Front Porch Republic
An Agrarian Prayer
If you have ever prayed the Lord’s prayer, then you have prayed for the soil and its earthworms—even if you didn’t intend to.
Despair Is Part of Life, but Not All of Life
Her heartfelt lament may sound like despair, and in a way it is, save for a crucial difference.
What We Forgot About Death (And Life)
Without the Incarnation, the philosopher’s death remains incomplete.
Compound Interest in an Attention Economy
There is something life-giving about rooting oneself in a single community—about investing ourselves in a mutual fund, so to speak.
The Quiet Divide
The rift isn’t just about politics. It’s about pace, and place, and respect.
News, Notes, & Podcasts


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Handshakes, Extinction, and Chess
“The Intellectual Virtues of the Small Magazine.” Jeff Reimer brilliantly narrates the joys of an intellectual life and the role that small magazines can play in foster this: ‘Now remember…
Local Porch in NOVA: The Tech Exit with Clare Morell
Join Ben Christenson and others for a discussion with Clare Morell.
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
Laurie Johnson is teaching an introduction to Aristotle's virtue ethics for the Maurin Academy this summer. The schedule and details are here: We need a solid understanding of ethics now…

Seasons, Steel, and Profit
“In Due Season.” Chris Gregorio reviews and praises Matt Miller’s Leaves of Healing: “As he reflects on each slice of liturgical time and the period of garden time in which…
More Articles
The Waters of Mirabah
In quiet Ottawa County, Michigan, a water crisis is not merely brewing—it is already here.
The Proper Education of Ambition
Politics, at its best, requires those willing to risk greatness.
The Census Taker in a Church Pew, Part 7
His hands remind me of a topographical map. Even now with their nail scars, do Jesus’ hands bear also the marks that come with age and years as a craftsman?
Leaving the Keys in the Truck: Trust, Tension, and the Rural Bargain
Trust in rural places isn’t built on virtue; it’s built on visibility. It’s knowing you’ll see the person again.
From the Editor: Local Culture 7.1
There is no law preventing us from being worthy pupils of the spring rains, the dead, and the plants. We can mind first principles; we can keep our hands off the principal.
Remodeling the Porch
Amateur operations are fragile and tenuous. But we’re grateful for a much-improved virtual home.
Time To Tell The Truth
How much longer will we prioritize a Wild West notion of freedom over protecting children and teens? The truth is, like cigarettes and alcohol, these devices are incompatible with healthy childhood development.
The Full Life of Empty Rural Spain
Though we may choose to live out our lives differently upon the land, there remain in both places people who still care for and respect land and community. I have learned much from the Spanish way of life that I…
Seeking the Sacred: Douthat’s Case for Religious Tradition in an Age of Uncertainty
We are pilgrims in this world. We must be content to wonder as we wander. Douthat is asking his readers to cast their nets into the deep.
Bobwhite
Every year that we farm in the old ways, more of nature returns, despite the mistakes we make. Each return teaches hope.
It Ain’t Funny: Or, Why We Don’t Laugh Together
The laughter of a faithless culture is bitter, derisive. It no longer springs from a merry heart but from dry bones. A culture of faith is a culture that can truly laugh.
What is a Miracle Anyway?
My miracles are many, too many to count or explain. Maybe yours are too.
From the Archive
