Superheroes Saving Us From Ourselves

by Christopher R. Altieri

The moral of Avengers: Infinity War is that life is good—indeed, that life is a good, one the good guys seek to preserve, and bad guys seek to destroy.  Continue Reading »

15 May 2018

Having a Baby at the End of the World

by Randy Boyagoda

Future Home of the Living Godby louise erdrichharpercollins, 288 pages, $28.99 Never trust the teller, trust the tale,” D. H. Lawrence famously declared. Keep that in mind when it comes to Louise Erdrich and her new novel, Future Home of the Living God. In an interview about her latest work, she . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 2018

He Stands Apart

by Mark Bauerlein

The Ross Macdonald Collection: 11 Classic Lew Archer Novelsby ross macdonaldedited by tom nolanlibrary of america, 3 volumes, 2618 pages, $112.50 Near the end of Find a Victim, Ross Macdonald’s 1954 novel of murder and hijacking in a small California town, private eye Lew Archer suggests to . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Apr 2018

Jordan Peterson, Unlikely Guru

by Matthew Schmitz

With a bestselling book, 850,000 followers on YouTube, and $60,000 a month in direct contributions from fans, Jordan Peterson has every material reason to be happy. But watch one of the lectures or interviews that have made him famous, and you will see a face full of sorrow. He talks about . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Apr 2018

Blacklisted

by Ron Austin

I am the last living blacklisted Hollywood writer. I can’t prove this any more than I could legally prove my blacklisting at the time. (The blacklist, after all, was an illegal conspiracy subject to lawsuits.) I am reasonably certain about this claim because I knew the Hollywood writers in . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Mar 2018

Taylor Swift, Nazi Barbie?

by Dominic Green

January is Taylor Swift month in the Green household. If, like me, you have three young daughters, then every month for the last ten years has been Taylor Swift month. Still, Swift’s new album, Reputation, has driven the Swiftometer to an all-time high. Three copies arrived by courier on . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2018

Chatterley on Trial

by Peter Hitchens

Lady Chatterley’s Loverby d. h. lawrencemacmillan, 432 pages, $12.99 Six weeks after a London criminal court permitted the unexpurgated publication of Lady Chatterley’s Lover on November 2, 1960, a forlorn rearguard action took place in the crimson and gold chamber of the House of Lords, then . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2018

Phenomenology of the Hand

by Mark Bauerlein

If you teach high school or college students, or have kids who are passing through those ­places, and if your duties include grading papers, or you watch your kids struggle with writing assignments, I have a piece of advice. Tell them to try composing by hand, with pen and paper, not on the . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2018

Evangelizing the Nones

by Robert Barron

By far the fastest-growing “religious” group in the United States is the “nones,” that is, those who claim no religious affiliation. In the latest Pew Research Center survey, fully 25 percent of the country—80 million people—say that they have no formal religion, and the growth . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2018

Historical Ignorance, Moral Arrogance

by Marc Barnes

My generation tends to think of itself as the first generation to be moral, tolerant, decent, and good. We abhor racism, sexism, nationalism, and homophobia, crimes we set at the center of past societies—all of them. We have avoided the bloody vices of slavery, torture, pillaging, religious . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Dec 2017