment charges. Here is Edwards Helmore at The Guardian: But the larger question concerns to what extent US cable news has […]
“A university that is only good at STEM education is nothing more than a trade school.”
Avi Kak came to Purdue to work in a university, and not in a trade school. In a letter to the editor of the Purdue Exponent he says that the Purdue English Department deserves more respect. Here is a taste: […]
The scandal of university teaching
Here is Jonathan Zimmerman at Liberties: In 1925, student delegates from twenty colleges met at Wesleyan University to discuss a growing concern on America’s campuses: the poor quality of teaching. They decried dry-as-dust professors who filled up blackboards with irrelevant […]
Robert Caro talks to journalism students about writing
Alex Shepherd recently accompanied some CUNY graduate students in journalism during a visit to the Robert Caro exhibition at the New York Historical Society. Here is his piece at The New Republic: You can sense Robert Caro’s disappointment after he […]
The intellectual as “truth’s servant” vs. the intellectual as “truth’s representative”
Should intellectuals speak truth to power? What are the limits to such an understanding of the intellectual life? Check out Mark Lilla‘s timely piece, “Treason of the Intellectuals.” Here are a few excerpts: The political prophet’s kingdom is still not […]
What is popular this week at Current
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: John Fea, On Religious Exemptions Agnes Howard,, What Fate Awaits Your Thoughtful Gift? Christopher Shannon, Christ the King and Democratic Rule John Fea, Malice Toward None? Charity For All? Mark […]
The Great QAnon Disappointment
It’s only the latest
Episode 30: “We Worship an Awesome God in the Blue States”
Barack Obama delivers an American sermon and becomes a household name in the process. Episode 30: “We Worship an Awesome God in the Blue States” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above new episodes of this narrative history podcast. […]