Barbarians, Liberalism, and Disinformation
“We Must Become Barbarians.” Paul Kingsnorth sketches out possible strategies of resistance to the Machine that evade its systems rather than confronting them directly:...
Local Democracy, Resilient Agriculture, and the Classics
“Vermont’s Superpower, Revealed: The Ability to Practice Local Democracy.” Susan Clark writes about the formative role that Vermont’s annual town meetings play in training...
Leisure, Suburbs, and a Wild Public Square
“Magnolia Silos to Host Church Under The Bridge during I-35 Work.” Mike Copeland narrates a unique church’s temporary relocation. Having attended Church Under the...
Disenchantment, Facebookistan, and John Ruskin
“Disenchantment, Actually.” Doug Sikkema reviews The Myth of Dis enchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences by Jason Ā. Josephson-Storm. He’s...
Local Culture Update, Bookshop, and Dvořák in Iowa
A quick update for subscribers to Local Culture: the printing was delayed a bit by COVID-19-related causes. However, our printer was deemed “essential,” (I’m...
Tinned Fruit, Globalization Gravy Train, and Sigrid Undset
“Regeneration.” Plough Quarterly is publishing a special digital issue over the next several weeks with responses from a very promising lineup of authors. One excellent place...
Expertise, Facebook, and Friendship
“The Good Death in Psalm 73.” Timothy Kleiser draws out the wisdom regarding mortality and human finitude in Margaret Edson’s moving play Wit with...
War, Conversation, and Regrets
“In ‘Barons,’ Austin Frerick Takes on the Most Powerful Families in the Food System.” Twilight Greenaway interviews Frerick on the depressing stories of corporate...
Leftovers, Dumb Phones, and Waiting Tables
“Hoping for Doomsday.” I’ve been savoring the summer issue of Plough. Peter Mommsen’s opening editorial is, as usual, excellent: “In the interim of the...
The Contemplative Life, Southern Writers, and a Tech Backlash
“Review: A Trappist monk tells of a life worth living.” Gregory Hillis reviews a new book by Brother Paul Quenon, a monk who began...