Back in 2018, in Episode 34 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast, we talked with Princeton historian Kevin Kruse about his use of Twitter to engage with the public. At the time, he had over 84,000 followers. A […]
Archives for 2023
Historian Michael Kazin remembers his life as a Weatherman
Michael Kazin is one of the best political historians working today. Check out our interview with him in Episode 41 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. We discussed his work on populism. Back in 2021, Current published his […]
The New York Times: “America’s duty as Israel’s friend is to stand firm in its support”
A taste of yesterday’s New York Times editorial page: President Biden is right to express America’s full support for Israel at this painful moment. The United States, as its closest ally, has a critical role to play. Moderate Israeli opposition leaders said […]
Gallup: 63% of Americans want a third major political party
Here is Jeffrey Jones at Gallup: WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults currently agree with the statement that the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job” of representing the American people that “a third major party […]
LONG FORM: You’ve Written Two Long Books—So What?
Two long books about one sacred book take us to the heart of the nation’s past—and present
Barry Manilow: not so bad
Responding to John Haas: on the merits of Barry Manilow.
Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League rips MSNBC over its coverage of the Hamas-Israeli war
Greenblatt is angry. He should be. David French is right. Moral clarity indeed:
Michael Oren: Don’t compare the current Israel-Hamas war to the Yom Kippur War of 1973
Since war broke out in Israel and the Gaza strip over the weekend, writers and journalists are comparing it to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. (For those unfamiliar with the Yom Kippur War of 1973, get up to speed here.) […]
Members of the Robert and Ethel Kennedy family continue to denounce Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential run
Robert Kennedy Jr. announced today that he will not run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, but will rather run for president in the general election (November 2024) as an independent. Here is Kerry Kennedy: Who are these Kennedys denouncing […]
Former Harvard president Lawrence Summers on the school’s silence on the Israel-Hamas war
In an earlier post today I noted that 31 Harvard University student groups have blamed the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war entirely on Israel. Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard University and Secretary of the Treasury at the end of the […]
What I am reading and watching to stay up to speed on the Israeli-Hamas war
Nothing very systematic or comprehensive here, but I’ve found these pieces helpful as I process all of this: Heather Cox Richardson offers a nice summary. We have already called your attention to this BBC explainer piece. Joe Biden condemns the […]
Political thinkers weigh-in on the ousting of Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy is no longer the Speaker of the House. What happened? Politico has gathered some experts to discuss the current state of the Republican Party. Contributors include historians Mary Frances Berry, Joanne Freeman, and Joshua Zeitz. Here is Freeman: […]
What is happening in Israel and the Gaza Strip?
The BBC answers all of your questions, including: Read more here.
What is going on at Grand Canyon University?
Grand Canyon University, a Phoenix-based private evangelical university, is one of the largest Christian universities in the world. It is now claiming that United States government is “coordinating attacks against it.” Here is Katherine Knott at Inside Higher Ed: Grand […]
Episode 119: “How the Social Gospel Undermined Social Democracy”
There was a profound difference between Christian Socialism and the so-called “Social Gospel.” Janine Giordano Drake explains these differences in her new book The Gospel of Church: How Mainline Protestants Vilified Christian Socialism and Fractured the Labor Movement. Drake argues that […]
Evangelical roundup for October 9, 2023
What is going on in Evangelical land? The number of evangelicals who believe the “earth is in crisis” is dropping. Italian evangelicals oppose the participation of the World Evangelical Alliance’s in a Vatican-sponsored prayer vigil. Denver Seminary hosts a conference […]
Israel’s Liturgy of National Suffering
A long crimson thread links the present to the past
On not concluding
Sometimes it is important not to come to a conclusion.
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: How did Israel not see it coming? What is going on at The Wall Street Journal? The revolutionary-era treasure of Hell’s Gate, NYC Drew Gilpin Faust: Civil rights activist The […]
Trump: Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”
Some of my critics often say that I have “Trump derangement syndrome.” I usually ignore these criticisms since those who make them are in danger of normalizing Trump, Trumpism, and his rhetoric. I refuse to do that. Donald Trump’s brand […]