Chris Rufo is a conservative activist whose claim to fame is an appearance on the old Tucker Carlson show on Fox News. That appearance caught the attention of then president Donald Trump. Since then, Rufo has become Ron DeSantis’s point […]
Way of Improvement
Mike Pence makes the stage for the first GOP debate
The Pence campaign has announced that it has passed the donor threshold needed to qualify for the first GOP debate on August 23 in Milwaukee. It must have been our July 24th call for everyone to donate a dollar to […]
The Author’s Corner with James Jewell
James Jewell is Professor of History and Co-Chair of the Social and Behavioral Science Division at North Idaho College. This interview is based on his new book, Agents of Empire: The First Oregon Cavalry and the Opening of the Interior […]
A man “unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper”: The founders expected someone like Trump
As Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitution Center reminds us, the founding fathers anticipated “a demagogic challenge to the rule of law.” Here is a taste of his piece at The Wall Street Journal: The allegations in the indictment of Donald […]
Episode 114: “How Slavery Helped Grow the American Catholic Church”
Did you know the Jesuits were some of the largest slaveholders in colonial America? Our guest in this episode is Rachel L. Swarns, author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved And Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. We […]
Evangelical roundup for August 7, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Will Trump’s recent indictment hurt his support among evangelicals? More on why evangelicals are leaving church. Is Trump’s evangelical support in Iowa slipping? Bonnie Kristian responds to Jake Meador’s Atlantic piece on church attendance. […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Real conversation Jason Blakely reviews Patrick Deneen, Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future. Is Harvard good for your soul? Ethical grandstanding on social media Climate change and the end of […]
Bruxy Cavey is back
Some of you may recall the recent scandals surrounding the Toronto megachurch pastor. Get up to speed here. Bruxy Cavey has started a new “ministry” called “The Ghost of 1820.” He is even asking for money. Here is a taste […]
John McWhorter on the Florida African American history curriculum
I took a little heat for my take on the Florida African American history controversy. Last month I wrote: The standards were much better than I expected. If I was a high school teacher in Florida I could easily work […]
James Madison’s Montpelier will honor the enslaved men and women who lived and died there
Tomorrow’s event is called “We the People: a Summer Celebration.” (Live-streaming here.) Here is Antonio Olivo at The Washington Post: This weekend, James Madison’s Montpelier estate will kick off a multiyear project to pay tribute to the nearly 300 enslaved […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Arena blog:
Evangelical roundup for August 3, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Karen Swallow Prior talks to Russell Moore about The Evangelical Imagination. The founder of a British Pentecostal credit union has died. Is The King’s College actually closing? More here. Oral Roberts University signs its […]
What is it going to take for candidates to get on stage for the second GOP presidential debate?
The second GOP debate will take place at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on September 27, 2023. Alex Isenstadt of Politico is reporting that it is going to be difficult for candidates to get on the stage. Here […]
Responses to Trump’s third federal indictment
Donald Trump is now facing federal indictments in three different jurisdictions with a probable fourth indictment (Georgia) on its way. In case you missed it, yesterday Trump was indicted over efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Here are some of […]
“Arguments with everyone”
Over at The Bulwark, Ronald Radosh reviews Martin Peretz’s memoir The Controversalist: Arguments with Everyone, Left Right and Center. Peretz is the former editor of The New Republic. Here is a taste of Radosh’s review: WRITING RECENTLY IN HIS New York magazine […]
Ann Sprigg’s boarding house and the end of slavery
Here is historian Bennett Parten at Zocalo Public Square: In the early 1840s, where the steps of the Library of Congress now stand, a group of American abolitionists gathered in a modest boardinghouse to plot the destruction of slavery. The […]
Siena-New York Times poll shows Trump with a massive lead
The poll was conducted from July 23-27 among “the likely electorate in the Republican primary”: Other observations: The poll asked GOP primary voters about where they get their news. Here are the results:
George Will gives a bump to Doug Burgum’s presidential campaign
Until I read Will’s column, the only thing I knew about North Dakota governor Doug Burgum was his gift card strategy. Here is a taste of Will’s “Meet the unusually qualified presidential candidate you’ve never heard of“: If he ever […]
The Author’s Corner with Mark Valeri
Mark Valeri is the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. This interview is based on his new book, The Opening of the Protestant Mind: How Anglo-American Protestants Embraced Religious Liberty (Oxford […]
Evangelical roundup for July 31, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Tish Harrison Warren talks to Russell Moore about the state of American evangelicalism. Why are evangelicals leaving the faith? Arthur Gay, RIP Justin Giboney on the Florida African American history standards: Christianity Today tackles […]