Frontenac and the French Revolution
Back then, luxury was there to be gawked at, fantasized about, tried on—and in time, marked way down, so that every once in a while, the goods were spread around.
Dispatches
From the War of 1812 to Booing the U.S. Anthem, a Line of Little-Known History
With the current spate of Canadian-led booing of the U.S. national anthem at professional hockey games, answered by American-led booing of the Canadian national anthem, these strains converge into parallel lines of history. One has already been written in the War of 1812, while the future of Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and threats of annexation as “our 51st state” is anyone’s guess.
Letters from Howard Nemerov’s Discreet Love Affair Are Finally Unfolded
The world knew Nemerov's poetry. No one guessed his heart.
Time to Revise the Golden Rule
The most universal rule humanity ever came up with, the Golden Rule was intact for centuries...till now.
Zombie Comics
Zombie strips, they are called, drawn long after the original artist has died, and going through the motions for syndication. Bill Watterson, adored for his art and admired for his integrity against corporate newspapers and marketing, criticized this phenomenon. It is said Charles Schultz left instructions not to allow it to happen to his strip.
Never Mind Kendrick vs. Drake, Get Yourself Some Young vs. Skynyrd
What we need desperately from pop music and rap artists, and what is in short supply now, is not rivalry for its own sake and spectacle, but a sense that our favorite songs of the future might have something immediate to say beyond the context of two individual artists.
The Most Russian Thing I Have Ever Seen, and I Have Been to Russia
The brief promotional materials said it had something to do with Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.” I had hopes it would be live theater and that maybe Krymov would appear, if only remotely—he seems to have a new play in New York to promote—or that a scholar of theater or Slavic studies might be there to explain what was going on.
“This Is Personal. And No, We Are Not Criminals”
Two accomplished, compassionate healthcare professionals describe what it took to get here as refugee kids—and how it feels to be here now.
Prisons, El Salvador and Us: The Way We Were
I have taken a vow of silence about the new presidential administration, but I wanted to record this memory for others who might want to think about the distance we have come in forty years and what it might mean.
Finally, an Explanation for the Paradox of MAGA Christianity
For a decade now, a lot of Americans have gone slightly crazy trying to reconcile Christianity with the policies and goals of MAGA. Tim Alberta explains.