On this episode of the First Things Podcast:
Literary editor Matthew Schmitz and associate editor Julia Yost discuss The Americans—the Cold War spy drama that raises the question, Whose approach to sex is more dehumanizing? The KGB’s, or the average American parent’s?
Then, Matthew and Julia discuss John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress—the Puritan classic that, Matthew argues, anticipated all our American stories, whether we know it or not.
The episode is embedded below. For your long-term convenience, follow us on SoundCloud or subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher.
Lift My Chin, Lord
Lift my chin, Lord,Say to me,“You are not whoYou feared to be,Not Hecate, quite,With howling sound,Torch held…
Letters
Two delightful essays in the March issue, by Nikolas Prassas (“Large Language Poetry,” March 2025) and Gary…
Spring Twilight After Penance
Let’s say you’ve just comeFrom confession. Late sunPours through the budding treesThat mark the brown creek washing Itself…