In his 2010 book about higher education, The Marketplace of Ideas, Louis Menand writes that: āIn a meritocratic society, citizens need a common fund of knowledge, a kind of cultural lingua franca, to prevent politically dangerous divisions from developing.ā This […]
Archives for February 2023
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Writers lives are “spent mainly in defeat“ Carole King on Burt Bacharach The Black Hebrew Israelite movement W.E.B. Du Bois on Black History Month Whopper, Whopper, Whopper Whopper History vs. […]
Is the Jesus of “He Gets Us” present in conservative evangelicalism?
Many are criticizing the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ads that will appear during tonight’s Super Bowl because they are funded by the deep pockets of Hobby Lobby and use Jesus as a “brand.” But Liz Featherstone, writing at the […]
The MAGA evangelical revivalists are silent about the Asbury University revival. Why?
Charlie Kirk, the MAGA evangelical who runs Turning Point USA, wants a national awakening: Kirk believes that the only way to stop what he calls “The Great Reset” is a new Great Awakening. He believes that such a reawakening is […]
Commonplace Book #240
In 1875 Debs and his circle believed in the community of Terre Haute–“the sacred little spot” as he called it–and like so many other ambitious young men he saw his future inevitably tied to the progress of the whole community. […]
Episode 109: “The Voice and Faith of Sojourner Truth”
In this episode we talk with historian and biographer Nancy Koester about her new book on nineteenth-century abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth.Ā Our discussion focuses on Truth’s lifelong pursuit of a just society, a deeper knowledge of God, and […]
Special evangelical roundup: Asbury University revival edition
NOTE: I’ve decided to move the updates to this original post to separate posts. You can read them all here. What is happening in Evangelical land? Revival has hit Asbury University again. Get up to speed here. What are people […]
Revival comes, again, to Asbury University
Something is happening at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky and it has some striking similarities to 1970: Here is Alexandra Presta at The Asbury Collegian: I have been in Hughes Auditorium for almost twelve hours now without an intent to […]
How are evangelicals responding to the John MacArthur spiritual abuse accusations?
In case you missed the news, Christianity Today is reporting on a pattern of spiritual abuse on John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. Here is Kate Shellnut: Last year, Hohn Cho concluded Grace Community Church had made a […]
There were three major investigations of Donald Trump’s presidency. What if we took them as a whole?
There are three published investigations of Donald Trump and his presidency: The Mueller Report, the House Intelligence Committee Report on Trump and Ukraine, and the January 6th Report. Future historians will bring these reports into conversation with one another. Carlo […]
Joe Biden’s populism
There were parts of Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night that could have passed for a Donald Trump speech. Some conservatives, like Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen, seem to be getting nervous. Here is a taste […]
What it was like to be a Black man playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s?
Here is Mark Dent at The Washington Post: When Mike Garrett, a Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Southern California, was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, the only thing he knew about his new home was the […]
Is there such a thing as a “just war?”
Over at History Day, four military historians reflect on this question. They are Cathal Nolan, Peter H. Wilson, Vanda Wilcox, and Justin Marozzi. Here is a taste of Nolan’s piece: During the interminable wars among the city states of Renaissance […]
Highlights from Harper’s forum on liberalism
I finally finished the Harper’s forum, “Is Liberalism Worth Saving?” The forum featured Patrick Deneen, Francis Fukuyama, Deirdre McCloskey, and Cornel West. Here are a few things I highlighted: Deneen on populism: The other form of populism that liberalism fears […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week atĀ Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week atĀ The Way of Improvement Leads HomeĀ blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week atĀ The ArenaĀ blog:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Believes She Is Here for āSuch a Time as Thisā
Will the evangelical governor of Arkansas be Donald Trumpās new Mike Pence?
What I Am Reading: Colleen Vasconcellos
I have loved books since I was old enough to read. Some of my most treasured memories are quiet afternoons that I spent with my mom at the public library, testing the seams of a ratty Book of the Month […]
“Hey big Jon!”: Biden works the crowd
I love this. (And not only because my brother always greets me by saying, “Hey Big John”). Here is Jennifer Bendery at HuffPost, “The Best Part Of Joe Biden’s SOTU Address Happened After It Was Over“: On Tuesday night, millions […]
Song of the Day
RIP
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on LeBron James breaking his NBA scoring record
At his Substack, Kareem sets the record straight on a lot of the rumors. He is happy LeBron broke his scoring record. He corrects his old teammate Magic Johnson. He says he is more focused right now on his activism […]