Literature

The Dune Phenomenon

Dune isn’t merely the sci-fi novel of sweeping scope and futuristic gadgets, but a story of man’s craving for God. Continue Reading »

9 Nov 2021

America’s Search for Social Utopia

by Miles Smith

As Hawthorne knew, the iconoclastic impulse is ultimately ungovernable. In his story and in our own historical moment, the would-be societal purifiers’ appetite for destruction proves to be insatiable. Continue Reading »

8 Nov 2021

Reading Lewis

by Gilbert Meilaender

The subtitle of this book characterizes it as a “guide” to The Abolition of Man. Potential readers might, therefore, ask themselves: What does Michael Ward mean in calling his book a “guide”? And why should a guide be needed for a book that (with rather large print) runs to only a . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2021

Dramas of Decline and Fall

by Gregory Wolfe

In 2013, Dana Gioia argued in these pages that “although Roman Catholicism constitutes the largest religious and cultural group in the United States, Catholicism currently enjoys almost no positive presence in the American fine arts.” I was reminded of that contention when it dawned on me that . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2021

Tolstoy's Wisdom and Folly

by Gary Saul Morson

In his speech “The Strenuous Life,” Theodore Roosevelt identified “the American character” with “the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife.” “The man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil,” Roosevelt asserted, “wins the ultimate . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2021

Every Inch A King

by Peter J. Leithart

King Lear is a political play, a drama of kingship. In Lear as in his English history plays, Shakespeare explores what happens when a world loses the political rituals that once ordered it. Continue Reading »

14 Oct 2021

Jonah's Prayer

by Erica Brown

As we reach the very bottom of our internal oceans, we hear Jonah’s prayer. Continue Reading »

2 Sep 2021

A Practical Guide To Reading Well

by Mark Bauerlein

Robert DiYanni joins the podcast to discuss his new book, You Are What You Read: A Practical Guide To Reading Well. Continue Reading »

26 Aug 2021

Letters

by Various

I read R. R. Reno’s charitable words on Karl Barth with great interest (“Karl Barth,” May) and would like to offer my own remarks as a supplement. At the Protestant Theologicum in Tübingen (1974–5), I spent a year sharing an office with Reno’s mentor, Ronald Thiemann. Ron’s background . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2021