Articles Archive

We are currently planning the 3rd Annual FPR Conference. This year it will be held on September 21 at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. Program details are coming soon, but…

A recent study suggests that individualized and pre-packaged food changes the way families think about mealtime. Could there be a link between the kind of meal eaten for dinner and…

I have a friend who is a cloistered Trappist monk and his current obsession is the ‘outer’ and decidedly non-sedentary goal of running a marathon (on the back forty of…

Berwyn, PA.  Mark Mitchell, FPR's founding father and Editor-in-Chief, will deliver a lecture at Villanova University next week.  The event is open to the public, and any FPR readers in…

What happens when a really rich dude meets Olga and learns that companionship is better than toys? We get lectured.

Like dew on the gowan lying Is the fa’ o’ her fairy feet; Like winds in summer sighing, Her voice is low and sweet. Her voice is low and sweet,…

Washington, Connecticut. As I watched Senator Rand Paul slurp his dripping candy bar, a sinking feeling set in. This does not diminish his determined stance but one should rightly be…

I've been sitting in an airport most of today, subject to the inescapable barrage of manufactured outrage that is CNN, and was offered this lifeline of sanity from a reader.…

About a month ago I happened upon a copy of The Concord, student newspaper of Bellarmine University. In particular my eye was caught by a letter to the editor whereby…

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA--something that he did in order to "draw attention to…

An address given to the Ciceronian Society at Mount St. Mary's University, March 3. At the start of each semester, I ask my MBA students, “What are you here for?…

Reader Deirdre points out that another phone commercial is at least at troubling as the Sprint Unlimited ad. According to this ad, The Droid is not an upgrade on your…

Hidden Springs Lane, VA. Sprint is running a new ad pushing the merits of its data plan. While it might be a mistake to make too much of an ad,…

For four years, with the exception of our annual conference, FPR has been primarily a digital venture. But like most reasonably healthy men and women, we crave a physical connection.…

If you had told me, a happy and professionally satisfied D.C. lawyer living on Capitol Hill, just over a year ago, that I would be back someday soon living in…

This week marks the fourth anniversary of Front Porch Republic. I recently looked back through these first four years and was struck by the wonderful group of writers who have…

Here's an intriguing example of how a community is attempting to create space for children to play. Opening the streets to children means closing them to cars, and that’s why…

When in 1967 my parents were the thirteenth family to move into newly minted Columbia, Maryland, I was three months old. The American dream at that time generally took the…

Our dwelling place is the state not of nature but of culture.

Having had a day off last week in honor of the past presidents, I am loathe to disagree with former presidents (in this case, of the American Historical Association). But…

FPR readers and enthusiasts are invited to attend the coming Ciceronian Society Conference at Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland this coming Friday, March 1st  through  Saturday, March 2nd.…

Conor Friedersdorf suggests an interesting thought experiment: Imagine that President Obama is visited by aliens who give him the power to kill any human being with his mind. Simply by…

Washington, DC. Parents are admonished to care for their children. Nature and scripture alike testify to the unique bond of filial love. Philosophers, prophets, and saints have long insisted that the…

A little over a year ago, after hearing my bitter protests about another pathetic talk by some expert on education whose vision of life I find basically revolting but whose…