Front Porch Republic

A republic endures only through the devotion and resolve of an active citizenry.

The fabled pearly gates may be a noisy place.

I recently learned the most effective cure ever for blisters: iodine. I had no idea; and I bet your mother, like mine, told you to bandage a blister and never, ever drain it. Leave it alone, they say. Put a…

Churches aren’t offering peace. They’re optimizing for engagement. And what gets built in the end is impressive. But like all “Babels,” it can’t bear the weight of the human soul.

In a fragmented age increasingly seduced by the cult of the self, "Wuthering Heights" challenges us to reclaim the difficult virtues that make real community possible.

You are probably familiar with the concept of the “Sports Illustrated cover jinx.”

"I don't particularly call myself an environmentalist. I love the Pinchot National Forest. My specific woods, the land that my family is from..."

When the algorithm identifies someone as a “gang member” based on human-generated criteria, the model’s “ground truth,” however flawed, becomes a stand-in for reality.

The furniture of the old churches and chapels formed the habitus of those who worshipped there regularly.

This is Goethe’s experience. And mine.

How do people maintain the illusion that “the times” are on their side?

He who has a piece of ground to call his own is not truly bereft, no matter what else is lost.