No word yet from the Department of Justice, but Trump just wrote this on his “Truth Social” platform: No United States president has faced a federal indictment. Here is CNN: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified […]
Way of Improvement
Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức and the journalist who photographed him
We’ve all seen the image. Over at Zocalo Public Square historian Ray Boomhower tells us more about the photographer, Malcolm W. Browne. Here is a taste: While President John F. Kennedy was talking by phone with his brother, U.S. Attorney […]
“Saudi Arabia just bought professional golf”
Here is the editorial board of The Washington Post: When the Saudi-backed LIV Golf was trying, early last year, to attract the PGA Tour’s top players, the legacy organization implied it would never align itself with a kingdom trying to […]
Pat Robertson (1930-2023)
I am sure we will have more to say about Robertson death in the coming days. Here is the Associated Press: Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a […]
What does the Uganda anti-homosexuality law say? How are some American evangelicals responding?
As you may have heard, Uganda just passed an anti-homosexuality law. Here is a summary: Read the entire bill here. Here is Caleb Ecarma at Vanity Fair: Antigay sentiment in Uganda has climbed in recent years due in no small […]
Evangelical roundup for June 8, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land: Deconstructing Molly Worthen’s conversion. Joel Looper reviews Daniel G. Hummel, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism. Where do Reformed evangelicals go after the death of Tim Keller? Can evangelicalism be revitalized?: Is evangelical renewal […]
In 1970 historian Martha Hodes was held hostage by Palestinian militants. She is now revisiting those memories.
American historians know New York University historian Martha Hodes for A Sea Captain’s Wife and Mourning Lincoln. But her latest book is different. In My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering, Hodes writes about the time her plane […]
Lessons on independent thinking from writer Susan Sontag
Over at The Atlantic, writer Katie Roiphe asks: “What would the intellectual powerhouse think about our culture of groupthink and self-righteousness?” She begins: If you are sitting around wondering what Susan Sontag would make of our current political moment, a […]
AI-generated obituaries?
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 […]
The Author’s Corner with Alejandra Dubcovsky
Alejandra Dubcovsky is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. This interview is based on her new book, Talking Back: Native Women and the Making of the Early South (Yale University Press, 2023). JF: What led you […]
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 […]
The Author’s Corner with Robert Mann
Robert Mann holds the Manship Endowed Chair in Journalism at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication. This interview is based on his new book, Kingfish U: Huey Long and LSU (LSU Press, 2023). JF: What led you to […]
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 […]