In honor of Presidents’ Day, please enjoy this menu suggestion for dinner tonight and some Presidential foods trivia to go with that!
The Arena
A Blessing of Unicorns (02/16/2024)
This week’s blessing of unicorns includes Andrey Kurkov, Cesar Chavez, Evagrius of Pontus, what/where is the Midwest anyway, home births, ancient sea monsters, and modern ferrets.
Chicken-fried democracy
South Dakota’s legislative Cracker Barrels show democracy at its best.
Valentine’s Day and the old academic hiring calendar
This year’s unusual combination of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday brings to mind Valentine’s Day in the old academic hiring calendar.
A writer’s memento mori: on the death of a laptop
The death of a computer elicits all the feels–and awkward questions.
A paper manifesto
It is time to go back to paper!
A Blessing of Unicorns: 02/10/2024
This week’s unicorns include new discoveries in the history of the Roman Empire, homemaking, medical care as soul care, and lists.
Is Biden really behind? A response to Dan Williams
Three caveats in response to Dan Williams’s analysis earlier this week.
Do young “breakthrough scholars” in US history still exist?
Rumors of the death of US history have been greatly exaggerated.
The Art of Living: Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition
The Art of Living is an occasional series about people who seemed to know something about living.
Celebrating the launch of Colin Elliott’s Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World
What was it like “to write a book on the first pandemic in human history while experiencing the most recent pandemic”? An interview with Dr. Colin Elliott about his new book, Pox Romana.
The making of Joel Belz
Joel Belz’s life story displays the strengths of American evangelicalism at its height.
A Blessing of Unicorns — 02/03/2024
This week’s unicorns include poetry, prose, conspiracies, and valuing human life.
Current book reviews: a (somewhat unruly) guide
A good review, like a good essay of any sort, will stay with the reader for a while. The conversation that started with the review will continue…
What to get the kids you know for their birthdays
A note from the editor: today is a special birthday. The Arena is one year old! It seems appropriate to celebrate, therefore, by publishing a guide to birthday gifts–but for kids! When an invitation to a child’s birthday party includes […]
John Burger’s At the Foot of the Cross: Lessons from Ukraine
We’ve seen a lot of repetition of history these past two years.
Preaching to the converted: Anti-Trumpism in 2024
A periodic reminder of Trump’s deleterious influence on American democracy is necessary. But must we have the constant drumbeat?
The trouble with biopics
The trouble with biopics is, they’re just not very good.
Blessing of Unicorns: 01/27/2024
This week’s unicorns include reads about the Holocaust, family and pregnancy, a Christian perspective on reforming criminal justice, farewell to Snow Days, and more.
Can an authoritarian political regime happen here?
It’s now up to the voters to show the foresight and selflessness necessary to preserve the nation’s democracy.