Recent Posts

Reflections on Tom Waits’ “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis”

Waits’ inimitable barroom baritone paints a vivid picture of a lonely soul living at the edge of Christmas.

The Scandal of Reading 33 | S. D. Smith on Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Claude Atcho interviews S.D. Smith, who shares his perspective on Paton’s work having firsthand experience of life in South Africa.

Grace Amid Suffering in Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon

To call Martin Scorcese’s latest a masterpiece is merely to note that it’s yet another amid a career scattered with masterpieces.

Laufey’s Jazz Album Bewitched and the Sublime of Falling in Love

Laufey’s album is a call to be once again enchanted by the beauty of love in a disenchanted world.

The Scandal of Reading 32 | Lit Pulpit 2 on The Search

The search — what is it and why does it matter? Claude and Austin tackle this important theme from Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer.

In No One Will Save You, One Woman Seeks Forgiveness and Acceptance Amidst an Alien Invasion

Brian Duffield’s genre-bending film affords ample opportunity to ask deep questions about suffering, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Chasing God: The Divine Quest of Eugene Exman

The open-minded liberal Protestantism of publisher Eugene Exman blinded him to significant aspects of the human experience.

Thanksgiving Day Family Fun Ideas

If your family or close-knit community doesn’t have an annual Thanksgiving Day tradition or is looking for one, then we’ve got your back.

Hospitality and the Weight of Moralism in Amazon’s Jack Ryan

Taking the high road is easy if you’re a pharisee. It’s harder if you’re a utilitarian. Jack Ryan is (un)lucky in that he’s both.

Air Jordan: Relic of Desire

The film Air treats the Air Jordan with a reverence befitting its cultural status; holy relics elicit similar feelings, offering a tangible link to transcendence through the imprint of a remarkable individual’s body. 

Stronger Than the Ropes: Family, Fellowship, and Local Professional Wrestling

The independent wrestling circuit begins with genuine connection and a familial bond with fans: the spectacle comes secondarily.

Barbie as Portal Fantasy—and What That Means for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Adaptation

C.S. Lewis’s adored classic now shares space with Barbie as part of the subgenre of portal fantasy.

The Scandal of Reading 30 | Grace Hamman on Revelations of Divine Love

This week’s Fruit of the Spirit is Love with medievalist, Grace Hamman discussing “Revelations of Divine Love” by Julian of Norwich.

The Texas Rangers Are Proof That Superstitions Aren’t Real

If we’re honest, I’m sure some of us have, indeed, lived out our belief in God in some “superstitious” form or manner.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Embody Hope for the Rest of Us

These two Jedi offer a helpful corrective, both to “Chosen One” heroes and to the opposing swing towards darker antiheroes.

The Haunting of Hercule Poirot: Ghosts versus Little Gray Cells

Poirot learns the limits of his overreliance on rationality, and is beckoned to the realm of faith and the light of life.