Carl Th. Dreyer's 'Day of Wrath' and the Power of the Punished
It is difficult to believe in heaven, but it is also difficult not to believe in a heaven.
Matthew Wardour
· 7 min read
China and the Question of Taiwan
In modern-day China, nationalism is at its strongest when dealing with the idea—almost an article of religious faith—that the independent island nation of Taiwan is in fact a Chinese state and must be unified with the mainland as soon as possible.
Aaron Sarin
· 13 min read
Dictatorship and Responsibility in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s political culture is being dismantled.
Peter Baehr
· 16 min read
In Defense of Shame
In reducing sex to a basic mechanical function in the service of health, we have covered the uniquely human parts of ourselves that should be engaged during sex and lost precisely what makes sex sexy—what transforms its mechanics into mystery.
Marilyn Simon
· 10 min read
The Tragic Vision: Making the Best of Things
The denial of tragedy inevitably results in the denial of what makes us human, snipping the invisible thread that connects us to the lives of other people and draining the individual of moral gravity.
Samuel Kronen
· 13 min read
Why Is Biden Trying to Punish Charter Schools for Their Success?
Charter schools are publicly funded institutions that charge no fees and have more flexibility than regular government schools in how they manage their affairs and run their programs.
Greg Ashman
· 7 min read
Stop Sensationalizing the Threat of Right-Wing Political Violence
Terrorism is ultimately a weapon of the weak. By engaging in threat inflation, we expand the power and prestige of terrorists by allowing them to be more influential than they otherwise might be.
Zaid Jilani
· 7 min read
At One With the Disc: How the Pandemic Taught Me to Love (Real) Golf's Casual Cousin
No, disc golf won’t provide you with high-impact interval training: It’s basically a wilderness stroll punctuated by a bunch of full-body throwing motions.
Jonathan Kay
· 9 min read
Beating Back Cancel Culture: A Case Study from the Field of Artificial Intelligence
It’s easy to decry cancel culture, but hard to turn it back. Thankfully, recent developments in my area of academic specialty—artificial intelligence (AI)—show that fighting cancel culture isn’t impossible.
Pedro Domingos
· 12 min read
Did the BLM Protests Against the Police Lead to the 2020 Spike in Homicides?
One of the most robust findings in social science is that reductions in effective policing correlate with increases in crime.
Wilfred Reilly
· 9 min read
Visions Are Sublime; Social Reform Is Messy
The Democratic party’s radical wing, which mostly set aside its many differences with Biden during his contest with Trump, wants a more rapid pace of change than the 78-year old centrist would wish.
John Lloyd
· 10 min read
A Return to Tradition: Creating a Post-Trump Conservatism
The survival of the American Republic might just depend upon it.
Bo Winegard
· 14 min read
Wikipedia Turns Twenty
An expansive free encyclopedia is impossible without an army of volunteer writers.
Adam Wakeling
· 9 min read
COVID-19's Death Toll: A Historical Perspective
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported the age-standardised mortality rate in England each year going back to 2001.
Noah Carl
· 6 min read
Trump’s Exit: An Optimist’s Take on What Happens Next
The open question is whether a critical mass of Americans actually want civility, bipartisanship, and moderation.
Quillette
· 6 min read