Matthew Schmitz

Ray Bradbury, the master of science fiction, died this Tuesday in Southern California ( New York Times  obituary here ). In the December 2008 issue, John Wilson recalled the moment he met Bradbury . They shared a love for walking: I remember—decades ago, while I was working at . . . . Continue Reading »

Harold James, an economic historian at Princeton University and senior fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, warns of a hyper-splintering of Europe if the crisis of the Euro is not soon resolved: If European integration shifts into reverse, the outcome will not be a series of happy and prosperous . . . . Continue Reading »

Responding to worries from environmental scientists that the widespread use of hormonal contraceptives is causing a new Silent Spring, the European Union is calling for a costly effort to keep the key chemical in “the Pill” from killing off fish populations: Britain faces a £30bn . . . . Continue Reading »

Two days ago, Bob Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And once again we saw the tendency of American liberals to misunderstand a man who has refused to be enlisted in their causes. President Obama remarked that “No one ever picks up a guitar, or fights a disease, or starts a . . . . Continue Reading »

Ross Douthat greets the Facebook IPO with schadenfreude: Of all the major hubs of Internet-era excitement, Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking site has always struck me as one of the most noxious, dependent for its success on the darker aspects of online life: the zeal for constant . . . . Continue Reading »

New York-area readers take note: NEW YORK, NY -  MAY 23, 2012 - The Center for Public Conversation at the Institute for American Values will host a conversation on Tuesday, May 29th with Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s something different: a job posting for a “quirky and funny” guy with “an interest in death and rituals” that was sent to the American Anthropological Association: I am a casting director with a Major Cable Network dedicated to Nature, Science and Exploration; we . . . . Continue Reading »

Hans Kung denounces Benedict’s move to regularize the situation of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X: With such a scandalous decision, Pope Benedict would, in his overall regretted isolation,  would be even more separated from the People of God. The classical doctrine regarding . . . . Continue Reading »

These amazing photos, of 40,000 Orthodox Jewish males filling New York’s Citi Field (with another 20,000 off-site), have been making the rounds. Some writers suggested the all-male meeting was sexist and/or excessively secretive . Predictable reactions from those made anxious by such a . . . . Continue Reading »

Gabriel Rossman, a sociologist at UCLA and Twitter pro, has compiled an amusing list of fake “First Things pitches” based on the immortal ” Slate pitches ” meme. Some of the jokes, I’ll admit, hit a little close to home. Check out Gabriel’s pitches below and . . . . Continue Reading »