James Tejani is Associate Professor of History at California Polytechnic State University. This interview is based on his new book, A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America (W. W. Norton […]
Archives for August 2024
Jew or Not Jew?
Who gets to decide if Jewsâor Christiansâare ârealâ?
Life as a reality show
Angels in the audience watch us on stage and learn how Godâs grace operates.
The Author’s Corner with Frank W. Garmon Jr.
Frank W. Garmon Jr. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership and American Studies at Christopher Newport University. This interview is based on his new book, A Wonderful Career in Crime: Charles Cowlam’s Masquerades in the Civil War Era […]
An Unholy Traffic
The Confederacyâs slave markets help us grasp the cost of freedom
You’ve got to get a group together!
âIf you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.â It is an old proverb, but it applies in more areas than people might realize.
The Catholic faith of JD Vance
Over at The New York Times, Elizabeth Dias profiles the GOP vice-presidential candidate. Here is a taste: In Washington, he connected with a Yale Law alumnus who had become a priest at the Dominican House of Studies. Before joining the […]
JD Vance says Trump will veto a federal abortion ban. What are pro-life evangelicals saying?
On Friday, Donald Trump said that his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” Conservative evangelicals responded. We covered it here. Today, JD Vance said that if Trump were president and congress sent him a national ban […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Why John Fetterman was not at the DNC Pragmatic socialism David Brooks on Tom Wolfe New books: abolitionism and Huck Finn Trails of Tears, Plural First-year reading lists Confidence men […]
How do you run against joy?
Ever since Kamala Harris introduced Tim Walz as her running mate, the Democratic candidates have been talking about running a campaign full of joy. Here is Three Dog Night: OK–sorry for the digression. During the convention, Bill Clinton said Harris […]
RFK Jr.’s family responds to his endorsement of Trump
Some context here.
Blessing of Unicorns: Peculiar or weird, a book-loving burglar, writing in books, and more!
In this week’s Unicorns roundup, essays on what it means for Christians to be a peculiar people, one book-loving burglar, how to read philosophy, and more.
Almost as if on cue, the Christian Right falls in love with a pro-choice environmental activist and conspiracy theorist
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pro-choice on abortion, an environmental activist, an isolationist on foreign policy, and an indigenous rights advocate. He wants to “seal” the southern border with “high walls” and “high gates.” He also believes that Wi-Fi causes […]
What are evangelicals saying about Trump’s claim that his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights?”
Earlier today, Donald Trump wrote: “My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” Such a claim, of course, puts pro-life conservatives in a difficult spot. Will they vote for Trump despite what appear to be his pro-choice […]
A tale of two conventions
Whatever you think about Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, this Morning Joe video is revealing:
The Author’s Corner with Matthew L. Harris
Matthew L. Harris is Professor of History and Director of Legal Studies at Colorado State University – Pueblo. This interview is based on his new book, Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Oxford University Press, 2024). JF: […]
REVIEW: Genesis by Way of Gilead
What if John Amesâs sermons on Genesis were gathered in one volume?
Ready to take a chance again
As the old song goes, weâre ready to take a chance again. Who knows what the next year will bring.
Evangelicals respond to the Democratic National Convention (so far)
Night four of the Democratic National Convention is here. It’s Kamala Harris’s night. Here is what some American evangelicals have been saying this week as the Dems gather in Chicago: The former president of the Southern Baptist Convention believes that […]
Tim Walz’s “three yards and a cloud of dust” campaign.
Tim Walz has been a professional politician for almost twenty years. But it is his fifteen years as a football coach that might make him the next vice president of the United States. Here’s the Knute Rockne part of Walz’s […]