11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Not bad. Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl. Over at the “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” blog, Scot Lemieux writes, “Imagine how good he would have been if he […]
COVID-19
Of missiles, dinosaurs, and disease
We need elected officials who are able to take in competing suggestions, assess them, consider various goods, and use practical wisdom to come to a decision. This is yet another argument for a liberal education.
Michael Flynn’s anti-vaxxer dating site
Former Trump National Security Director Michael Flynn is one of the stars of the Christian nationalist “ReAwaken America” tour. He is also the a “founding member” and president of the advisory board for “4thPURE” a dating and community site for […]
Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for president
Here is Kelly Garrity at Politico: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, is running for president as a Democrat, according to a statement of candidacy filed with the […]
Evangelical roundup: Damar Hamlin and Speaker of the House edition
Here is what evangelical Christians are saying about Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin and the drama that took place today in the House of Representatives: On Hamlin: This is becoming a popular position on the MAGA-loving Christian Right: Lance Wallnau: […]
Episode 107: “The Politics of Smallpox in Revolutionary America”
The American Revolution happened in the midst of a smallpox epidemic. In one of the timeliest history books of the publishing season, historian Andrew Wehrman visits the podcast to talk about what the patriots of the American Revolution and the […]
On “vicious political disagreement” and civic life
Here is a taste of Quinta Jurecic‘s piece at The Atlantic: Recently, pundits and journalists have tended to frame worries over the presence of violence in American politics as a question of whether the United States is slipping into a second civil war. There are […]
A Current contributing editor on writing and motherhood in a pandemic
Over at The Chronicle of Higher Education, historian Nadya Williams writes about how the pandemic provided her with more opportunities to write. We at Current are thrilled about this. Earlier this year Nadya joined our team of contributing editors! (Check […]
2021 was the deadliest year in United States history
Here is the Associated Press: 2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad. The main reason for the increase in deaths? COVID-19, said Robert Anderson, […]
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 is going on with Robert Kennedy Jr.?
Much to the dismay of the Kennedy family, Bobby Kennedy’s son is one the country’s leading anti-vaxxers and a promoter of a bunch of other conspiracy theories. Here is Adam Nagourney at The New York Times: Once a top environmental […]
Reuters uncovers threats made to school board members
It is getting scary out there. Here is Reuters: Reuters documented the intimidation through contacts and interviews with 33 board members across 15 states and a review of threatening and harassing messages obtained from the officials or through public records requests. […]
The director of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center knows who we are. Is he rounding-up a posse and coming for us?
Ryan Helfenbein’s Twitter bio says that he is a “Christ Follower,” a “Husband and Father,” and a “Texas native.” He also uses the Latin phrase “Soli Dei Gloria” (“glory to God alone”). Helfenbein holds a Master of Divinity degree from […]
Are you a “COVID jerk”?
What is a COVID jerk and how do you identify one? University of California-Riverside philosophy professor Eric Schwitzgebel explains in a piece today at The Atlantic: We all know the type. First appearing in the spring of 2020, the COVID […]
How the 1918 pandemic ended
Historian John Barry, author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, has taught us a lot over the past two years as we have tried to make sense of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context […]
Faculty respond to the “great faculty disengagement”
Earlier this month we called your attention to what Kevin R. McClure and Alisa Hicklin Fryar called “The Great Faculty Disengagement.” Since the McClure and Fryar’s piece appeared at The Chronicle of Education, the Chronicle has been collecting faculty responses […]
Nils Lofgren is the latest to pull his music from Spotify
The E Street Band guitar player joins Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Here is The Washington Post: A controversy over coronavirus misinformation on Spotify is heating up, with a handful of musicians this weekend joining Neil Young insaying they want their music […]
What is going on with NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton?
Gonzaga University suspended Stockton’s season tickets because he will not wear a mask to games. Next to Bing Crosby, Stockton is the most famous graduate of the Jesuit school in Spokane, Washington. Here is ESPN: Gonzaga has suspended John Stockton’s men’s […]
College and university faculty members are disengaging
Here is a taste of Kevin R. McClure and Alisa Hicklin Fryar’s recent Chronicle of Higher Education piece, “The Great Faculty Disengagement.” Sadly, I can relate to some of it: …most faculty members aren’t making big job moves. For them, the Great […]
National Review turns on Fauci
The editors of one the leading (and still reasonably sane) conservative magazines in the country is calling for Joe Biden to relieve Dr. Anthony Fauci of his “duties at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as chief medical adviser […]