Culture, High & Low

Where have all the freshmen gone?

Heaven forbid. . .

Our Hookup Culture

Hooking up is almost bound to emerge as a norm among young adults in a large-scale society where mobility is highly prized and cultivated.

FPR: One Year Old

  Today marks the first anniversary of the Front Porch Republic.  Such a milestone provides an opportunity to cast a quick glance back on the...

Perils of the Stationary State

When economic growth finally levels off, what kind of world comes after? Shall we be unchained from the mad rush for money of the last century? Or will other but equally chafing chains weigh us down instead?

The Great Leveler: Darwin, Garrison Keillor, and Wing Bowl

Yes, a good dinner conversation is akin to chimps licking fleas off each other because it is a way of bonding and establishing relationships and hierarchies within the group.

“Spiritual, Not Religious”

What we need today is not a generation that is “spiritual, not religious.” I would argue that what is needed is the studied capacity to be “religious, not spiritual."

The Trouble with “Merit”

David Brooks on the meritocracy: good critique, bad conclusion.

When Friendship and Fellowship Collide

Less happy for mother is the reality that the single soul, resulting from this communion of two bodies, receives nourishment from single-malt.

Facebook and Friendship

Whatever else you make of Facebook friendship, it underscores the great and significant discrepancy between: 1) the scale of contemporary life, and 2) the scale of friendship.

The Big Idea

With friends like this, you can have a world full of enemies at your back and it don't matter because your friend is your fortress.