Warren Throckmorton is following this story closely. Here is a taste of his latest: Today, Eric Metaxas offered a guarded apology for his slanderous remarks about the relatives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. During an interview with Glenn Beck on November 23, Metaxas said 86 of […]
Way of Improvement
Philosopher-carpenters
My father and brother are carpenters. My other brother is a plumber. I am a college professor. I thus naturally gravitated to Alex Sosler’s Plough article on schools that blend the life of the mind with the life of the […]
Oxford University Press word of the year
Here is a taste from the Oxford University Press website: âBrain rotâ is defined as âthe supposed deterioration of a personâs mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to […]
CURRENT announces its 2024 Pushcart Prize nominees
The editorial staff of Current is pleased to announce its nominees for the 2024 Pushcart Prize. They are: Agnes Howard, “Privilege, Hungarian Style“ Paul Luikart, “Johnson Throws the Knuckleball“ Tim Larsen, “When H.G. Wells Found God“ Jacqueline Doyle, “Shoplifting“ Tim […]
The “Roman republic slipped into tyranny when powerful men had seduced or intimidated its citizens so that they became a stampeding mob, hungry for bread and circuses.”
Jim Sleeper thinks it might be time to take another look at the Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Here is a taste of Sleeper’s recent piece at Commonweal: âWhen the people give way,â warned John Adams, […]
Dinesh D’Souza apologizes for “2000 Mules”
In 2022, conservative pundit Dinesh D’Souza produced and narrated “2000 Mules.” a conspiracist political film that claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Here is a description of the film: The 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud orchestrated by […]
On Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter
Jonathan Chait puts it well: It would be tempting, but unfair, to draw a simple equation between Joe Bidenâs situational ethics and that of his successor. A willingness to evade the rule of law is the foundation of Donald Trumpâs […]
The Author’s Corner with Jane E. Calvert
Jane E. Calvert is Director and Chief Editor of The John Dickinson Writings Project. This interview is based on her new book, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (Oxford University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to […]
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog is taking some time off over the holiday weekend. See you on Monday!
The Bonhoeffer family is considering legal action against Eric Metaxas
Back in October we published a post titled “Bonhoeffer family to Eric Metaxas: âWe are horrified to see how the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer isâŚbeing distorted and misusedâŚâ The post included two open letters criticizing Christian Right pundit Eric Metaxas’s […]
Academics have a lot to be thankful for
Our annual Thanksgiving tradition here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. I wrote this Inside Higher Ed piece on gratitude in November 2008. I think it still holds up. It was a typical 1970s weekday evening. The sky was growing dark and I, an […]
Reverend William Barber on the election
William Barber has been described as “the closest person we have to MLK.” John Blake of CNN recently interviewed the leader of the Poor People’s Campaign. A taste: Critics say Democrats are elitist and look down on working-class people. What do you […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Trump’s cabinet picks in historical context.’ Ken Burns on 50 years of George Will. Manisha Sinha reviews Robert Blackburn’s The Reckoning: From the Second Slavery to Abolition, 1776-1888. The congressman […]
Why did New Testament scholar Richard Hays change his mind about gay marriage?
One rarely sees this kind of conversation in the pages of The New York Times. Peter Wehner interviews Duke Divinity School professor Richard Hays about why he changed his mind on gay marriage. Here is a taste of the interview: […]
Should felons be eligible for office?
Medieval historian Beth Allison Barr recently wrote: Current contributing editor and American historian John Haas sent along this response: I hear this sentiment from a lot of people, who just assume a blanket rule barring convicted felons from holding office […]
Election Day was 18 days ago. What are evangelicals saying?
Christian conservative talk show host Steve Deace supported Ron DeSantis during the GOP primary season. But Trump’s cabinet picks have satisfied all his objections. Here is his entire tweet: I backed DeSantis in the primary because Trump showed no remorse/awareness […]
The “Brahmin left” thinks the working class are idiots. “Thinking and behaving this way just strengthens the far right.”
Over at Jacobin, Edward Engelen interviews Joan C. Williams (White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America) and Thomas Frank (What’s the Matter with Kansas and Listen Liberal) about the working class and the 2024 election. Here is a taste: […]
Worker solidarity and electoral victories “may not be possible without the support of people who might have all sorts of contradictory, even reactionary, views.”
I am not sure I am completely board with Bhaskar Sunkara’s piece at Jacobin, but it gave me a lot to think about: The Democrats went from being the party of justice and stability to the party of meritocracy and […]
Election Day was 17 days ago. What are evangelicals saying?
“Sunday came for Tony Campolo.” Steve Rabey helped Campolo write his memoir. It is coming out in February with Eerdmans. Here is a taste of Rabey’s piece on Campolo at Baptist News Global: Tony Campolo, an influential Christian pastor, professor, author, […]
MAGA is not about issues. It is about owning the libs
Over at The Atlantic, Elizabeth Bruenig has a theory about why Trump is so popular. A taste: Consensus on the causes of Trumpâs sweeping electoral victory has formed around the idea that voters were responding to Democratic performance on material […]