And in the process it makes a pretty strong case why Trump cannot be the next president. This is only the fourth time the magazine has weighed-in on a presidential election. The Atlantic endorsed both of Trump’s previous opponents (Clinton […]
Archives for October 2024
“Edit with a pen, as if you were conducting a symphony”
I loved this piece on the late magazine editor and writer Lewis Lapham. The author is Elias Altman, a former Lapham staffer. I was a regular reader of Lapham’s Quarterly before it went on hiatus. Now that Lapham is gone, […]
My latest for Christianity Today: What are parents for?
A theological response to parenting wars.
REVIEW: I Cheerfully Refuse . . . to Give Up Hope
Hope wins
The Author’s Corner with Anthony J. Stanonis
Anthony J. Stanonis is an independent historian of the American South. This interview is based on his new book, New Orleans Pralines: Plantation Sugar, Louisiana Pecans, and the Marketing of Southern Nostalgia (LSU Press, 2024). JF: What led you to […]
The hospitality of great books and why we need Fall Books Week
There is something wondrous about books that people have known since the earliest days of writing. Books can heal weary souls.
21 days until Election Day. What are evangelicals saying?
This week I helped Newsweek writer Khaleda Rahman with a piece on “Evangelicals for Harris.” Here is my contribution: Others were more skeptical that the group could sway enough evangelical voters toward Harris. “Frankly, I don’t think Evangelicals for Harris […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: On mining universal laws from anecdotes Does Kamala Harris support late-term abortions? A case for civics Willie Mays and Birmingham David Brooks: Republican exile Intellectual independence requires submission to authority. […]
A night with National Book Award finalist Eliza Griswold
On Thursday night I got the chance to chat with writer Eliza Griswold about her new book Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church. A few days before this event, which was held […]
The Grimace factor
My New York Mets are still alive in the MLB playoffs. This is from June 2024: By day I am a historian. By night I am a baseball prognosticator! 🙂
The Author’s Corner with Andrew Sillen
Andrew Sillen is a visiting research scholar in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University and a former Professor of Paleoanthropology and the Founding Director of Development at the University of Cape Town as well as the Vice President of […]
Rating Republican Presidents on Their Pro-Life Bona Fides
Not everyone makes the grade
The Author’s Corner with Rachel Louise Moran
Rachel Louise Moran is Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas. This interview is based on her new book, Blue: A History of Postpartum Depression in America (University of Chicago Press, 2024). JF: What led you to […]
THIS Is What Christian Nationalism Looks Like
Will the ‘God Bless the USA Bible’ be required reading in Oklahoma schools?
Blessing of Unicorns: safety, motherhood, Halloween poetry, loving one’s hometown, and a brief break
A few Unicorns for you a day or two early, because the Williamses are at a conference, so this blog will take a brief break until Monday
Daniel K. Williams at The Raised Hand: interview on what college students need to learn
Today at The Raised Hand, you can listen to Kathryn Wagner’s interview with my favorite American historian about a topic near and dear to his heart–and it is the central question for this year at The Raised Hand: what does […]
The Author’s Corner with Caroline Winterer
Caroline Winterer is William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and Professor by courtesy of Classics at Stanford University. This interview is based on her new book, How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in […]
REVIEW: The Latino Century
An anti-Trump conservative makes his case—and his plea
From 93 to 1:27
Some of us see the 2024 election as another Flight 93 election. I see it as a Genesis 1:27.
PREVIEW: Blue Walls Falling Down
A novel that chronicles questions beyond our ability to answer