Sunday night odds and ends A few things online that caught my attention this week: Coming home to Allentown "Making transition the first-line treatment for children was a mistake..." Does a doctorate in the humanities or liberal arts hurt candidates applying for non-academic jobs Garrett Epps…

Sign up for a lecture on America’s 250th with the Organization of American Historians Lectureship Program For about a decade now I have been part of the Organization of American Historian's Distinguished Lectureship Program. Learn more about it here. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the…

A federal judge resigns: ‘Silence, for me, is now intolerable” Here is Mark Wolf at The Atlantic: In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed me as a federal judge. I was 38 years old. At the time, I looked forward to serving for the rest of my life. However, I resigned Friday, relinquishing that…

"...what if conservative Evangelicals had chosen one of these other roads? They were open and well-paved. The exit ramps were clearly marked. They were simply ignored." www.commonwealmagazine.org/roads-not-ta...

By ignoring a wealth of evidence that might complicate his preferred “origin story,” Douglas Wilson engages in the same form of manipulation that he despises in his political enemies. arcmag.org/the-christia...

In 1998, the Christian right was at a crossroads. Tragically, it took a path leading into the arms of Donald Trump. John Fea: 'Roads Not Taken' www.commonwealmagazine.org/roads-not-ta...

Did Dick Cheney pave the way for Donald Trump? Historian David Greenberg things he did. Check out Greenberg's piece at Politico: "How Dick Cheney's Lack of Restraint Paved the Way for Donald Trump." (Subtitle: "The former vice president wanted to strengthen the presidency. He didn't see where it…

The Catholic Church’s “call to radical love can’t countenance this much cruelty” Check out Elizabeth Bruenig's piece at The Atlantic: "The Catholic Church and the Trump Administration Are Not Getting Along." A taste: Although the MAGA movement is home to its share of outspoken Catholics (J. D.…

Most popular posts of the last week Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Trinity Christian College in Chicagoland is closing It was a big election night for Democrats. What are evangelicals saying? Evangelical roundup for November 2, 2025 More on…

Writer Jim Cullen on rejection I've know Jim Cullen's work for a long time. I used his first book, The Civil War in Popular Culture, in the first Civil War course I ever taught. His Born in the U.S.A.: Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition, now in a third edition, is a classic in the field…

“Democratic socialism” and “social democracy” are not synonyms for “communist dictatorship.” Good stuff here from writer Will Hinton. Here is a taste of his Substack post, "Assume the Best: A Christian Response to the Panic Over Zohran Mamdani": What troubles me is not disagreement with Mamdani’s…

Song of the day

This is a very good listen on its own but John and David touch on three things I’ve worked with at my day job THIS WEEK: Huntington circle, Samson Occam, and the patriot rhetoric of slavery & liberty. My brain is crackling on my morning walk!

Michael Kazin on the history American socialism Literary Hub is running an excerpt of Michael Kazin's essay on socialism in Kevin Kruse's and Julian Zelizer's edited collection, Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies about Our Past. Here is a taste: During the winter of…

Are Republicans migrating away from MAGA? Former conservative U.S. senator Jeff Flake, and renowned opponent of Donald Trump, things so. Here is a taste of his op-ed at The Washington Post: In politics, migrations rarely happen all at once. They start quietly — one or two members of a herd moving…

We could have been different. 😮‍💨

Roads Not Taken: On the exit ramps Evangelicals ignored www.commonwealmagazine.org/roads-not-ta... @commonwealmagazine

Author's Corner with Joseph Mannard, *The Two Worlds of Anne Gertrude Wightt: How a Runaway Nun Became a Grand Lady of Washington D.C. Society*: thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/t... @Georgetown_UP @IUPedu

"The work of college education is to dislodge the instinct to judge and replace it with a commitment to rigorous listening. The work of college teachers is to model an approach to the world that puts empathy before criticism." thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/y...

Why Trinity Christian College closed: thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/m...

Conservative evangelicals (mostly MAGA) respond to Mamdani's election. (Trigger warning: This gets ugly): thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/i...

"Yes, Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist. Why is that a bad thing? They don’t say." thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/s...

"If you are a casual Springsteen fan, the kind of person who loves the upbeat stuff–”Hungry Heart,” “Glory Days,” “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day,”–this movie may not be your cup of tea. thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/05/s...

Just doing my part to curate this stuff.

