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 […]
Archives for 2023
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Arena blog:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Believes She Is Here for “Such a Time as This”
Will the evangelical governor of Arkansas be Donald Trump’s 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 […]
Abortion and the State of the Union address
For some, Joe Biden is an accomplice to murder. They believe that the president confirmed this once again in Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address: For others, Biden did not spend enough time on abortion rights. And then there […]
Evangelical roundup for February 9, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? The Kings College is having financial troubles. The Anglican Church is divided over LGBTQ blessings. Paul Putz on the “HeGetsUs” campaign. Most evangelicals want to pass their beliefs along to their kids. Yes: 10% […]
For Today’s College Students, the Future Is Healthcare – But What Is Our Country’s Future?
We’ve heard many laments about the recent sharp declines in the number of humanities majors on college campuses, but something more profound is happening than merely a shift away from the liberal arts or a new college emphasis on careers. […]
Traveling with Spiritual Socialists
When in quest of a new social order, try hitting the trail
LeBron may be the king, but he’s not THAT King
LeBron James broke the NBA scoring record last night. Here is the Nike commercial that aired on TNT immediately following LeBron’s breaking of the record: The soundtrack of this ad is obviously a Black church. Did anyone else have a […]
Remembering the Strand Bookstore’s best customer
His name was Tom Verlaine, the guitarist and lead singer of the 1970s band Television. Here is a taste of Colin Groundwater‘s piece at LitHub: If you swung by the carts that line the Strand’s exterior, where all the books […]
In 1970, Mississippi banned Sesame Street
Here is Kristin Hunt at The Washington Post: In April 1970, members of Mississippi’s newly formed State Commission for Educational Television met to discuss Big Bird and Cookie Monster. “Sesame Street” had debuted on public TV the previous November, and […]
Are the humanities making a comeback?
Here is a taste of Jennifer Kingson’s Axios piece, “STEM who? The humanities mount a comeback: Driving the news: When the University of California, Berkeley, reported an uptick in humanities majors this academic year, there was elation — and shock — at the […]
Mitt Romney: George Santos is a “sick puppy”
The Huffington Post is reporting on the Mitt Romney-George Santos confrontation at last night’s State of the Union Address. Watch: Here is a taste of Igor Bobic’s piece: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to take a […]
What is going on at The Kings College?
The Kings College is in serious financial trouble. Back in 2008,, when I was blogging at Paul Harvey’s Religion in American History, I wrote a piece on what I called “Manhattan Evangelicalism.” The Kings College featured prominently in that post. […]
Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders the best the GOP could do last night?
Frank Bruni of The New York Times nails it. Here is a taste of his recent column: I keep hearing and reading that many Republican leaders want to move on from Donald Trump. I can’t imagine why. His role in […]
Ideas in Progress: Jonathan Den Hartog on John Jay
Jonathan Den Hartog is Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is hard at work during a university sabbatical. The Arena caught up with him to pose some questions… What is […]
What Comes to Mind When I Think About Love
Love bears all things. Sometimes that’s a heavy load.