Rachel Blum Spencer
Articles by Rachel Blum Spencer
$6,500 Goes a Long Way
McDowell County in North Carolina suffered an unemployment rate of 14.8% in 2009 (over 4% higher than the national rate). At a loss with what to do with the increasing…
Harry Potter and Running from Death
Our hero, Harry, demonstrates an attitude towards death that very few of us actually hold.
Summer Opportunity from the Rockford Institute
Read through this announcement by FPR contributor Stephen Heiner: Dear Fellow Front Porchers I wanted to invite you to an event which will be occurring in a couple months' time…
Meet a Folksinger
I recently received a song from Front Porch Republic reader Michael Johnathon. Michael is a Kentucky based folksinger, songwriter and host of the national syndicated broadcast of the WoodSongs Old-Time…
Extra, extra!
I grew up reading newspapers that serviced large metropolitan areas--the Denver Post and Tulsa World. Strangely, it was only after moving to a suburb of Washington, D.C. that I discovered local journalism…
Diet, meet Butter
What did Grandma really eat?
I have my own money, thank you.
How New England can change the world?
Pay Attention to Appearances
See an FPR author in a venue near you.
The Sustainability Stampede
The diversity club ran its course, and has been replaced with "second-wave environmentalism," a.k.a. our culprit, sustainability.
Food: The Cornerstone of Christian Credibility
This spring, Joel Salatin spoke at Patrick Henry College on "Food: The Cornerstone of Christian Credibility." I'm happy to be able to make an audio recording of this lecture available…
Keep the Family, Can the Blog
For several years now, anyone tech-savvy enough to navigate blogspot or xanga has been able to share their thoughts with the internet world through their personal blog (or sometimes, a…
Distracted Achievement Gap
The problem is that public schools inherit children who are "overentertained and distracted."
Exploiting Antiquities
To him, the created world is merely “resources” and fodder for “job creation.”
Oh When the Saints (Come Marching In)
Is happiness found in fan-dom?
Now Available in Color
Why not stand on the shoulders of the Kindle?
Independent Populists?
Michael Lind over at Salon suggests a disparity between populism and the "liberal left." Given Sarah Plain's new book, in which she continues to posture as a populist (see Rod…
Raw Milk Clubs
Apparently, agrarianism is the new urbanism for a growing number of twenty-somethings. Maybe the desire for a plot of one's own is neither so quaint nor so rural as some…
Eat like a human, feel like a human
Virginia schools are opting for local produce and ingredients over cellophane-packaged mystery meals. Are these elementary schools adopting a version of localism?
Conservatism: a Call to the Clarification of Terms
“The Christian right,” says Jacqueline Salmon of the Washington Post, “has found new life with Barack Obama in office, particularly around health care.” Salmon points to the bevy of "Christian…