• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Current
  • Home
  • About
    • About Current
    • Masthead
  • Podcasts
  • Blogs
    • The Way of Improvement Leads Home
    • The Arena
  • Reviews
  • 🔎
  • Way of Improvement

Way of Improvement

way of improvement banner

The problem with 5-paragraph essays

John Fea   |  June 28, 2022

I never learned to write one. Stanford education professor David Labaree says that the 5-paragraph essay “was meant to be a step on the way. Now it’s the stifling goal for student and scholar alike.” Here is a taste of […]

So much for all that MAGA/GOP/Christian Right masculinity crap. The real hero today is a 26-year-old female aide

John Fea   |  June 28, 2022

Former vice-president Mike Pence won’t testify before the House Committee to investigate January 6th. My congressman Scott Perry, and many other members of Congress, including minority leader Kevin McCarthy, will not testify. White House counsel Pat Cipollone will not testify. […]

Could the battle over abortion in the states result in another “Bleeding Kansas?”

John Fea   |  June 28, 2022

Michael Waldman writes about the recent Supreme Court gun ruling: The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday striking down a New York gun law isn’t just the most significant ruling on the Second Amendment in a dozen years — it may be the […]

What is going on at the Toronto Meeting House?

John Fea   |  June 28, 2022

We’ve done some blogging about this in the past. Check out some of our coverage here. Christianity Today is also covering recent developments. Here is a taste of Meagan Gilmore’s piece, “At Canadian Megachurch, One Abuse Investigation Spurs Another and […]

We lifted the Current paywall for this week’s forum “The End of Roe”

John Fea   |  June 27, 2022

Good morning. I hope you will spend some time this week checking out Current‘s four day series on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Today, Monday, we have Felicia Song, Randall Balmer, David Tucker, Una Cadegan, and John Haas. And […]

Evangelical roundup for June 27, 2022: Dobbs v. Jackson edition

John Fea   |  June 27, 2022

How is Evangelical land responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade? I have long understood these roundups as a form of curation. It’s important to get these responses (or at least some of them) all in one place. David […]

Sunday night odds and ends

John Fea   |  June 26, 2022

A few things online that caught my attention this week: The pre-history of popular music Marilyn Robinson on gun violence 1979 all over again? Ross Douthat on the end of Roe The religious roots of the phrase, “good guy with […]

Episode 41: “‘When Did Your Life Begin?'”

John Fea   |  June 26, 2022

The debate over embryonic stem cell research heats up Episode 41: “‘When Did Your Life Begin?’” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: If you like […]

The National Association of Evangelicals responds to the overturning of Roe

John Fea   |  June 25, 2022

Here is the press release: The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) welcomes today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson that overturns federal abortion rights based on Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The ruling represents the most significant change in abortion jurisprudence […]

Current writers will address the end of Roe

John Fea   |  June 25, 2022

Next week at Current we will be running a multi-day forum on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We have lined-up an impressive array of writers who will offer short commentaries on the decision from multiple perspectives. I am confident […]

Scott Perry, “Italygate,” and a pardon request

John Fea   |  June 24, 2022

Sadly, this guy is my congressman. Here is The Washington Post: Of all the fantastical false claims of fraud and vote manipulation in the 2020 presidential election, “Italygate” was one of the most extreme. And Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) was […]

Senate passes bipartisan gun bill

John Fea   |  June 24, 2022

Here is NBC News: The Senate on Thursday night passed the most sweeping gun bill designed to prevent gun violence in decades, a major victory for advocates and a rare defeat for the National Rifle Association. The vote was 65 to 33, with all […]

It’s time to drain the swamp

John Fea   |  June 24, 2022

I knew Trump’s catchphrase, “drain the swamp” would one day be good for something. Those watching the January 6th hearings are witnessing the machinations of the most corrupt president in American history and the people who stood with him and […]

What is popular this week at Current?

John Fea   |  June 24, 2022

Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: John Fea, “The Trump Generation Is a Lost Cause“ Jeremy Sabella, “America’ Molech Moment“ Nadya Williams, “What Fruit Do Universities Bear?“ Nadya Williams, “Dinner and a Show: Summer Edition“ Adam […]

The Author’s Corner with Susan Brandt

Rachel Petroziello   |  June 23, 2022

Susan Brandt is a lecturer in history at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. This interview is based on her new book, Women Healers: Gender, Authority, and Medicine in Early Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022). JF: What led you […]

Evangelical roundup for June 23, 2022

John Fea   |  June 23, 2022

What is happening in Evangelical land? More coverage of the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference. Fame and evangelicalism Newsweek goes after Christians who adopt. Pro-life in a post-Roe world: On Southern Baptists as “political whores.” An Evangelical […]

Where are the Rusty Bowers Republicans?

John Fea   |  June 22, 2022

Watch Rusty Bowers testifying yesterday before the House Select Committee on January 6th: Here is E.J. Dionne at The Washington Post: Note to every politician in the GOP: You have to decide. You can be a Rusty Bowers Republican. Or you can […]

The “martydom” of Ashli Babbitt

John Fea   |  June 22, 2022

Over at Vanity Fair, Jeff Sharlet writes about the right-wing religious movement that has emerged around Ashli Babbitt, a women who was shot while breaching the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Here is a taste: At the podium […]

Mehmet Oz backs away from the Trump brand

John Fea   |  June 22, 2022

Donald Trump uses his endorsements of candidates to hold power within the GOP. But sometimes the candidates use Trump’s endorsement to win primaries, only to distance themselves from the former president in general elections. The latest candidate to do so […]

Supreme Court: Maine must fund religious education

John Fea   |  June 21, 2022

Here is VOX: The Supreme Court held on Tuesday that Maine must fund religious education as part of a school voucher program that pays tuition for students in rural parts of the state. In the process, the Court’s decision in Carson […]

« Previous Page
Next Page »