Understanding the Miracle of Hanukkah Through the Ancient World's Prism of Horrors
Judah’s men were not gentle souls.
Jonathan Kay
· 6 min read
History
A collection of 390 posts
The Flawed History and Real Torment of Canada's Residential Schools
Brian was just one of thousands of Indigenous children who were subjected to horrendous abuse at Canada’s Indian residential schools.
Robert MacBain
· 14 min read
Jews Revolutionised the Universities — Will Asians Do the Same?
The historical parallel between Jews and Asians is striking for a number of reasons—including the fact that both cases involve an explicit rejection of the idea that academic merit alone could be a tenable basis for admission.
Barbara Kay
· 16 min read
My Misspent Years of Conspiracism
Conspiracy theories foreclose the possibility of explanation, because they postulate unalterable conclusions in search of evidence instead of following evidence to plausible conclusions.
Jamie Palmer
· 28 min read
Nazis — A Modern Field Guide
In the spirit of the Handbook on German Military Forces, I offer readers this brief field guide to the various kinds of “Nazis” who inhabit the world of 2018.
Jonathan Kay
· 10 min read
Righteous Among the Nations — The Rescued Tribe of Colonel Castellanos
With the release of their extraordinary documentary film The Rescue, Alvaro and his younger brother Boris haven’t just faced up to their clan’s history. They have turned it into high art.
Geoffrey Clarfield
· 6 min read
Purity or Universalism?
The main problem with the quest for purity is that it is fine in one’s own home or church but it becomes a problem in the public square, which—by virtue of being inherently diverse and competitive—is configured to resist the wish to be pure.
Sami J. Karam
· 10 min read
Western Civilisation Not Welcome Here
The new humanities maintain that for the last 500 years, Western Civilisation has got it wrong when it comes to knowledge, truth and science.
Bella d'Abrera
· 8 min read
The Soviets and the JFK Conspiracy Theorists
We can learn far more from the files still under wraps in Russia and Belarus.
Fred Litwin
· 11 min read
Suffragists Fought for the Female Sex
The response to my posters shows that the phrase ‘female sex’ is on its way to being classified as ‘hate speech.’
Renee Gerlich
· 8 min read
The Fragility of the Liberal World Order
For Kagan, the architects of the post-war order sought to wed America’s new-found superpower to the construction of a world order that reflected the domestic values of America itself: a liberal international order.
Doug Stokes
· 9 min read
Progress and Polytheism — Could an Ethical West Exist Without Christianity?
Christianity’s moral vision was not as revolutionary as a casual student of history might suppose. Nor did it equip Western society with a unique set of virtues that were unknown to the ancient world.
Ben Bassett
· 9 min read
Rejecting Progress in the Name of Cultural Appropriation
Historically, it has been the European openness not only to foreign goods, but also foreign ideas – those which work, those which enhance our physical and mental wellbeing – that has signalled the forward march of modernity.
Neema Parvini
· 7 min read
Did British Merchants Cause the Opium War?
Chen’s portrait of the Opium War places the role of British traders and their lobbying efforts in the foreground
Jeffery C. J. Chen
· 6 min read
Norms of Good Governance — Where Do They Come From?
What is it about humans that makes democratic norms stick? What are the traits that facilitate honesty and transparency in administration at the highest levels?
Adam Perkins
· 11 min read