As I read parts of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse’s newest book, Them, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the saying of the late professor Marshall McLuhan: The medium is the message. Sasse, a conservative Republican from Nebraska, doesn’t mention … Continue reading Senator’s newest book sees loneliness as pervasive American problem
When Qoheleth famously wrote more than 2,000 years ago that “there is nothing new under the sun,” he couldn’t have known how prophetic those words would be. For around the time, give or take a century or two, that Qoheleth … Continue reading What Brett Kavanaugh’s Bible has to say about #MeToo
No Facebook for seven days? I’ll take the challenge! Details later this week about why. Sunday (Day 0) evening: I’ll admit it, even though I never expected this to happen: I’m a Facebook addict. No, I don’t have it as … Continue reading No Facebook for a week? Let’s go for it!
Sometimes we can learn from the mistakes of others. That’s why I’m hoping that those in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with authority far more than my own can take to heart advice of the sort offered … Continue reading Catholic offers advice for Mormons facing sex-abuse scandal
Netflix’s newest documentary, Wild Wild Country, about the 1980s Rajneeshee sect that dominated the headlines in Oregon during the early-to-mid-1980s, is fascinating, informative and insightful. I found it also to be unsatisfying. I’ve long been familiar with the story of … Continue reading New Netflix docu treads gingerly on guru’s top follower
I can’t help but reflect on two conversations I had one day last week. The two persons I talked with have almost nothing in common — except that they are the type of people that some want to keep out … Continue reading Immigration debate becomes personal
The West Wing has long been one of my favorite TV shows — it ranks with Breaking Bad as the best small-screen series of all time. One of the unusual aspects of The West Wing is that it emphasized character … Continue reading Sorkin comes up a winner with Molly’s Game
Did the late Mormon apostle L. Tom Perry really endorse an alt-right agenda that is little more than nicely packaged racism? That’s certainly the impression you’d get from following social-media feeds of the mononymous Ayla, the most outspoken member of … Continue reading Fact check: Do LDS teachings support the alt-right?
It would be difficult to write about the story of Jim Jones and the 1978 mass murder-suicide (more than 900 dead) without sensationalizing the story. But Jeff Guinn succeeds admirably in the authoritative The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and … Continue reading Guinn’s authoritative book on Jim Jones lets reader decide
