Some of you may know the name Sohrab Ahmari from his 2019 argument with David French over the meaning of conservatism. Since that debate, Amari has co-founded Compact, a journal critical of liberalism of both the left and the right […]
Episode 116: “Historical Thinking for a Democracy”
If you’ve listened to this podcast over the years you know that we champion “historical thinking” as one of our best hopes for sustaining and preserving American democratic life. In this episode we talk with Zachary Cote, the Executive Director […]
Steve Bannon wonders how Russell Moore is incapable of seeing that Trump is an “instrument of divine providence”
In episode 2915 of Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” the Alt-right pundit, former Trump adviser, and convicted felon has some choice words for Christianity Today editor and evangelical anti-Trumper Russell Moore. Watch: Several things strike me about this video. First: Bannon […]
Fern Creek Baptist Church stands by its female pastor
Some of you may remember that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) ousted Fern Creek Baptist Church earlier this year because the church had a female pastor. The Louisville congregation, located in the same city as Albert Mohler’s complementarian Southern Baptist […]
Vincent Lloyd: It is time “to interrogate the received wisdom that says every activist cause needs an enemy to demonize.”
Some of you may remember Vincent Lloyd‘s essay, “A Black Professor Trapped in Anti-Racist Hell.“ In a recent piece at Plough, the Villanova Africana studies and theology professor tells the story of the students at Swarthmore College who demonized college […]
A conservative federal judge and liberal law professor say the Constitution prohbits Trump from ever being president again
I am guessing that Michael Luttig and Lawrence Tribe don’t agree on much about the law. But they do agree that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits Trump from running for public office, including the presidency. Lutting is a retired George W. […]
Smithsonian releases 590 reels of blues music
Here is NPR:
When governors and business leaders sought to protect natural resources and “conserve the foundations of our prosperity”
Over Zocalo Public Square, environmental historian Adam Sowards calls our attention to the 1908 Conference of Governors held in Washington D.C. Here is a taste of his piece “When American Governors and Moguls Came Together to Prevent Environmental Catastrophe”: At […]
New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu: Narrow the GOP field and beat Trump
A new presidential poll is out today. NBC News and the Des Moines Register show Trump with a 23 point lead in January 2024 Iowa caucuses: Yesterday CBS News dropped a national poll. It looks like this: New Hampshire governor […]
Evangelical roundup for August 21, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Jenna Riess reviews Sarah Stankorb’s Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors,and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning. Costa Rican evangelicals against abortion. Christian colleges are offering majors […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Make college free, triple the number of tenure-track faculty, and hire teachers who can actually teach. Shohei Ohtani What is happening at the University of West Virginia? More here. Daniel […]
Are you listening to The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast?
We talk to authors, teachers, museum professionals, and historians. Over the years we have interviewed Jim Grossman, Daniel K. Williams, Yoni Appelbaum, Sam Wineburg, Tim Grove, Nate DiMeo, Paul Lukas, Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter Onuf, Marc Dolan, Steve Edenbo, Ann Little, […]
Eastern Nazarene College: An evangelical school doing evangelical things
Here is the the Eastern Nazarene College website: Eastern Nazarene College’s (ENC) mission is ‘to provide a transformational education that equips diverse students to lead and serve our world as agents of Christ’s love and truth.’ And our vision carries […]
While the GOP candidates debate next week, Trump will be doing an online interview with Tucker Carlson
It is actually a brilliant political move. Trump does not need to debate the other candidates. Nothing good can come from an on-stage tussle with Chris Christie and Mike Pence. By doing an interview with Carlson, Trump can avoid debating […]
Rat nest archaeology
Alternative title: “Rats as archivists.” Here is Amy Crawford at Atlas Obscura: SOMETIME DURING OR JUST AFTER the Civil War, a black rat in Williamsburg, Virginia, came into possession of a rare trophy: a solid silver fork. The rodent—a member of the […]
Pastor Greg Locke has a Bible duct-taped to a baseball bat. He destroys doll houses with it.
Greg Locke, the anti-vaccine, anti-mask, pro-Trump pastor, has turned to deliverance ministry. Watch: Some have said that this is a Barbie Dream House, but there is nothing in the sermon to suggest Locke is connecting the Barbie move to demons–at […]
Here’s the latest Southern Baptist controversy
I’ll let religion journalist Bob Smietana explain: Willie McLaurin, the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned suddenly on Thursday after admitting he had falsified his résumé. “While considering McLaurin as a candidate for Floyd’s permanent replacement, […]
Commonplace Book #278
Though the slogan “The personal is political” initially called attention to how personal life was affected by political arrangement, it also captured the sense that transforming American life could begin at the personal level. Much of a generation was inspired […]
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:
Commonplace Book #277
In The Triumph of the Therapeutic, the sociologist Philip Rieff…thought the emergent therapeutic culture was an “anti-culture” based on an “ethic of release,” which fostered individualism and preoccupation with the self. Falling by the wayside was the earlier belief that […]