Lydia R. Hamessley Explores Why Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” Still Haunts Us So
It was part of Dolly’s gift, both as a singer and a songwriter, to make her songs sound effortless—yet they were anything but.
Abortion Stories, Reproductive Wrongs, and Our Need for Each Other
If one overarching theme can be discerned in such a variegated collection, it’s this: No abortion takes place in a void.
Look at the Birds of the Air: Weathering Change Teaches Us to Trust
Courtney Ellis’s careful observations of nature teach her, and us, to find peace during the hardest transitions.
Invisible Rabbits and Holy Fools: Celebrating Harvey‘s 75th Anniversary
For 75 years, Harvey has been a gentle, whimsical tale, but there’s more to it than fans might remember.
The Shepherd and the Wolf: Wake Up Dead Man Asks Us to Face the Real Threat to Faith
In his latest Knives Out film, Rian Johnson explores the scars that anger leaves on the church.
H. G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing Is a Sublime Take on Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities
One of those takeoffs that makes you both love it for itself, and love the book it’s based on even more than you already did.
Malcolm Foley’s Anti-Greed Gospel Exposes the Materialistic Roots of America’s Racism
The tragic history of racism can be traced directly to the lust for wealth.
John Hendrix’s The Mythmakers Is a Wonderful Graphic Novel About Lewis and Tolkien’s Friendship
It’s great to see a new version of this story being told to young readers (though I believe plenty of adults will enjoy it too).
A Religion without a Soul: Don’t Die Misses Life’s Meaning
Bryan Johnson’s attempt to defeat death neglects to take into account the very nature of reality.
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.
Time Is on Our Side: Watching Cosmic Time and the Cosmological Presumption
The way so many of our best-known films are set up, the reminder of time passing is almost unfailingly ominous.
It’s Not a Game: Why Consent Isn’t Enough in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin’s acclaimed novel contains a darker thread that highlights the problem with consent being the be-all and end-all of sexual relationships.
“Born to Raise the Sons of Earth”: What Ovid Taught Me About Christ
We got a lot of good things from the Greeks and the Romans, but not the concept of God as a loving, suffering servant.
Nothing but the Truth: The Enduring Appeal of Loretta Lynn
Instinctively, Loretta Lynn seemed to sense that music goes even deeper than hopes and dreams and ideals.
Pride, Panache, and Paradox in Cyrano
Cyrano reminds us that most of us could use a little panache.
Loving the God of Little Things
Thank God for the small comforts and consolations that pierce us to the heart with joy—the little things.
