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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 Morning TV shows superseded by first confused then speechless...
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...
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...
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....
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...
While We’re At It
In my meditation on the legacy of World War II above, I conclude with an observation about the perennial clashes among nations. To the dismay of anti-communist conservatives, the historian John...
The Jew from Nowhere
In this episode, J. J. Kimche joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his new bimonthly topical newsletter for First Things, The Jew From Nowhere....
The Seduction of Simulation
Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on technology and the human person, Magnifica Humanitas, offers a measured assessment of the ongoing digital revolution, giving special attention to artificial intelligence, its current...
The Once and Future France
In this episode, Nathan Pinkoski joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent introduction to Éric Zemmour’s book, The Suicide of France. The conversation...
Birthright Citizenship Is Living on Borrowed Time
The Trump v. Barbara decision concerning birthright citizenship did not surprise me. Mass migration is the most explosive issue in today’s politics. It puts tremendous stress on the postwar...
