As you may have heard, Uganda just passed an anti-homosexuality law. Here is a summary: Read the entire bill here. Here is Caleb Ecarma at Vanity Fair: Antigay sentiment in Uganda has climbed in recent years due in no small […]
Archives for June 2023
Evangelical roundup for June 8, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land: Deconstructing Molly Worthen’s conversion. Joel Looper reviews Daniel G. Hummel, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism. Where do Reformed evangelicals go after the death of Tim Keller? Can evangelicalism be revitalized?: Is evangelical renewal […]
The Baptismal Vows of Michael Corleone
The crisis of leadership in contemporary religion and politics is rooted not in hypocrisy but in nihilism
Many know the night: a lesson from Elie Wiesel
Many know the night. This was the message I heard on the afternoon of September 10, 2002, while sitting in the hushed, overwarm, overcrowded chapel of Middlebury College, where I was just beginning my sophomore year of studies. My friends […]
In 1970 historian Martha Hodes was held hostage by Palestinian militants. She is now revisiting those memories.
American historians know New York University historian Martha Hodes for A Sea Captain’s Wife and Mourning Lincoln. But her latest book is different. In My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering, Hodes writes about the time her plane […]
Lessons on independent thinking from writer Susan Sontag
Over at The Atlantic, writer Katie Roiphe asks: “What would the intellectual powerhouse think about our culture of groupthink and self-righteousness?” She begins: If you are sitting around wondering what Susan Sontag would make of our current political moment, a […]
AI-generated obituaries?
Here is Eli Frankel at The Baffler: THE PITCH IS SIMPLE: drafting an obituary for a loved one can be a difficult and emotional task, so why not outsource the work to a computer? Recent advances in generative AI have […]
Ban phones in classrooms
After twenty-five years in the college history classroom, it is hard to argue with Jonathan Haidt’s recent piece at The Atlantic. A taste: Think about how hard it is for you to stay on task and sustain a train of […]
Does Pence have a chance?
Mike Pence announced his presidential candidacy today and will speak to Dana Bash tonight on CNN. Columnists from The New York Times weigh-in: Q: How seriously should we take Mike Pence’s candidacy? Frank Bruni At least a bit more seriously than […]
Fifty Souls
In Greyhound, contemporary individualism meets ancient Stoicism—and much more
Lucy S. R. Austen on Elisabeth Elliot
Lucy S. R. Austen’s biography of Elisabeth Elliot is scheduled for release this month. We are grateful that she visited the Arena to tell a little bit about this project, her research, writing, and “rest between two notes.” You mentioned […]
The Author’s Corner with Alejandra Dubcovsky
Alejandra Dubcovsky is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. This interview is based on her new book, Talking Back: Native Women and the Making of the Early South (Yale University Press, 2023). JF: What led you […]
Found Footage: January 6 and the Horror Movies that Made It
Which script were the insurrectionists following?
Of mushrooms, arsenic, and pea protein powder
On a trip earlier this spring, Dan overheard a curious conversation at the airport. One woman was passionately advocating for a natural lifestyle to another while awaiting the boarding process to begin. Firmly opposed to all vaccines and caffeine (“it’s […]
Cornel West is running for president
Here is Maggie Astor at The New York Times: Cornel West, the progressive activist and professor, announced a presidential campaign on Monday with the People’s Party, a third party led by a former campaign staff member for Senator Bernie Sanders. […]
Episode 110: “How Black Ball Saved the Soul of the NBA”
The National Basketball Association is a multi-billion-dollar industry driven by Black athletes with global influence. But as our guest Theresa Runstedtler argues, the success of today’s NBA players rests on the labor activism of 1970s NBA stars who fought with […]
The Author’s Corner with Robert Mann
Robert Mann holds the Manship Endowed Chair in Journalism at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication. This interview is based on his new book, Kingfish U: Huey Long and LSU (LSU Press, 2023). JF: What led you to […]
Evangelical roundup for June 5, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? A primer on the Southern Baptist gender wars World Relief, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, National Association of Evangelicals, SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and National Latino Evangelical Coalition support immigration reform. […]
Jaws!
Once upon a time, a big shark got everyone talking—and watching
We can handle more complexity
One of the most recent rebrands in our media ecosystem is “HBO Max” becoming “Max.” What problem does this possibly solve? Ostensibly it will help Discovery + maintain more of its identity and not get buried in HBO programming. But […]