“Eastern Kentucky Has Been Underwater, but You Probably Didn’t Notice.” Silas House writes about the flooding in Kentucky and the lack of attention it’s receiving: “When trouble comes to rural people—whether they’re in Kentucky, California, Montana, or Michigan—the media mostly shrug.”
“Right Turns and Misdirections.” David B. Frisk reviews Walk Away: When the Political Left Turns Right, a collection of essays edited by Lee Trepanier and Grant Haverson that considers thinkers who moved to the right over the course of their careers. Frisk points to essays by Jeremy Beer on Lasch and Kelvin Knight on MacIntyre as particularly instructive.
“Death in Venice.” Susannah Black describes Carnevale in Venice as the coronavirus arrived.
“Photo Essay: Bringing the Butcher to the Farm.” Lauren Owens Lambert and James Rogers highlight the work of mobile butchers who travel to farms, particularly in remote areas like the San Juan Islands or Hawaii, to butcher animals.
“How America Became ‘A City Upon a Hill.’” In this excerpt from City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism, Abram C. Van Engen recounts the legacy of Perry Miller and of his reading of Winthrop’s sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.”
“What Donald Trump Got Right about White America.” Jane Coaston interviews Tim Carney about his book Alienated America and the importance of place in how individuals understand their well-being. (Recommended by Robbie Bolton.)
“In Wordsworth’s Footsteps.” In a three-part series for the BBC, Jonathan Bate surveys Wordsworth’s life and considers his ongoing legacy. The first episode includes a brief but insightful exchange with James Rebanks.
“Is Capitalism Good For Us?.” Mary Hirshfeld and Eugene McCarraher debate this question at Villanova. Their lively conversation is worth watching.
“Across the Country, Rural Communities Want to Secede from their States. Here’s Why.” Glenn Harlan Reynolds writes about why rural areas continue to talk about seceding from urban-dominated states, and what compromises might ameliorate these tensions.
“Health is Membership: 25 Years Later.” Joe Waters launches a six-episode podcast to explore the implications of Wendell Berry’s essay “Health is Membership.”
“Down on the Farm That Harvests Metal From Plants.” Ian Morse describes the growth of phytomining—using plants to extract metals from the earth.
“San Francisco’s Future Should Begin With a Land Value Tax.” Matthew Downhour revisits Henry George’s land tax and explores how it might be applied to San Francisco.
“The Bible That Oozed Oil.” Ruth Graham goes to Dalton, Georgia to find out about the Bible that has, purportedly, been oozing oil since the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“Classic Kirk Essays.” Cecilia Kirk Nelson introduces an online collection of Russell Kirk’s essays that she will be curating and publishing.
