R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Almost Too True to be True

Some months ago Fathers Thomas Joseph White and Austin Litke, O.P., played  bluegrass music at the World Youth Alliance headquarters here in New York. They’re good, and to be frank they also look kinda out-there. It’s not often that you see two guys in white habits playing guitar . . . . Continue Reading »

6 Jun 2013

Mosaic Magazine: A Website for Readers

For a number of years I’ve been checking Jewish Ideas Daily, a site that featured writers I’d like to publish in First Things (and in fact often have). It’s now morphed into something new: Mosaic Magazine . This new web offering is the ultimate anti-Twitter. It’s goal is to . . . . Continue Reading »

3 Jun 2013

From the Editor’s Desk, May 2013

From R.R. Reno’s ” Public Square ” in the May issue of First Things . Support First Things by subscribing here . First Things  has been updated for the iPad. It has the same elegant style as the print magazine, but we’ve changed the formatting in significant ways to make . . . . Continue Reading »

10 May 2013

Gregg on the Capitalism Debate

Samuel Gregg offers a thoughtful assessment of my debate with Robert Miller about economic freedom: its effects and prospects. Gregg is certainly right to point out that we need a moral argument for capitalism, not just a utilitarian one. The fact that it produces wealth is a good thing. But . . . . Continue Reading »

9 May 2013

IUDs, MOOCs, and Money

Pamela Fox makes really cool stuff. So says Tessa Miller on  Life Hacker , a website the “curates [web-speak for exercising editorial judgment] tips, tricks, and technology for living better in the digital age.” I’m sure that’s true, about Pamela I mean. But she’s more . . . . Continue Reading »

2 May 2013

Lord Byron’s Foot

Poet George Green isn’t somebody I’d want to meet in the Muse’s dark alley. If his wonderful new book of poetry, Lord Byron’s Foot , is any indication, he swings a mean verbal broadsword. Here’s a short poem. It’s part of a series titled “Warhol’s . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Apr 2013

Selective Discipline

We live with interesting dissonances. For example, it’s fascinating that young people now accept economic discipline with little protest. That’s something I wouldn’t have predicted when I was in college when people still worried about being imprisoned in what Weber called the . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Apr 2013

Bespoke Identity Formation

We’re in the midst of a big shift, no doubt. Check out this report from the Nation : “ NHL Takes ‘Historic Step’ for LGBT Equality .” The piece speaks of sports as a bulwark of “heteronormative socialization,” with the implicit suggestion that this, like . . . . Continue Reading »

15 Apr 2013

Rod Dreher on the Sexual Revolution

In a very fine article in the American Conservative, ” Sex After Christianity ,” Rod Dreher explains how the growing support for gay marriage reflect deep and profound changes in our moral imaginations. He writes, correctly I think, that “gay-marriage proponents succeeded so . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Apr 2013

What Ted Olson Doesn’t Get About Marriage

During his oral argument before the Supreme Court, Ted Olson observed that marriage is a “fundamental right.” This is a confused statement. It’s true that marriage is very important, fundamental, in fact. It’s part of the DNA of society, and for most people the path in life . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Mar 2013