Archive
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Articles
The Zone of Commitment
Neal climbs up to join me at the belay. Moving quickly, he kicks the front points of his crampons into the gray alpine ice and swings one of his ice axes like a framing hammer...
New Founders Wanted
It’s now 250 years since America declared her independence and embarked on the experiment of fashioning a nation dedicated to liberty. Do those long-ago events and the deliberations of...
While We’re At It
Erin Piacenti, a thirty-two-year-old wife and mother, was killed in Times Square on August 31. Her killer was a deranged...
Life and Death in AI
In a life of reading, there are special times of wonder and delight. Books come into your hands that address your central concerns and discuss matters you’ve long pondered....
The Stench of Corruption
The Trump family’s exploitation of every opportunity to enrich themselves demoralizes me, as I’m sure it does many readers. Don Jr. and Eric Trump are the Uday and Qusay Hussein of our unhappy times...
Brave New Sexual Ethics
In this episode, Mark Regnerus joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent essay, “Living Humanae Vitae in Poland,” from the October 2026 issue...
The Ivory Tower Is Falling
The big news story of early August was Jason Arday. Appointed to a professorship at Cambridge University in 2023, the black scholar had been championed by university leaders as...
The German Right’s Golden Moment
In this episode, Christopher Caldwell joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent essay, “Why the AfD Wins” from the October 2026 issue of...
While We’re At It
The Republican Party and the Trump White House protect and promote vice industries that exploit Americans, especially young....
Bin Laden’s Bequest
It came as a shock. The image of a plane disappearing into a building as flames erupt. Then another. Sirens. Morning TV shows superseded by first confused then speechless...
Of Things and Devices
In this episode, Brad Littlejohn joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent essay, “Left to Our Own Devices,” from the August/September 2026 issue...
The Fourth Watch
In this episode, James F. Keating joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his new bimonthly topical newsletter for First Things, The Fourth Watch. The...
Zemmour’s Challenging Voice
On June 10, First Things was delighted to host Éric Zemmour for an evening at our office. The occasion was the release of Nathan Pinkoski’s English translation of The...
Putting World War II Behind Us
In “The End of the Age of Hitler” (November 2024), Alec Ryrie observes that, as secularism advanced in recent decades, World War II replaced the New Testament as our...
The Critic as Artist
In this episode, Dana Gioia joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his most recent piece for Portico, “The Last of the Lost Generation.” The...
