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A question for Bill Barr and John Bolton: What took you so long?
Matt Lewis of The Daily Beast writes, “Bill Barr and John Bolton are spilling the tea on just how awful Trump was as president. What took them so long? Here is a taste of column: Donald Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, […]
January 6 Committee: Trump was told multiple times by multiple sources that there was no voter fraud in 2020
But he kept saying it anyway. Here is The Washington Post: A data expert for former president Donald Trump’s campaign told him bluntly not long after polls closed in November 2020 that he was definitely going to lose his campaign […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Mark Schwehn, “Reading Matters“ Jeremy Sabella, “Steadfast–or Stiff-Necked?“ John Fea, “American Evangelicals and Ukraine“ Jay Case, “Coca-Cola and Authenticity: What’s Not to Like? Nadya Williams, “National Sins and Gag Orders“ […]
The Author’s Corner with Jeremy Schipper
Jeremy Schipper is Professor of Religion at Temple University. This interview is based on his new book, Denmark Vesey’s Bible: The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial (Princeton University Press, 2022). JF: What led you to write […]
January 6 Committee makes a case for criminal charges against Trump
Here we go: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol said on Wednesday that there was enough evidence to conclude that former President Donald J. Trump and some of his allies might have conspired to commit […]
Episode 36: “Thune vs. Daschle in South Dakota”
A graduate of evangelical Biola University challenges the Senate minority leader. Episode 36: “Thune vs. Daschle in South Dakota” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a […]
Evangelical roundup for March 3, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land: Joel Carpenter calls for a renewal of evangelical intellectual life. Darryl Hart sees a tension between and older and younger generation of evangelical historians: Pat Robertson plays the biblical prophecy card. And here: Ukrainian […]
Why wasn’t Constance Baker Motley the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court?
Tomiko Brown-Nagin asks this question in a recent piece at Politico. Here is a taste: Constance Baker Motley — the first African American woman appointed to the federal bench — was touted for the Supreme Court as early as the […]
A patriotism reclamation narrative?
This is how political scientist Maxwell G. Burkey describes Stephen B. Smith’s new book Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. His review shows little sympathy for Smith’s project. Before we get to Burkey’s review, here is a synopsis of […]
The meaning of Putin’s invasion. A Cold War historian weighs-in.
Mary Elise Sarotte teaches history at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Here is a taste of her piece at The New York Times: The Russian president has now definitively put an end to the post-Cold War […]
Putin the victim
Over at The New Yorker, Masha Green writes, “Even if his hold on power is precarious, he can still convince Russians that the whole world is conspiring against them.” Here is a taste of her piece: An atomized society held […]
Who is Kim Reynolds
She is the governor of Iowa. Last night she gave the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. As Elaine Godfrey writes at The Atlantic, the GOP picked her to deliver the response to “show voters that […]
Biden searches for common ground in State of the Union address
Last night Biden delivered a solid State of the Union Address. Not great. Nothing to write home about. But solid. It was the speech the country needed this week. I give credit to Joe Biden for his effort to find […]
Marco Rubio will skip Biden’s State of the Union Address because he does not have time to get a COVID-19 test
Here is The Hill: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will skip President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday because of the COVID-19 testing requirement for attendees. “I don’t have time to go take a COVID test today,” Rubio said, according to a tweet from HuffPost reporter […]
What David McCullough said about the Confederate flag in 1993
I wonder if he has changed his position. I found this on historian Kevin Levin’s Twitter feed:
Will Ukraine define Biden’s presidency?
For LBJ, it was Vietnam. For George W. Bush, it was September 11, 2001. Will the Russian invasion of Ukraine define the Biden presidency? I think it is way too early to tell. Future historians will see more clearly. Nevertheless, […]
Let’s remember the “vile” things Trump did to Zelensky
As Greg Sargent notes at The Washington Post, Trump: Spread propaganda about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. Ousted the well-regarded U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Froze military assistance to Ukraine. Withheld a White House meeting from Zelensky until he agreed […]
Grove City College update
We originally covered this story here. Colleen Flaherty gets us up to speed at Inside Higher Education. Grove City College’s Board of Trustees recently said that it had formed a committee to investigate allegations of “mission drift” on campus and […]
The Author’s Corner with John Leshy
John Leshy is Emeritus Harry D. Sunderland and Distinguished Professor of Real Property Law at UC Hastings College of the Law. This interview is based on his new book, Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands (Yale University […]