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Photographs of a Life

Félix Nadar was not a man easily pinned down. Though he’s on the books as one of the most ­important photographers of the nineteenth century—both for photographing the leading French writers of his era and for making advancements in camera technology—Nadar’s life spanned a number of diverse occupations, from caricaturist to balloonist. Continue Reading »

First Links — 3.17.16

Screwtape in Vegas
Leah Libresco, Commonweal

Full Interview with the Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI, Catholic World Report

Daredevil Wrestling with God
Alexi Sargeant, Acculturated

London's Religious Awakening
Ben Judah, Catholic Herald

Thinking Aloud: Stanley Fish as a Journalist
Mark Bauerlein, Weekly Standard

Why Are So Many Smart People Such Idiots About Philosophy?
Olivia Goldhill, Quartz

Othello's Wicked Magic
Kate Havard, Washington Free Beacon

The Theology of Donald Trump
Michael Horton, Christianity Today

Two Monks Invent Denominations
Mallory Ortberg, Toast

Calling It Genocide

In a press statement yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry did what many human rights activists have been asking him to do for months: he called ISIS’s treatment of Christians and other religious minorities “genocide.” Kerry’s statement came as a surprise. For months, the State . . . . Continue Reading »

Children as Political

Here is a new ad put out by the Clinton campaign. You must see the video to believe it. The presentation comes in the guise of innocence and earnestness, but it has a powerful political meaning, one applying not only to the current campaign, but to the essence of human nature.A sweet voice begins, . . . . Continue Reading »

​What’s the Value of Utility?

The science of economics has undoubtedly come a long way since the days of Adam Smith, but economic discussions today can often seem downright strange, if not misleading. One case in point is the focus on the concept of utility, as one prominent economic blog recently did—with far-reaching . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 3.15.16

Mother Teresa Canonization Set for September 4
Greg Kundra, Aleteia

Trump and Trump Protesters Feed Off Each Other
Megan McArdle, Bloomberg View

What Has Rome to do with Iowa City?
Jonathan McDonald, Dappled Things

The Shalem Experiment
Kate Havard, Weekly Standard

Through Wendell Berry's Looking Glass
Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

History of English in Five Words
Simon Horobin, Quantz

An Ecumenical Ecology of Man
Eduardo Echeverria, Oecomene

Hearing the Lost Sounds of Antiquity
Adrienne LaFrance, Atlantic

What We've Been Reading—3.11.16

Daniel Asia has edited the proceedings of a conference held in March 2014 at the University of Arizona, the book entitled, The Future of (High) Culture in America.

It's a lively volume with contributions by Terry Teachout (drama critic for the Wall Street Journal), Carol Iannone (editor of Academic Questions), and Asia himself (a distinguished composer and professor of composition at U of A), among others, and they all get to the heart of the problem of high culture at the present time in America. . . . Continue Reading »

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