Those who went to Dune: Part Two expecting a happy ending must have left the theater rather confused. For those unfamiliar with Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking sci-fi novels, the story of a young prince whose father is killed by a rival family and who must rally a bunch of oppressed rebels to stand against tyrants so as to claim his rightful kingship must have signaled to them that they were getting a rousing hero story such as found in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Continue Reading...
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March 05, 2024
Elon Musk, Executive Compensation, and Shareholder Interests
“Was the richest person in the world overpaid?” asked Delaware chancellor Kathaleen Saint Jude McCormick, the judge who decided he was, and then invalidated Elon Musk’s $56 billion performance-based compensation package from Tesla. Continue Reading...
March 01, 2024
Model the Faith for Gen Z or Lose Them Forever
Based on the numbers of the latest Religious Freedom Index from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, religious Americans may have reason to worry about Gen Z (those in the age range of 12–26). Continue Reading...
February 29, 2024
Raise Your Own Damn Kids
Abigail Shrier’s Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up is not really about therapy. Instead, it’s about parents who let competitors for their authority usurp their role in raising their children and the harm such people can cause. Continue Reading...
February 28, 2024
How Do You Solve a Problem like Reacher?
Over the course of two seasons, the action series Reacher on the Amazon Prime streaming service has lured in viewers for its vigorous action, surprising storylines, and vigilante vision of the world. Continue Reading...
February 27, 2024
Saving Evangelicalism
Is the power-seeking now prominent in evangelical circles a fever or a fatal disease? Is the evangelical movement unsinkable, or is it like the Titanic in 1912 after a collision with an iceberg breached five of the ship’s supposedly watertight compartments? Continue Reading...
February 22, 2024
The Letters That Inspired the American Abolition Movement
One hundred and ninety-nine years ago today, a local paper out of Ripley, Ohio, published the final installment of a series of letters written by the Reverend John Rankin. They were addressed to his brother, Thomas, on the subject of American slavery. Continue Reading...
February 21, 2024
Regaining Mutual Trust in a Suspicious World
I once took a public sector job where I had oversight (though not formal supervisory responsibilities) over several personnel who had more years experience than I had. One such employee was approaching retirement. Continue Reading...
February 20, 2024
Oppenheimer and a Future Worth Waiting For
I remember looking at all the social media reactions of critics and friends who had seen Oppenheimer, now up for a Best Picture Oscar. So many of them described walking out of the movie “devastated” and “depressed.” Continue Reading...
February 16, 2024
Public Life, Private Vice in American Life
In his latest book, Moral Vision: Leadership from George Washington to Joe Biden, Marvin Olasky, author of the highly influential Tragedy of American Compassion (and Acton affiliate scholar), examines American history in light of a Turkish saying, “the fish stinks first at the head,” meaning that moral decay at the highest echelons of society inevitably affects the whole. Continue Reading...