Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Marvin Olasky, “A Wrinkle in Journalism History“ David Hollinger, “The Evangelical-Mainline Divide: Two Questions“ Peter Hill, “Fear and Loathing at Independence Hall“ Frederic Durbin, “Connections Through Street Poetry“ Christopher Shannon, […]
Archives for October 2022
The Author’s Corner with Megan Bever
Megan Bever is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Social Sciences Department at Missouri Southern State University. This interview is based on her new book, At War with King Alcohol: Debating Drinking and Masculinity in the Civil War […]
“Societal Collapse Is in the Air—Or It Smells Like It”
A history lesson for Timothée Chalamet
My nephew can play hockey!
A little personal/family news. Watch: Go Nick! We are all proud of you!
Report: Ben Sasse will resign his Senate seat to become president of the University of Florida
Here is CNN: Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a prominent voice in the Republican Party who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, plans to resign from the Senate by the end of the year […]
Evangelical roundup for October 6, 2022
What is going on in Evangelical land: Arab evangelicals in the Middle East. Are evangelical Herschel Walker voters Christians? The World Evangelical Alliance meets in Jordan. Phil Vischer vs. The Babylon Bee: Costi Hinn vs. the theobros. What is a […]
Must Thrasymachus Have the Last Word?
If we want to keep justice from becoming just another word for power, we have some work to do
A University of New Brunswick graduate student responds to the Doug Mastriano Ph.D controversy
Earlier today we called your attention to a Canadian Broadcasting Company story on Doug Mastriano’s Ph.D dissertation at the University of New Brunswick. In that post I noted that current University of New Brunswick students were concerned about the reputation […]
One of Doug Mastriano’s dissertation committee members speaks out about his “dishonest” and “sloppy” work
Here is the latest on Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s “academic” career: One of the members of his dissertation committee called his work, “dishonest, sloppy, tinged with religious zealotry, and indifferent to facts that contradicted his claims.” The committee member […]
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention appears to reject Christian nationalism
Here is Bart Barber‘s recent Twitter thread: Samuel Perry, a scholar of Christian nationalism, offers to help:
The Christian Right rallies around Herschel Walker
Here is Brian Kaylor at Word & Way: On the morning after an explosive news report that U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009, the Georgia Republican attended a closed prayer event at First Baptist Church in […]
Current contributing editor Adam Jortner on Moore v. Harper
Check out Jornter’s piece, “The Supreme Court’s biggest case this term threatens American democracy.” Here is a taste: Moore v. Harper is perhaps the most significant case of the U.S. Supreme Court term beginning Monday. At stake is the question of […]
The Evangelical-Mainline Divide: Two Questions
The divide exists—and so do unexpected forms of mutual influence
Doug Mastriano airs his first television ad. It looks like he may be actually running for governor of Pennsylvania
Well, it looks like Mastriano actually IS running for governor of Pennsylvania! Some context on the ad. Here we go: Michael Sokolove has a nice overview of the Mastriano campaign today at The Atlantic. A taste: Mastriano’s campaign is severely underfunded, […]
More on the firing of Patricia Limerick
The University of Colorado recently fired American historian Patricia Limerick from her post as founding director of the university’s Center of the American West. Get up to speed here. Jason Blevins of The Colorado Sun has more reporting. Here is […]
What do Americans think about Confederate flags and monuments?
Public Religion Research Institute just released a very revealing study about Confederate flag and Confederate monuments in America. You can read the entire report here. Here are a few of the findings that caught my attention: 72% of Americans believe […]
More John McGreevy on global Catholicism
Check out Carrie Gates’s recent interview with Notre Dame historian John McGreevy. They discuss his new book Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis. A taste: In the book, you address many of the challenges the […]
The Author’s Corner with Trent Brown
Trent Brown is Professor of American Studies at Missouri University of Science and Technology. This interview is based on his new book, Roadhouse Justice: Hattie Lee Barnes and the Killing of a White Man in 1950s Mississippi (LSU Press, 2022). […]
LONG FORM: Connections Through Street Poetry
A writer reflects on the art—and wonder—of meaningful exchange
How turn-of-the-20th-century Italian immigrants were tricked into debt peonage
Writer Brad Ricca tells the story of the Italian immigrants of Sunnyside Plantation in Arkansas. Here is a taste of his piece at The Washington Post: In the early 1900s, a small travel agency in Greenville, Miss., began sending representatives […]