Here is Eli Frankel at The Baffler: THE PITCH IS SIMPLE: drafting an obituary for a loved one can be a difficult and emotional task, so why not outsource the work to a computer? Recent advances in generative AI have […]
Ban phones in classrooms
After twenty-five years in the college history classroom, it is hard to argue with Jonathan Haidt’s recent piece at The Atlantic. A taste: Think about how hard it is for you to stay on task and sustain a train of […]
Does Pence have a chance?
Mike Pence announced his presidential candidacy today and will speak to Dana Bash tonight on CNN. Columnists from The New York Times weigh-in: Q: How seriously should we take Mike Pence’s candidacy? Frank Bruni At least a bit more seriously than […]
Cornel West is running for president
Here is Maggie Astor at The New York Times: Cornel West, the progressive activist and professor, announced a presidential campaign on Monday with the People’s Party, a third party led by a former campaign staff member for Senator Bernie Sanders. […]
Episode 110: “How Black Ball Saved the Soul of the NBA”
The National Basketball Association is a multi-billion-dollar industry driven by Black athletes with global influence. But as our guest Theresa Runstedtler argues, the success of today’s NBA players rests on the labor activism of 1970s NBA stars who fought with […]
Evangelical roundup for June 5, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? A primer on the Southern Baptist gender wars World Relief, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, National Association of Evangelicals, SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and National Latino Evangelical Coalition support immigration reform. […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: When the United States dabbled in hippo farming. Why the founding fathers loved the classics Susan Sontag on independent thinking Charisma Chuck Berry Democrats who want Trump to win the […]
“…the only way to reboot civic learning is if we adults can name and shake our addiction: It’s hate, rage and division.”
Here is Harvard political scientist Danielle Allen at The Washington Post: New national educational test results arrived this month — this time for civics — and again the news is bleak. We all know the storyline. The pandemic hit hard. Students lost […]
Song of the Day
“Strangely enough, the humanities are faltering just at the moment when we’ve never needed them more.”
Apparently New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd just got an M.A. in English Literature from Columbia University. Here is a taste of her piece “Don’t Kill ‘Frankenstein’ With Real Frankensteins at Large“: And who is a better guide to covering […]
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:
Amitai Etzioni (1929-2023)
In 2018 I got an e-mail from Amitai Etzioni. He invited me to participate in a “civil dialogue” at The Arena Theater in Washington D.C. titled “There Are No Deplorables Here: A Dialogue Between Trump Supporters and Opponents.” Needless to […]
“The worst of the DEI industry is expensive and runs from useless to counterproductive.”
Here is Conor Freidersdorf at The Atlantic: The diversity, equity, and inclusion industry exploded in 2020 and 2021, but it is undergoing a reckoning of late, and not just in states controlled by Republicans, where officials are dismantling DEI bureaucracies in public […]
Springsteen reads a fan’s research paper during a concert in Edinburgh
Nathan Collet‘s University of Nottingham 12,000 word research paper (it looks like a master’s thesis) was titled, “Brilliant Disguises: An Analysis of Masculinity Through the Works and Life of Bruce Springsteen.” I’ll let the Daily Record take it from here: […]
Chris Christie is running for president
The former New Jersey governor is in. I heard a commentator say that Christie’s “lane” to the GOP nomination “runs through Donald Trump.” Will Trump get the Rubio treatment? Whatever happens, it should be entertaining:
The Kings College loses its accreditation
Here is Josh Moody at Inside Higher Ed: Already facing severe financial pressures, the King’s College was dealt another blow last week when the Middle States Commission on Higher Education withdrew its accreditation. In an announcement posted to the MSCHE website, the […]
Evangelical roundup for June 1, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Are evangelicals still ruling the GOP? Should evangelicals support Trump in 2024? The Israel religious affairs minister apologizes to evangelicals. Evangelicals in Uganda and the death penalty for homosexuality. Albert Mohler is all in. […]
Randall Balmer: “Don’t look for pronouns on my email signature”
The Dartmouth College historian of American religion weighs in on the pronouns debate. Here is a taste of Balmer’s piece at the Santa Fe New Mexican: It’s all the rage these days, especially in academic circles, to specify pronouns — […]
Evangelical roundup for May 29, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Will DeSantis win evangelicals? Apparently most Christians don’t like celebrity culture or megachurhes. Dominican evangelicals: Our country is safe. A North Dakota Christian school donates over 1,500 pounds of food. Shane Claiborne spends his […]
Sunday nights odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Nancy Isenberg reviews Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America. The Journal of Controversial Ideas New books on baseball Nelson Lichtenstein reviews Rachel Maddow’s podcast on American Nazis in the 1940s. Is […]