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Articles
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...
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...
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...
The Iran Failure We Needed
Count me among those grateful that President Trump has struck a deal with the Iranian regime. Recent months have provided powerful evidence that for military, economic, and political reasons,...
This Catholic Moment
In this episode, Matthew Schmitz joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent essay, “Our Strange Catholic Moment” from the June/July 2026 issue of...
The Church of Ratzinger
In this episode, Sam Zeno Conedera joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent review, “Ratzinger in the Whirlwind” from the May 2026 issue...
Postliberalism and its Discontents (ft. James Wood)
In this episode, James R. Wood joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent essay, “Liberalism Is Christianity’s Prodigal Child” from the June/July 2026...
Can Yale Lead Reform?
In early April, Yale University released the “Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education.” The faculty committee had been formed a year earlier, charged with the...
Quantitative Judgments Don’t Apply
For years I have aspired to read Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy. But bound together the three novels (Men at Arms, Officers and Gentlemen, and The End of...
The Pope and President Tangle
In April, the Holy Father and the president of the United States traded barbs. The proximate cause was Leo’s criticism of the Israeli and American attacks on Iran. The...
