2019 Books of the Year
Great books tell stories. Here’s our pick of vivid and insightful new releases for better understanding America, world events, history, science, and theology
Walking a tightrope
After decades of success in helping drug addicts kick their habits and find Jesus, some Adult & Teen Challenge centers are opening the door for state regulation—and payments
An app in exile
WeDevote is China’s most popular Bible app, but Communist officials keep trying to shut it out of the country
Pages of providence
Forty new history books worth reading—and 10 (from among thousands) to skip
Telling the truth
From courtrooms to potted plants, the search for truth goes to unexpected places
Voices
Marvin Olasky
Boots on the ground
“Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.” WORLD’s mission statement near the top of page 2 of every issue sometimes confuses readers, because it uses the word objective...
The Editors
Mailbag
More money or more strings? ...
Mindy Belz
Doomsters and extremists
A neighbor, leaning over my fence while our dogs played, said: “The world as we know it could not exist without insects, but the world without humans? It would be better, infinitely better, than the...
Joel Belz
Sent into orbit
I’ve been watching, from an appropriate distance, the collapse of still another marriage. Neither the husband nor the wife thinks there’s any future. They’ve tried hard, they say, and they’ve listened...
Andrée Seu Peterson
The other side of Everest
I went to my 50-year high-school reunion, the one we all thought would be forever from now. Well, forever just showed up. Walked through the door cocky as you please and said, “Remember me? The future...
Janie B. Cheaney
Cloudy picture
The accumulation of 20-plus years in the same house can be intimidating—not so much from the plastic bins stacked on garage shelves, but from the little stuff, the mementos that weep when you think...
Notebook
Lifestyle
Learning dependence
David and Ruth Daumer celebrated their 40th anniversary this year on Jan. 6. They almost didn’t make it: David had a heart attack in 1996 at their older daughter’s 7th birthday party. She and her 1...
Lifestyle
People sold here
Nigeria’s Cross River state is one of the country’s prime tourist destinations, with its lush green trees, dew-covered hills, and cool tropical climate. ...
Politics
North to South
It’s a warm morning in early autumn at the Michigan-Ontario border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers Ken Hammond and Greg Calhoun stand in a closed lane at the Port Huron primary...
Politics
Decades of fighting
Week after week, black-clad protesters face off with riot police in Hong Kong’s neighborhoods and business districts. Tear gas haze, laser pointers, blockade fires, and mall sing-alongs of the newly...
Sports
Key role players
For the first time in nine years, the Minnesota Twins are hosting playoff games. Exciting news for players and fans, but also for employees of the Twins’ home, Target Field. I went to a recent Twins...
Culture
Music
New CCM releases
Sparkle. Pop. Rampage. ...
Music
New or recent albums
Live From Newport Jazz ...
Q&A
Rethinking the system
Stephanos Bibas is a U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the 3rd Circuit, which has jurisdiction over cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Born in New York City, he graduated from high school...
Documentary
Tears on the moors
Director Orlando von Einsiedel lost his brother Evelyn to suicide 15 years ago, and he and his family find it too painful to talk about their loss. Determined to change this, Orlando, sister Gwen, and...
Children's Books
Read and discuss
Sophie and the Heidelberg Cat ...
Books
Novels from Christian publishers
State of Lies ...
Books
Ignoring God
Deborah Rhode, in Character: What It Means and Why It Matters (Oxford, 2019), details the lack of character in many recent presidents and other leaders. She wants adults to “model and reward fairness,...
Documentary
Midwest medicine
What do you get when an agnostic physician meets a Franciscan nun? No joke—the Mayo Clinic. The unlikely partnership between W.W. Mayo and Mother Mary Alfred Moes launched what now ranks as the best...
Movies & TV
Mind over mission
The hero in Ad Astra never goes “to the stars,” as the new film’s title is translated, but stays relatively close to home. Me, I was all suited up for another Brad Pitt sci-fi thriller like...
Movies & TV
Servants and lords
If you never watched Downton Abbey, the new movie is not the place to start. Those who skipped PBS’ historical drama on television will have a hard time understanding why their fellow moviegoers...
Music
Singing dirty
During a Tonight Show monologue in the run up to the 2004 presidential election, Jay Leno told a joke based on one of Teresa Heinz Kerry’s saltier hot-mic gaffes. The punchline? “When asked...
Dispatches
Quick Takes
Quick Takes
Musical motivation ...
Quotables
Quotables
‘It is not up to nine people to tell 330 million Americans how to live.’ ...
Human Race
Human Race
Announced ...
News
By the numbers
81% The share of Americans who say they believe members of Congress behave unethically either “some of the time” or “all or most of the time,” according to Pew Research Center. 1 million ...