I'm at the Chinese Wittgenstein Society's conference in Hangzhou. Heard many great papers today & got to meet scholars whose work I know. Was great to meet up with my former dissertation director, Juliet Floyd. Even got to road-test a new project I'm working on. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Looking forward to the Seventh International Wittgenstein Symposium at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou this weekend. I'll be giving a short paper: "AI, Ethics, and Forms of Life."

I went to the Jazz Festival at OCT-Loft in Shenzhen yesterday. Got to see two amazing groups: Joe Fonda and Satoko Fujii & Ken Vandermark Edition Redux

Lewis Gordon on Frantz Fanon - our latest Philosophy Bites interview philosophybites.com/podcast/lewi...

You know what rules? Wayne Shorter’s solo on “The Chess Players” youtu.be/fI0S6ioserI?...

Late jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal enjoyed playing ballads believing it took years of lived experience to truly master them. Jamal’s popular 1958 version of the Gershwin tune “But Not for Me” from the Live at the Pershing Lounge album. #Jazz #JazzMusic m.youtube.com/watch?v=jsC2...

“This city is a complicated place, but I’ve found two truths: The Golden Age is a myth and San Francisco is never “over.”” Great read from @peterhartlaub.bsky.social, San Francisco’s historian/hype-man extraordinaire. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m...

In the latest episode in our series on belief, we’re exploring the surprising revival of shamanism in China, which has made a comeback despite Mao's best efforts at eradication. Ritual healers and spirit mediums are tapping into online believers and a public thirst for authentic spirituality. (1/3)

"Helen de Cruz (1978–2025): an academic and personal tribute" *Religious Studies* Published online 2025:1-4. doi.org/10.1017/S003... @helendecruz.net

Typhoon Ragasa is bringing some intense rain and wind to Shenzhen. Not clear when the rain will end, if ever...

I have a new open access article out today in AGATHEOS: European Journal for Philosophy of Religion -- "Wittgenstein, Religious Diversity, and Communicative Reticence" publicera.kb.se/aejpr/articl...

Here's a view of the CUHK-Shenzhen campus right after sunset (and after several days of intense rain brought by a tropical storm)

Officials deport a student from China who had a full scholarship to study philosophy at the University of Houston, 36 hours after he lands in Texas.

“Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time.” So opens “A Talk to Teachers,” which James Baldwin delivered to a group of educators in October, 1963.

Very curious about this new translation... www.wiley.com/en-us/On+Cer...

Jen Lin-Liu thinks we're going about Chinese cookbooks all wrong... read this tour de force essay on everyone's favorite China book: their cookbook. chinabooksreview.com/2025/08/21/c...

As a past contributor I join the chorus of concern about the problems the Shanghai Literary Review is having with its institutonal partner, Duke Kunshan University’s Humanities Research Centre. A poor show that will hopefully be resolved by Duke Kunshan HRC sooner rather than later….

This beautiful book is now out! It's freely available as an open-access ebook (thanks to funding from @templetonrelig.bsky.social): www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...

On the sensitivity of "magic," "supernatural," & "tradition": 'The ghosts became illusions created by feng shui. It’s a commonly used trick, where the blatantly supernatural is thinly disguised as an element of “traditional Chinese medicine” or qigong, both of which have official approval.'

The NMAAHC is an incredible museum. Here are a few photos from a visit to the museum a couple of years ago. And here's a link to the change.org petition to defend it: chng.it/ypcqxPNdjq

Please share Petition for museum www.change.org/p/defend-the...

Ever since watching this great Max Roach documentary on PBS, I've been exploring parts of Roach's career. Lately, I've been listening to his work from the mid 50s with Clifford Brown, and I can't believe I'm only discovering it now. So good! youtu.be/D--TjUPKat4?...

it's a dexter gordon morning in the bouie household www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_p0...

Abbey Lincoln, "Africa" (1973) I recently came across Lincoln while exploring Max Roach. Wow, she's amazing. youtu.be/g3cReo2Dc9s?...

In our latest episode, we examine Buddhism's adoption by China's people and the state. Shaolin Temples have been built overseas to promote Buddhism, authorised by its leader Shi Yong Xin. Yet Shi has caught global media attention this week with news he is under investigation for corruption. (1/2)

My book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, arrived today. I'm grateful to Bloomsbury (‪@bloomsburyacad.bsky.social‬) for publishing it & to J. Aaron Simmons and Kevin Schilbrack for including it in the Expanding Philosophy of Religion series. www.bloomsbury.com/us/rethinkin...

I just wrote a blog post on my new book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, and the two themes that drive the book: Chinese religious diversities & the intertwining of religion and racism in the United States. thomasdcarroll.blogspot.com/2025/07/reth...

Listen to Michael Luo talk about his book "Strangers in the Land" on the new episode of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/07/01/e...

I’m co-hosting an online conference: Wittgenstein, On Certainty and Religion, July 28th and 29th. For more info, including schedule & book of abstracts: philevents.org/event/show/1... (to join, email me, [email protected] for a link) #conference #philosophy #religion #Wittgenstein

"Fleurette Africaine" Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus (1962) Apparently, it was a very difficult recording session, but you wouldn't know it from this quiet and pensive song. youtu.be/6HFQy9_rY58?...

"Jonathan Caravello...was reportedly “piled on by multiple agents all at once” as “he tried to help a man in a wheelchair” who was having difficulty moving after...[ICE] agents threw canisters of tear gas" our colleague is still missing as of the last info I got dailynous.com/2025/07/12/p...

"Singapore may see an uptick in applications from Chinese students in the short term amid growing uncertainty and instability in the US." Not surprising at all, but many of my former students are headed to Canadian universities in the fall. None are headed to the US. sc.mp/ab6i8?utm_so...

“The Devil Finds Work: James Baldwin’s Cinema of the Mind” 📽️ Jul. 25–Aug. 15 This series presents films analyzed by Baldwin in his 1976 book “The Devil Finds Work,” a blend of memoir and film criticism, with live readings by @roxanegay.bsky.social and other special guests! Free: ucla.in/3Ie2tG1

I have a new article--"On Atheistic Hinges"--coming out in the special issue of Religions on New Work on Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Religion. www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16...

The Weekly Wrap Up a day early, because of the 4th of July. The country is in deep trouble. www.anativeson.org/p/weekly-wra...

I am heartbroken over this. There aren't enough words

Soundtrack for editing a paper (The work is definitely arduous; hopefully, what I'm writing will also be clear.) youtu.be/gB18StyfKXM?...

Some beautiful things from the beautifully reinstalled and expanded Beilin Museum - what a collection 🤩

On Tuesday, Iranian asylum-seekers who fled persecution for their Christian faith were detained by ICE in Los Angeles. The arrests add to a growing number of church members taken despite lawful status.

The Chinese Wittgenstein Society will have a conference in Hangzhou next fall. Looks very promising! philevents.org/event/show/1...

I am devastated to learn of my dear friend and fellow philosopher Helen De Cruz’s passing. With Helen's blessing, her husband Johan and I agreed to circulate a GoFundMe on their children’s behalf. Please feel free to share and circulate widely. www.gofundme.com/f/support-he...

RIP Helen De Cruz (1978-2025) 💔 Helen De Cruz @helendecruz.net), professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, has died. dailynous.com/2025/06/20/h...

"[W]e call Baldwin a novelist, an essayist, a social critic. Anything but what he clearly was: a philosopher. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s intellectual gatekeeping, and it robs all of us of a fuller understanding of wisdom itself." www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

"It sends a pretty clear message that your story is not welcome here."