Over at The Front Porch Republic, Current contributor Elizabeth Stice pays tribute to small university presses. Here is a taste: It has become commonplace to bemoan the loss of smaller presses. The remaining large publishing houses seem intent upon as […]
J.G.A. Pocock: “the ultimate outsider-insider”
Last week we called your attention to the death of historian J.G.A. Pocock with a roundup of tweets from historians and other intellectuals reflecting on his legacy. Over at The Critic, Yuan Yi Zhu argues that Pocock’s “Antipodean” (New Zealand) […]
“When, if ever, can a democracy exclude anti-democratic politicians and parties from democratic elections?”
This is a question that Joe Mathews tackles today in the context of an argument for removing Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024. Here is a taste of his piece at Zocalo Public Square I was in favor of […]
Ron Brownstein: If Trump wins in 2024, expect a “war on blue America”
The January/February 2024 issue of The Atlantic is titled “If Trump Wins.” It features The Atlantic writers reflecting on how a Trump victory will affect democracy, international affairs, immigration, women, climate change, journalism, science, the judiciary, extremist groups, abortion, truth, […]
Cleveland’s “urban living room”
Check out The Washington Post‘s piece on the transformation of Cleveland, Ohio: “America’s best example of turning around a dying downtown.” It appears Cleveland is no longer the “mistake by the lake”: A taste: Empty downtown office buildings pose a […]
Shirley Hoogstra will retire as president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
Here is the press release: WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2023—The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (“CCCU”), the leading national voice of Christian higher education, today announced that Shirley Hoogstra is retiring as the president, effective on or before December […]
Evangelical roundup for December 18, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Iowa Kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats on why so many Iowa evangelicals are sticking with Donald Trump. Trump’s 25-year-old director of faith outreach in Iowa. An evangelical pastor is trying to stop political polarization in […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Illiberalism at The New York Times. Peter Gordon reviews Christina Morina’s The Invention of Marxism. Why are Lefists turning to the Right? And here. Tech titans are “bending a mysterious […]
The Christian nationalist agenda in four minutes and 11 points
Last night CSPAN aired my conversation with Tim Alberta, author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory. If you don’t have time to watch the entire interview, or read Alberta’s book (I hope you do both, but it’s the […]
Trump tonight in New Hampshire: Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”
Here is CNN: Former President Donald Trump doubled down on language condemned for its ties to White supremacist rhetoric, saying at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Saturday that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” The comments […]
Song of the Day
I like this Amy Grant rendition of the Philips Brooks Christmas classic: ” No ear may his coming, But in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in”
Ben Sasse: “Harvard, Princeton, and Yale were originally founded as seminaries. They are seminaries once again.”Â
While I probably wouldn’t call early Harvard, Princeton, and Yale “seminaries,” I take Ben Sasse‘s point. As some of you recall, Sasse left the United States Senate earlier this year and became president of the University of Florida. Here is […]
Remembering the Virginia Squires
I am a sucker for all things American Basketball Association. (Listen to my interview with historian Theresa Runstedtler about her book Black Ball: Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation That Saved the Soul of the NBA). I was […]
Sports historian Paul Putz takes his talents to Substack
He’s the best historian of Christianity and sports in the business and now he is taking his talents to Substack. Here is Baylor University historian Paul Putz‘s introduction to “The Spirit of the Game“: Ten years ago I enrolled in […]
Historians and other intellectuals remember J.G.A. Pocock
One of the greatest intellectual historians of the post-war area, J.G.A. Pocock, died this week at the age of 99. During graduate school I devoured Pocock’s work. His commitment to reading texts in their historical contexts continues to shape me […]
“A Very Special Christmas” turns 35
Did you know that The Pointer Sisters, Eurythmics, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Pretenders, John Mellencamp, Sting, Run-DMC, U2, Madonna, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Alison Moyet, and Stevie Nicks […]
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:
Is bad history protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment?
I mentioned this story in today’s Evangelical Roundup, but I thought it deserved its own post. In case you missed it, David Barton, the political activist who uses the American past to promote his Christian Right agenda, is suing the […]
The GOP impeachment inquiry may have just sealed the 2024 presidential election for Joe Biden
In case you missed, the House of Representatives just voted to advance a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Even Mike Huckabee thinks the attempt to impeach Joe Biden is a very bad idea. He called it a “political […]
Is there really a COVID-19 “lost generation”?
There is a narrative out there suggesting that COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 hurt American school children, creating a “lost generation” of Americans who are perhaps ill-equipped to bear the burdens of American democracy that will one day be placed on […]