The premise of Cottle’s piece at The New York Times is that Democrats and Republicans no longer speak the same language. Take, for example, the phrase “fake news”: Pre-Trump, most folks thought of fake news as media sources that trafficked […]
Way of Improvement
Trump endorses Rubio
My how things have changed:
The House Ethics Committee will investigate congressman Matt Gaetz
I haven’t following this story closely, but it is hard to believe Florida congressman Matt Gaetz isn’t guilty of something. Just like it is hard to believe that Andrew Cuomo isn’t guilty of something. I am glad to see the […]
Biden sets-up a commission on Supreme Court reform
Here is Michael D. Shear and Carl Huse at The New York Times: President Biden on Friday ordered a 180-day study of adding seats to the Supreme Court, making good on a campaign-year promise to establish a bipartisan commission to […]
Some quick thoughts on the first week of CURRENT
This week we published ten essays as part of our launch of Current. I hope you enjoyed them. The most viewed post of the week was Tony Norman’s Born to be Reborn, a reflection on the new Bruce Springsteen-Barack Obama […]
2021 Guggenheim Fellowship winners announced
Several American historians won fellowships this year: Cindy Hahamovitch, B. Phinizy Spalding Distinguished Professor of History, University of Georgia Kevin J. Mumford, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University Heather Ann Thompson, Collegiate […]
“Cultural humility” vs “liberal humility” in the classroom
Baylor University political scientist Elizabeth Corey explains the difference between these two views of education in an excellent piece at National Affairs. I definitely find myself in the “liberal humility” camp (or at least I aspire to such an approach), […]
Is it time to bring back “School House Rock?”
I learned the preamble to the United States Constitution from watching School House Rock on Saturday mornings. (I often break into the “The Preamble” song when I cover the Constitution in my lectures). Historian Paul Ringel wants to revise the […]
Christian intellectual life: “strategy” or “vocation?”
Read Ross Douthat’s recent piece on Christian intellectuals. Now read Alan Jacobs’s critique of it. Here is a taste: It’s rare for me to disagree with Ross Douthat as thoroughly as I disagree with this reflection on Christian intellectuals. I disagree […]
Are Catholic universities losing their Catholic identities?
Over at Commonweal, Massimo Faggioli wonders if Catholic universities are “positioning and marketing themselves as part of the mainstream liberal-progressive realm of higher education.” Here is a taste of his piece: …Student enrollment is trending down, for a variety of reasons—from […]
Pence cashes in
Mike Pence’s Simon & Schuster-published memoir is scheduled for 2023, just in time for the next presidential election. The deal will put a $3-4 million dollar advance in Pence’s pocket. Here is CNN: Mike Pence has signed a multimillion-dollar, two-book deal […]
Most popular posts of the last week
Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home: It is time for prominent evangelicals to get their acts together or stop speaking on behalf of Christianity More on evangelicals and the […]
Liberty University campus pastor David Nasser is out. Jonathan Falwell will replace him.
Nasser will work for a Christian non-profit organization in Nashville. Nasser has had some high points and low points at Liberty. He had a history of defending some of former Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr.’s outrageous claims. He also sought […]
Why is “President Biden making such a sharp break with Joe Biden?”
Here is Ezra Klein at The New York Times: Joe Biden didn’t wake up one day and realize he’d been wrong for 30 years. I covered him in the Senate, in the Obama White House, in the Democratic Party’s post-Trump […]
Beth Moore apologizes for her past views on complementarianism
Here is Yonat Shimron and Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: In a Twitter thread Wednesday (April 7), Moore took aim at complementarianism, the 20th century theological framework that argues men and women were created for different roles and that […]
Lasch-Quinn will lecture “On the Importance of a Philosophy of Life.”
It is not too late to catch Current contributor and Syracuse University historian Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn this afternoon via Zoom. Here is more about her 4:30pm (CT) lecture at Roosevelt University: The Montesquieu Forum for the Study of Civic Life welcomes […]
Local journalism and infrastructure spending
Can infrastructure spending save local journalism in the United States? I sure hope so. Check out Osita Nwanevu’s piece at The New Republic: …the administration’s push for a more capacious definition of infrastructure should encourage us to think even more […]
Kentucky expands access to voting
While Georgia and other states are restricting the right to vote, Kentucky is expanding it. Here is Tim Elfrink at The Washington Post: As Republicans in more than 40 states have pushed bills to restrict voting after former president Donald Trump’s November […]
“A History of Evangelicals and Politics in America” podcast will drop Wednesday, April 14, 2021
As part of the rollout for Current, I will be hosting a weekly podcast on the history of evangelicals and politics in America. Our first series of episodes will focus on the Obama era. We recorded Episode 0: “Introduction” today […]
Fannie Lou Hamer webinar for teachers
Current‘s Managing Editor Jay Green, will join Chris Burkett and Sarah Beth Kitch on Saturday, April 10, 2021 for a webinar on civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. The webinar readings include: Testimony Before Congress, Fannie Lou Hamer, 1964 Voting […]