Some quick thoughts on “Deliver Me From Nowhere” I saw the new Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't have time right now for a full review, but I will offer a warning. If you are a casual Springsteen fan, the kind of person who loves the upbeat…

“SOCIALISM! MARXISM!” Blog reader Justin Zamora recently commented on my recent post on evangelical responses to Zohan Mamdani's win last night. I thought his ideas were worth highlighting in a separate post. Here is Zamora: What is most notable about all of these responses (beside the outright…

It was a big election night for Democrats. What are evangelicals saying? New York City has a democratic socialist mayor. California supported Governor Gavin Newsom's measure to create more congressional seats. Democrats won governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. How are evangelical responding?…

Was Phillis Wheatley an Evangelical? This is one of several issues we discuss with Wheatley biographer David Waldstreicher in Episode 127 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

More on the closure of Trinity Christian College Get up to speed here. Here is Josh Moody at Inside Higher Ed: The closure announcement follows a recent leadership change at the college. Former president Aaron Kuecker resigned in August after less than two years in the top job but nearly 14 at…

“You can decorate campuses with all the colors of the political rainbow but not make them better places to learn.” Over at Inside Higher Ed, Austin Sarat and Leah Schmalzbauer, both of Amherst College, suggest our classrooms should be defined by "deep listening." Here is a taste: "...you don’t…

We discuss early American poetry’s place as the 18th-century equivalent of pop music and political tweeting, the influence of evangelical Christianity on Wheatley’s poetry, and the tension between slavery and the American Revolution in colonial Boston. thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/04/e...

The Christian Reformed college in Palos Heights, Illinois, which opened in 1956, is closing at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/04/t...

Are "demonic forces" attacking Charlie Kirk's legacy? Why hasn't the Heritage Foundation condemned Tucker Carlson? Is Fuentes the new Charlie Kirk? Get up to speed here: thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/04/t...

Getting ready to talk about the Beecher family with historian Obbie Tyler Todd. Episode 128 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast is coming soon!

The Tucker Carlson-Nick Fuentes interview is dividing the MAGA base In last week's Evangelical Roundup, we included a lot of commentary on Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist political commentator known for his antisemitism (including Holocaust denial). See how MAGA…

Dick Cheney, RIP The former Vice President has died. Here is the Associated Press: Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at 84. Cheney died Monday due…

Trinity Christian College in Chicagoland is closing The Christian Reformed college in Palos Heights, Illinois, which opened in 1956, is closing at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. Here is Kelly White at Southwest Regional News: Trinity Christian College, a private Christian liberal arts…

Episode 127: “Phillis Wheatley: A Black Evangelical Poet in Revolutionary America In this episode, we talk with David Waldstreicher, author of the George Washington Prize-winning The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence. We discuss early American…

“…the intellectual vitality that once animated humanistic inquiry has largely decamped” Historian Steven Mintz's recent Substack piece is titled "Universities and the Dispersal and Dissolution of Public Intellectual Life: The Collapse of the Humanistic Infrastructure." A taste: For most of the…

Can op-eds change minds? I write a lot of op-eds. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads them. Susan D'Agostino, a mathematician, thinks they can change people's minds. Here is a taste of her piece at Inside Higher Ed: "How Op-Eds Play the Long Game of Persuasion": Readers rarely abandon long-held…

In case you missed them last night: Click, read, learn: thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/02/s...

"In my own view, when doing “humanistic” history of the sort I care about, arguments and explanations both must serve the work of recovery, and not vice versa. “Using” dead people to make arguments always smacks of the vampire." thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/01/c...

Evangelicals respond to the Tucker Carlson-Nick Fuentes interview and a whole lot more: thewayofimprovement.blog/2025/11/02/e...

Sunday night odds and ends A few things online that caught my attention this week: Grade inflation Gay Talese at 93 John Ganz on this Nick Fuentes-Tucker Carlson antisemitism controversy Cotton Mather and the Salem Witch Trials Tom McGuane: Literary outdoorsman Trump is not MAGA enough Can a…

Evangelical roundup for October 31, 2025 What is happening in the world of Evangelicals and politics? Justin Giboney on SNAP: *** World Relief continues to do the Lord's work: World Vision too: *** Shane Claiborne on Trump signing and selling Bibles: *** The MAGA evangelicals are outraged over…

Commonplace Book #381 ...the best humanistic work frequently eschews argument, or activates its modes sparingly. In my own view, when doing "humanistic" history of the sort I care about, arguments and explanations both must serve the work of recovery, and not vice versa. "Using" dead people to…

"What if, instead, we situate these seemingly conservative tendencies in a longer tradition of black liberalism?" Don't miss @danielle-wiggins.bsky.social discussing her new book BLACK EXCELLENCE in a Q&A with @johnfea1.bsky.social on his blog The Way of Improvement Leads Home bit.ly/4oia3iM

Mintz: “The diploma is more expensive than ever, more widely distributed than ever, and more meaningless than ever.” Here is the University of Texas history professor at his Substack: Here’s what a college diploma certifies: Its holder attended an institution for four years, accumulated 120…

Commonplace Book #380 History teaches many things, but one of the most basic is simply that historical change is complex. So "explaining" how anything got to be the way it is will be complicated. Moreover, as a practicing historian, I tend to be basically wary of causal/explanatory history--not…

Most popular posts of the last week Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Christian colleges respond to Trump’s compact on higher education Before MAGA, there was the Dartmouth Review The MAGA movement’s “cruel punditry” What is going on in the…