I tell my students that the present often shapes our understanding of the past. In a short piece at The Panorama, veteran American historian James Banner Jr. writes about how Liz Cheney’s resistance to Donald Trump and her defense of […]
Way of Improvement
Democratic politicos on what their party needs right now
Politico has gathered the thoughts of ten “Democratic thinkers” to reflect on their party’s “pathway out of the wilderness.” They are Andrew Yang (2020 presidential candidate and math guy), Matthew Duss (former Bernie Sanders adviser), Sandra Peri (former Obama speechwriter), […]
Election Day was two days ago. What are evangelicals saying?
Over at The New York Times, Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham write: “Mr. Trump is not only the leader of the Republican Party but also the de facto figurehead of conservative American Christianity.” *** The Christian Right is not alone […]
The Author’s Corner with CJ Martin
CJ Martin is Visiting Assistant Professor at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at the College of the Holy Cross. This interview is based on his new book, The Precious Birthright: Black Leaders and the Fight to Vote in Antebellum Rhode […]
In the Fall of 2024, history matters
Here is Harvard intellectual historian James Kloppenberg at Commonweal: Before entering graduate school I had read a little book by the Oxford historian E. H. Carr, What Is History? I found his answer persuasive: it is a practice of interpretation. Historians can […]
David Brooks: “As the left veered toward identitarian performance art, Donald Trump jumped into the class war with both feet.”Â
Check out David Brooks’s New York Times piece, “Voters to Elites: Do You See Me Now?” A taste: The Democratic Party has one job: to combat inequality. Here was a great chasm of inequality right before their noses and somehow […]
Pamela Paul: By making abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign, Harris had a “reductive view of women’s lives as citizens.”Â
New York Times columnist Pamela Paul joins the chorus of voices trying to explain what happened on Tuesday. Here is a taste: But do not blame women for Kamala Harris’s loss. Blame Kamala Harris and her campaign strategists. Apart from […]
The American left must now “have a debate about what Americanism means to them — beyond policing pronouns and categorizing grievances.”Â
Matt Bai of The Washington Post gets it right: I woke up this morning hoping that the American left might now have a debate about what Americanism means to them — beyond policing pronouns and categorizing grievances. It ought to be clear that voters […]
Tuesday was Election Day: What are evangelicals saying?
Over at NBC News, Mike Hixenbaugh is covering the MAGA evangelicals who believe Trump’s victory yesterday was a fulfillment of prophecy. Here is a taste: Lance Wallnau, a celebrity evangelist who has spent decades calling on conservative Christians to occupy […]
The Author’s Corner with Christopher R. Pearl
Christopher R. Pearl is Associate Professor and Chair of History at Lycoming College. This interview is based on his new book, Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution (University of Virginia Press, 2024). JF: What led you […]
Bernie Sanders explains what happened on Election Day 2024
The belief that Trumpism is “a movement for aggrieved white men” unraveled last night
I guess it wasn’t all about toxic white masculinity after all. If last night’s election was any indication, the Trump coalition is essentially made up of educated people and Black women. Here is Tufts University environmental science professor Tyler Austin […]
MAGA evangelicals sing “How Great Thou Art” after Trump wins
Here are the lyrics to “How Great Thou Art.” Oh Lord, my GodWhen I, in awesome wonderConsider all the worlds Thy hands have madeI see the stars, I hear the rolling thunderThy power throughout the universe displayed Then sings my […]
Some very early evangelical responses to Trump’s victory
I went to bed around 1am last night. When I awoke, Donald Trump was President-Elect. Let’s see what evangelicals are saying this morning. The responses are trickling-in. We will try to cover them throughout the day. According to The Washington Post, […]
The Author’s Corner with Peter Roady
Peter Roady is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Utah. This interview is based on his new book, The Contest over National Security: FDR, Conservatives, and the Struggle to Claim the Most Powerful Phrase in American Politics (Harvard […]
Yesterday was Election Day. What were evangelicals saying?
I am working on this roundup on Tuesday evening before most of the major states have reported their election results. Evangelicals are supposed to model what Galatians 5:22-23 describes as the “Fruit of the Spirit”. That verse says: “But the […]
The Author’s Corner with Zachary Michael Jack
Zachary Michael Jack is Professor of English at North Central College. This interview is based on his new book, The Strange Genius of Ignatius Donnelly: The Populist Who Debunked Shakespeare and Found Atlantis (Northern Illinois University Press, 2024). JF: What […]
Today is Election Day. What are evangelicals saying?
There are a lot of MAGA evangelicals in Pennsylvania. Yesterday in church they made their final appeals to their congregations. Here is David Gilbert and Vittoria Elliott at WIRED: In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, this Sunday, at the Life Center megachurch, hundreds of […]
Image of the day
1 day until Election Day. What are evangelicals saying?
Yesterday I was writing about Rev. Dwight McKissic, the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. In my current book manuscript I describe the role McKissic played in an anti-gay marriage rally in Arlington, Texas back in May 2004. […]