“Born in the USA” offers productive reflections for this Veterans Day.
The Arena
A Blessing of Unicorns: a weekly roundup
This week’s Blessing of Unicorns includes family policy, Jane Addams, immigrants, Jewish converts to Christianity, and the humor of Great Books.
University of Austin: nothing new
As University of Austin opens applications for its first class, the lack of uniqueness in its mission is clearer than ever.
Let’s get cynical
What if cynicism is the dumb guy’s version of being smart? Unable to construct any positive vision or defend any normative claims, he contents himself with tearing things down.
Pro-lifers’ needless defeat in Ohio shows the dangers of refusing to listen
Lasting legal protections for the unborn will never come by ignoring the wishes of voters and attempting to subvert the majority. Instead, a consensus-minded coalition-building that is open to dialogue and compromise is the only way that a culture of life in public policy can be created. Â
Book launch interview: Pity for Evil: Suffrage, Abortion, and Women’s Empowerment in Reconstruction America
In their new book, Klem and McDowell tell the story of the early women’s rights activists’ opposition to abortion.
What I’m reading: Anything I can find by A. “Toby” Rawlinson
The great man theory of history isn’t very good, but there have been some great men and women in history.
Blessing of unicorns: weekly roundup
This week John Haas takes over the Unicorn!
Demystifying the world of (mostly) Christian homeschooling: links roundup
This is a roundup of essays on homeschooling by homeschooling parents at Current, The Arena, and several other publications.
Who needs Twitter/X? Some reflections on networks of knowledge in a democracy
Democracies need shared spaces for discussing ideas and fostering intellectual networks. Twitter offered such a space.
Halloween, Christmas, and letting kids be kids
As this fall holiday season progresses on from Halloween that has just passed and on to Thanksgiving and Christmas, let kids be kids.
Reflections on the Western Regional Conference on Faith and History’s October 2023 gathering
Hope and the Historian: Western Regional Conference on Faith and History’s new president reports on this month’s gathering
What I’m reading: John McPhee
I read Oranges because I am a Florida resident. And I’m not just a snowbird, who is here for part of the year. I’m a 12-month sunbird. So, I figured I should probably learn something about oranges.
A blessing of unicorns: a weekly roundup
This week’s unicorns consider education at all levels, parenting and personhood, sandwiches, and self-help.
American secularization hasn’t followed the script that secularization theory would predict
Secularization in the U.S. hasn’t proceeded along the lines that secularization theory predicted. Why not? What does it all mean?
Here’s to the losers
If your whole identity is built on grievance and bitterness, the worst thing that can happen is to actually win.
“Some college”: The category that shows benefits of small colleges for students
When we consider college completion rates, the type of institution matters. Small private colleges have the lowest drop-out rates of all.
“Living As Humans in A Machine Age:” reflections on this year’s Front Porch Republic conference
What unites the Front Porch Republic folk? Reflections from this year’s conference.
Friends and Relations, Part II
There are times when our desire for moral clarity can lead to us being complicit, or worse, in events far from our ken.
A blessing of unicorns: a weekly roundup
This week’s roundup includes Israel, museums and archaeologists behaving badly, surprises of ancient source survival, and the challenges of homemaking.