Silenced Truth goes beyond the headlines to offer a roadmap for confronting abuse in institutions everywhere. thesilencedtruth.buzzsprout.com

Posted hours apart. The very definition of grift. I can’t believe people fall for this stuff.

Had just made myself a protein shake when my husband popped home on his lunch break with a chicken sandwich from McDonald’s for me. Win-win.

“Of so little weight are the greatest services to princes, when put into the balance with a refusal to gratify their passions.” open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

Abusive systems in church are designed like a shark tank, writes Karen Swallow Prior (@karenswallowprior.bsky.social) in her latest commentary, Powerful predators leave the vulnerable exposed — then blame victims for the harm they suffer. julieroys.com/when-the-chu...

Lovely new review of You Have a Calling! anglicancompass.com/book-review-...

religionnews.com/2026/01/06/w... @karenswallowprior.bsky.social

OPINION: There may be only one real predator in the tank. But the whole system is set up to keep the predator satisfied. religionnews.com/2026/01/06/w...

After more than ten years *Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist* is now out in paperback! #affiliate amzn.to/49jGB7j

When the church, like an aquarium, is built for the predators: (RNS) — Minnows and guppies are expendable. It’s the big fish that bring in the crowds. religionnews.com/2026/01/06/w...

Religious liberty—an idea that gained tremendous influence through the work of John Locke (1632-1704)—was probably the one modern development Jonathan Swift could (and did) get most behind. Week 2 of Gulliver’s Travels: open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

We’ve always subscribed to the local newspaper for home delivery, 7 days a week. We still do. But our paper stopped printing a paper on Mondays. I don’t know how to tell the dogs, who still expect to go with me to the paper box everyday. So, come Monday, off we go to the empty box.

I was catching up on my newsletters, and @karenswallowprior.bsky.social's got me to go reread A Modest Proposal. It was as biting (ha!) as I remembered. But I was surprised to find it only had a modest rating on the storygraph. Reading the reviews showed a lot of people completely miss the point.

We continue with Part 1 of Gulliver’s Travels this week. We are only two chapters in so you can still catch up and join in (or join anytime—all posts are free!). Sign up below. open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

The most lingering pain for me over the past two and a half years has been that of being an academic in exile. I know I’m not alone in this as higher education is undergoing so many shifts, and many have found themselves in similar straits. open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

What was the most significant work published in English exactly 300 years ago? This:

Monochrome

The top local news story in my city for 2025 is how contentious city council meetings were because of in-fighting by GOP council members. So shameful.

Follow along and read Gulliver’s Travels. First time for me.

“To vex the world rather than divert it”—in other words, Swift seeks to challenge the world with this work, not merely to entertain it. open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

What. George Saunders has a new novel coming out.

Ruby thinks War and Peace makes a good pillow.

I loved @karenswallowprior.bsky.social’s essay in this year’s @christianitytoday.com Advent devotional. Similar thoughts. Gift link: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/in-t...

Looks like even Jeopardy got wind of our slow read of Gulliver’s Travels starting next week at The Priory! Subscribe below to join.

Some words from me on “O Little Town of Bethlehem” for your Christmas reading and listening: open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

Son of God, Son of Mary (art by Jose Luis Marin)

Last year, I had the opportunity to be part of a conference centered on the life and work of Phillips Brooks, the Episcopalian priest most known for writing the beloved Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Here are three items on Brooks for you to enjoy: open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

I’m the person who brings the tray of cheese and crackers to the church potluck because I can’t cook. I’m also the person who is happy to see that the people ate the cheese and crackers. 🥹

Last-minute gift ideas for your consideration 🎄🎁

She was 13. 14 when she was taken to meet Trump. www.fox2detroit.com/news/met-mic...

Today’s run

The couple “adopted” a young woman they knew craved a family. “Don’t let this be another disaster. Don’t let David get carried away and ruin it.” baptistnews.com/article/mary...

"Contrary to the contemporary mythos, Austen’s novels aren’t about love, romance, and marriage. No, Austen’s novels are about character." | Karen Swallow Prior in Dispatch Faith https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-faith/jane-austen-ethics-250th/

Tonight I finished up teaching a course on Literature of the True, Good, and Beautiful for @ics-canada.bsky.social with a discussion of the play Wit and the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” (Ended on a light note, haha!) But really, what a wonderful experience it has been!

The story behind ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ — my new essay at @religionnews.com.web.brid.gy religionnews.com/2025/12/17/b...

Thinking a lot these days of Hannah Arendt’s notion of the “banality of evil”: Some of the greatest evils done in the world are committed by dull, ordinary people with little or no ill-intent but who are enmeshed within a heartless, inhumane bureaucratic machine.

Good morning from the trees, the leaves, the sun, and the glorious heavens.

Join our lively discussion on the best work of satire in English! open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

Simply stunning levels of abuse and corruption here: baptistnews.com/article/bash...

Today is the day! It is Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and Austenites have celebrated all year long! 🎂 #JaneAusten250 #JaneAusten ICYMI, here’s my essay at The Dispatch on Austen’s legacy as a virtue ethicist: thedispatch.com/newsletter/d...

"While Austen offered pointed social critiques—most often of the social and legal traditions that made women economically vulnerable...—her main focus was on how individual character can contribute to or detract from one’s happiness within one’s given social circumstances." Loved this KSP essay!

"Contrary to the contemporary mythos, Austen’s novels aren’t about love, romance, and marriage... No, Austen’s novels are about character—that is, virtues and vices, and what those character traits look like when they are tried in the crucible of life." Great read for Jane Austen's birthday!

Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen! Austen was a virtue ethicist as well as a novelist. Read my new essay at The Dispatch: thedispatch.com/newsletter/d...

Today’s run

🎉🎉🎉

I’ve begun a series on Jonathan Swift at The Priory. Here’s the first entry. We begin reading Gulliver’s Travels Dec. 30. Sign up to get the newsletters in your inbox. open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...

This semester, I’ve had the joy of teaching a remote literature course with the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS), a small but remarkable graduate school in Toronto that serves the church and wider public through thoughtful, imaginative Christian education. See more in link: www.icscanada.edu

From The Evangelical Imagination: a good read for Christmas or any time, really!

This morning’s snow

Swift’s worldview, rooted in his orthodox Christian faith, can be described as moral realism. He insisted on the fundamental irrationality of human beings, prone as we are to falling for deceptive appearance instead of seeing the reality beneath the surface. open.substack.com/pub/karenswa...