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Articles Archive

Of Branson and Belonging

Belonging cannot be immediately grasped, but it must be chosen little by little.
September 24, 2025

Midwest Roots, American Aspirations: Charlie Kirk’s Legacy

I pray Charlie’s old neighbors will keep the flags flying, the campus debates respectful, and their doors open to all visitors.
September 23, 2025

Bill McKibben with Sunshine on his Shoulder

The author, activist, and grandfather who once warned of The End of Nature has a brighter disposition these days.  Resources Bill's bio and buy the book (and the other book)…
John Murdock
September 22, 2025

Every Tear on Every Face Tastes the Same: Songs About Solidarity

This week on A Symposium of Popular Songs, we’re listening to songs about solidarity, one-half of the foundation of Catholic social teaching. Send me your song recommendations at symposiumofsongs@gmail.com!

Writing Is for Humans

They accepted that the law of human judgment was Mercy—after all, that was the law of divine judgment.
September 22, 2025

Richmond, TikTok, and Enchantment

Maureen Swinger goes to an Oliver Anthony concert and describes his efforts to repair broken places and subvert the structures of the celebrity machine.
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 20, 2025

How to Bite the Machine that Feeds You: Kingsnorth’s Options for Resistance

One must think seriously about where to draw lines in the sand
September 19, 2025

Children Shouldn’t Be Free Marketing Fodder

Shouldn’t we begin putting restrictions on how often and for what purposes minors’ images appear online?
September 18, 2025

State Universities Should Serve the State—Not the World

In focusing on the global economy, universities often lose sight of the needs of local economies.
September 17, 2025

Trump’s Hope for Heaven

Within the context of expressing his desire to help end the war between Ukraine and Russia, the President highlights another desire: he wants to go to heaven.
September 16, 2025

Burning Warm and Bright: Songs About Fire

We’re talking about fire in all its forms this week on A Symposium of Popular Songs, and I managed to get all the way through the episode without referencing Beavis…

The Last Lesson of Charlie Kirk

Kirk started as a kind of ultra-MAGA influencer. Over time, however, he was becoming a serious man—one with a popular following, especially among the young.
September 15, 2025

Marce Catlett, Farm Policy, and AI Friends

Antonio Spadaro responds to plans to build a bridge across the Strait of Messina.
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 13, 2025

The Word and the Machine: On Paul Kingsnorth

I wanted living color, an axe to break the frozen sea.
September 12, 2025

When the Internet Was a Place

Not too long ago, the internet was a place you visited. The family desktop sat in its designated closet or back office. In schools, there were rooms filled with computers…
September 10, 2025

“Two Liberals Walk Out of a Pandemic…”

I have been hoping for a reckoning about covid for years now, and this book is a major step in that direction.
September 9, 2025

Can We Dance on the Tables Again?: Songs About Parties

It’s party time at A Symposium of Popular Songs, though we’re going to oscillate wildly between the kind of party you go home from in an ambulance and the kind…

The Wars of Alex Garland

With "Civil War" and now "Warfare," the writer-director has made two consecutive movies about the “what” of armed conflicts rather than the “why”
September 8, 2025

Fairs, Atherosclerosis, and Toothaches

Tara Couture writes about the mysterious relation between simple joys and hard work.
Jeffrey Bilbro
September 6, 2025

Writing Like a Man

I found that Wink has not simply played haphazardly with an abundance of tropes but collected them together, arranged them in a pile—so he could then throw them aside and…
September 5, 2025

Decoding Toddlerese and Theology

It is such a joy to finally figure out something my son has been trying to say. Just so, it is a joy when a particular passage of Scripture finally…

When Humans Prefer a Machine: Warnings from a 1960s Chatbot Creator

Chatbots aren’t new. Joseph Weizenbaum created one in 1966. And what happened next led him to become a vocal critic of his own creation. What did he see that we…
September 3, 2025

The Vestigial Front Porch

Still it waves. Still it sings.
September 2, 2025

No Kings and No Landlords: Songs About Freedom

We’re talking about freedom this week on A Symposium of Popular Songs, and I demonstrate my freedom by going all the way from “guy with guitar” folk to overcranked contemporary…