Latest Posts

April 26, 2024

Finding Contentment in the Chaos

In today’s ever-changing world, contentment seems like a forgotten virtue. The pace of our gig economy only seems to be speeding up, as institutions and organizations all struggle to adjust to new realities. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2024

Ripley and the Art of the Cruel

Patricia Highsmith’s novels have a long history in Hollywood. Her debut, Strangers on a Train, was adapted in 1951 by Hitchcock into a remarkable thriller about corruption among the wealthy and the weaknesses of aspiring to success, with D.C. Continue Reading...
April 23, 2024

Brady, Jordan, or Hayek: Who’s the Real GOAT?

Trendy title aside, Tyler Cowen’s new book, GOAT: Who Is the Greatest Economist of All Time and Why Does It Matter?,is a mini masterpiece. Cowen takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the life and works of the greatest economists of all time (Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, Hayek, J.S. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2024

Civil War: A Shallow and Dangerous Fantasy

The new film Civil War may want to be edgy, timely, even thoughtful, but it has nothing to offer beyond surface-level thrills, which makes its grisly portrayal of war feel more like a romanticization of the worst in humans than a warning against it. Continue Reading...
April 17, 2024

Is Apple a Monopoly?

We all know that person who always seems to have the latest Apple gadget. In many ways, Apple products have become a status symbol. While there is a dedicated and loyal group of Apple fans who believe there are no other options and those who view these products as an external signal to the world that they are superior, most of us consider an array of factors when deciding which products to buy or streaming service to select. Continue Reading...
April 16, 2024

The Religious Ransom of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

I’ve watched hundreds of westerns over the years, and 48 years ago even wrote my doctoral dissertation on the politics of the genre from 1948 to 1962. I wasn’t surprised when movie watcher Hannah Long early this year called The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) the best western ever made: John Ford’s film makes the top 10 on just about everyone’s list. Continue Reading...