As I wrote last week, “we now live in a world where a narcissistic sociopath wants to be president again and only a global pop superstar can stop him.” Can Taylor Swift influence the 2024 election? It appears that some […]
Archives for January 2024
Have we reached the end of U.S. history?
Here is historian Steven Mintz at Inside Higher Ed: Recently, a leading editor at a major academic press said bluntly that she wasn’t aware of any breakthrough scholars in U.S. history under the age of 50. In response, I mentioned several […]
REVIEW: The Crack-Up of the American Evangelical Church?
A historian finds herself nodding along with Tim Alberta’s hopeful vision for American evangelicalism
John Burger’s At the Foot of the Cross: Lessons from Ukraine
We’ve seen a lot of repetition of history these past two years.
Mission journalism
Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. argues that “journalism may never again make money, so it should it focus on mission.” As a news junkie, this saddens me. I am afraid Bacon may be correct in his assessment. But I […]
REVIEW: Whose Kingdom, Power, and Glory?
A former GOP insider finds himself nodding along with Tim Alberta’s damning portrait of the Christian Right
Preaching to the converted: Anti-Trumpism in 2024
A periodic reminder of Trump’s deleterious influence on American democracy is necessary. But must we have the constant drumbeat?
The exchange of ideas is essential to American democracy. We at Current are trying to do our part.
At Current, we believe that good thinking makes the smooth places rough. Much of our public discourse today, to borrow a line from Columbia University historian Barbara Fields, is “toggling between blurb and melodrama.” It is woefully flat, predictable, and […]
The Washington Post calls on Trump to debate Haley
Haley wants a debate. Trump does not. Here is The Post: The Republican National Committee will not anoint former president Donald Trump as the GOP’s “presumptive nominee” this week in Las Vegas after all. The Trump campaign wanted that formal designation bestowed […]
Trump opposes an immigrant bill that does not yet have a text. Republicans line-up behind him.
The Senate is putting the finishing touches on a bipartisan border policy deal that would also provide aid to Ukraine. We are waiting for the text of the bill. Without a text, no one knows what is in the bill. […]
Two quick thoughts on Joe Biden campaigning in South Carolina over the weekend
Two quick thoughts this morning: Yes, Biden is old. But he does not lack energy: Churches are sacred spaces. They are places where the Gospel–the Good News–is proclaimed. Keep politics and political candidates out of the pulpit:
Travis Kelce has a great game despite the vaccine
11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Not bad. Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl. Over at the “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” blog, Scot Lemieux writes, “Imagine how good he would have been if he […]
Evangelical roundup for January 29, 2024
What is happening in Evangelical land? Study: 72% of evangelicals came to faith before adulthood. Defending the Asbury Revival, nearly one year later. A Tennessee church gives away ten cars to those in need. World Vision prioritizing education: Iowan evangelicals […]
Authentic Humanity
In search of the real thing
The trouble with biopics
The trouble with biopics is, they’re just not very good.
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: What is creative non-fiction? What is the state of the Christian prophetic vision in age of nationalism and socialism? Amber Husain reviews Sara Marcus, Political Disappointment: A Culture History From […]
Civil War and Reconstruction historians: The 14th Amendment should bar Trump from the ballot in Colorado
Here is Martin Pengelly at The Guardian: Twenty-five historians of the civil war and Reconstruction filed a US supreme court brief in support of the attempt by Colorado to remove Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th amendment, which bars insurrectionists […]
Blessing of Unicorns: 01/27/2024
This week’s unicorns include reads about the Holocaust, family and pregnancy, a Christian perspective on reforming criminal justice, farewell to Snow Days, and more.
Nikki Haley should “go for broke” and “gently smack that gum” out of Trump’s mouth
Yesterday I suggested that Nikki Haley should, to use the words of writer Michael Wood, give Trump the “full Liz Cheney.” Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal seems to agree. Here is a taste of her column “Nikki Haley […]
Florida replaces sociology with a “factual” U.S. history survey course
Here is Praveena Somasundaram and Hannah Natanson at The Washington Post: Florida will no longer allow a sociology course to count toward students’ graduation requirements at state universities, replacing it with a class that officials say will teach “factual history” in a […]