Emily Belz

Emily reports for WORLD Magazine from New York City. Follow Emily on Twitter @emlybelz.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Boys’ behavior

Politics | A weekend altercation in New York spotlights a nationalist group called the Proud Boys
by Emily Belz
Posted 10/17/18, 01:16 pm

A New York moment:

The media here are buzzing over incidents surrounding an event the Metropolitan Republican Club hosted with Proud Boys leader Gavin McInnes on Friday. First and foremost is the surprising decision of the club—with its staid, establishment Republican reputation—to host the leader of a nationalist group that appears to be a sort of counter to the antifa movement. It’s no wonder then that violence broke out.

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Back to the sources

Literature | A plagiarism incident involving Ann Voskamp shows the new dynamics of Christian publishing in a digital age
by Emily Belz
Posted 10/11/18, 02:33 pm

WORLD has received a bunch of letters asking about popular Christian writer Ann Voskamp, “Is she a serial plagiarist”? The short answer is “No,” but a couple of examples of minor plagiarism should give authors and publishers new determination to take great care in attributing stories and wordings to their creators.

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A ‘town hall’ with a film director

Entertainment | Sitting through a press conference with director Alfonso Cuarón following his lovely film Roma
by Emily Belz
Posted 10/10/18, 05:05 pm

A New York moment: 

Last week I sat in a press conference with Alfonso Cuarón, one of my favorite directors, who discussed his new film Roma (see end of column). These film festival press conferences are always a mixed bag, sort of like a town hall meeting. There are sincere and ridiculous questions—I remember one member of the press last year asked a director what the “takeaway” from his movie was. People also stand up and make statements that are not questions as much as an attempt to impress whichever famous person is in the room.

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Second-rate silver screen

Movies | Seeing a bad movie at the New York Film Festival, and wearing the wrong clothes to a premiere

Emily Belz | 10/02/18, 05:23 pm

A New York moment: 

I’m covering some of the films at the New York Film Festival, and saw one documentary over the weekend. Titled End of Life, it was supposed to follow five people on the threshold of death. The pitch sounded interesting: a close look at a topic that Americans avoid discussing or thinking about. The screening was packed with young and old. 

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A perfect climb

Documentary | Free Solo is a sweat-inducing but beautiful documentary

Emily Belz | 9/27/18, 02:11 pm

Someone with a fear of heights probably shouldn’t go review a documentary about Alex Honnold climbing the agonizingly smooth, 3,000-foot face of El Capitan without a rope. For whatever psychological reason, I have loved watching Honnold’s free soloing videos.

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L’Chaim!

Philanthropy | Another prominent Jewish family in New York is giving to Christian mission hospitals

Emily Belz | 9/26/18, 02:41 pm

A New York moment:

Last year I wrote a profile of a Jewish philanthropist here in Manhattan who gives millions of dollars to Christian mission hospitals in Africa. Mark Gerson considers these mission hospitals to be doing high-quality healthcare for a bargain price, so he believes he’s making a smart philanthropic investment and having a massive impact on African health in the process. 

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Geese in the outfield

Media | A newspaper’s coverage of a goose drama in a town baseball field shows the value of local reporting, and the opioid crisis points to a need for community

Emily Belz | 9/14/18, 09:14 am

A New York moment:

Last year I started subscribing to a local paper that covers a cluster of small towns north of New York City, like Beacon. The town meetings and arguments about construction of a cell tower are not relevant to me, but it’s a good newspaper, and I miss good, local news coverage. Every issue has a Q&A with a local resident, like a longtime pub owner or a librarian.

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Surf’s still up

Sports | Film explores the remarkable life of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton, 15 years after her shark attack

Emily Belz | 9/12/18, 03:20 pm

Under blue water, a grown-up Bethany Hamilton was motionless, suspended in the deep ocean. There was a shark behind her. Hamilton, a victim once before of a shark attack, didn’t flinch but stared ahead. The shark kept swimming. Soon she was back above the surface and grabbing her surfboard.

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On the streets where you live

New York | A New York artist leaves winsome messages in sidewalk chalk, and local media dig up a democratic socialist candidate’s ‘repressive’ pro-life past

Emily Belz | 9/04/18, 04:39 pm

A New York moment: 

You see a lot of weird stuff on the sidewalks of Manhattan, from discarded pants to one-legged pigeons. One time I came across a steaming pile of potatoes, scattered on the sidewalk, a scenario that still leaves me baffled.

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Crouching at every door

Churches | Sexual abuse is a problem in both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches—and here are three environments in which Protestants are especially vulnerable

Marvin Olasky, Sophia Lee & Emily Belz | 8/30/18, 10:48 pm

Warning: This special report contains disturbing information about alleged ministerial abuse.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled publication plan to bring you a special report on sexual abuse within Protestant churches.

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