The Children of Men

Written nearly three decades ago, James’s dystopian novel set in 2021 has remarkable parallels to the current state of affairs.

To Flourish or Destruct

Christian Smith takes issue with sociological theories that explain away human actions as entirely motivated by outside forces, or explainable through simple motivations—but he fails to go quite far enough in his explanation of what causes human beings to act.

Soul

Pixar’s Soul explores the concept of vocation and what it means to live a fulfilling life.

Nebraska & Midwest Futures

A Midwesterner reviews Kwame Dawes’s Nebraska alongside Phil Christman’s Midwest Futures.

Introduction to Christianity

Unlike too many books that attempt to explicate Christianity, Joseph Ratzinger's allows for both the spiritual and the intellectual aspects of humankind by framing faith through mystery.

American Hustle

Though entertaining and even more-or-less believable, American Hustle’s host of con-men fail to work through their own tricks and traps to actual self-transformation.

The Dispensible Nation

Allowing politics to drive strategy confuses the nation’s passions with its interests. A return to principles is in order.

LACMA

The organization and subject matter of LACMA's exhibition on home points to the true heart of hospitality and of what it means not to have a place in the world.

Graduation

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s award-winning film examines life in a corrupt and amoral society—but not without a small example of the redeeming practice of virtue.

The Great Transformation

Karl Polanyi’s account of the rise of economic liberalism, written in the midst of the Second World War, provides a compelling explanation for the rise of fascism and the conflicts of the 19th century but lacks a sufficient solution to the problem of the all-consuming market.