Blowing in the wind
From the Senate in the 1970s to the presidential campaign trail in 2020, Joe Biden has a long record of going where political pressures push him—and right now they’re pushing him aggressively leftward
The gospel according to Pete
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks often of his religion—but he tailors it to fit his politics, and it focuses on works over faith
Groundhog years in Argentina
Argentina was once one of the richest countries in the world, but an embrace of ever-growing government made it poor
Invisible hands
Anyone can be an author nowadays, but knowing who wrote the book may be a different story
An evil traffic
In the Netherlands, legal prostitution hasn’t turned out the way advocates predicted, and some are fighting to end it
Voices
The Editors
Mailbag
2019 Books of the Year ...
Mindy Belz
Living with brutal realities
As the United States and Iran traded airstrikes in Iraq this month, Behnam Benoka made middle-of-the-night pastoral visits. “It’s important I am available to meet with them in their homes at this hour...
Joel Belz
My turn: the three hardest words to say
“I WAS WRONG.” Some wise soul says those are the three hardest words for a human being to say. ...
Janie B. Cheaney
Atheism’s second thoughts
In a satirical epilogue to The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis imagines his venerable old demon rising to propose a toast after the annual Tempters’ Training College dinner. While commending his hosts,...
Marvin Olasky
The arrogance of the new
What respect do we owe the aged—not just old people but old books, artifacts, buildings, and ideas that aren’t woke? ...
Andrée Seu Peterson
Having an optimistic faith for the new year
A woman I see every blue moon shared with me at a party that her daughter, whose name I had taped to my fridge in exchange for my kids’ names on hers, phoned after a five-year estrangement to say she...
Notebook
Sports
Chess frenzy
On a Saturday afternoon in December, the sounds of clicking timers echoed from a white tent in an Abuja garden. There, 36 chess players focused on their boards while observers stood on both sides of...
Lifestyle
In sickness and in health
(Tenth in a series on long marriages.) ...
Culture
Music
Noteworthy new or recent releases
Folk Music of China, Vol. 3: Folk Songs of Yunnan by Various artists: Apparently, the excerpts constituting most of this series’ first two installments were meant to condition listeners for the...
Music
Rousing moments
As he promised that he would in October, Kanye West released his second gospel album, Jesus Is Born (INC), on Christmas Day. ...
Q&A
A reckless path
Economist Vito Tanzi grew up in Italy, gained a Harvard Ph.D., became a senior staff member of the International Monetary Fund for 27 years, and is now honorary president of the International...
Children's Books
Picture perfect
Wild Honey From the Moon by Kenneth Kraegel: How far would Mother Shrew go to make her son Hugo well? All the way to the moon and back if she has to. Since the only remedy for his ailment is wild...
Books
Notable books
Betrayal in Berlin by Steve Vogel: During the Cold War, the West was desperate to know what the Soviets were up to. That need for intelligence led to an audacious plan to build a tunnel in Berlin and...
Books
Not even mostly dead
Despite all the dire forecasts about millennial religious views, Tim Clydesdale and Kathleen Garces-Foley’s The Twentysomething Soul (Oxford, 2019) offers optimism. Christians overwhelmingly want to...
Movies & TV
Dolittle does little that’s new
Dolittle, based on Hugh Lofting’s classic children’s stories, feels like two different movies. The first third embodies all the prickly, off-kilter charm an Anglophile’s heart could desire. It opens,...
Movies & TV
Leading the gullible
ISIS troops surround Damascus, pummeling the city with rockets and bombs. It seems only a matter of time before they pour in and take over. A mysterious long-haired figure appears, assuring the...
Movies & TV
Presumed guilty
Each generation looks into its rearview mirror to see stories of past racial injustices it must tell. In 1960, Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird, a story revolving around a black man falsely...
Movies & TV
Fishers of men
Sci-fi films about human-hunting creatures usually feature one of three different settings: outer space, New York City or some other metropolis suited to skyscraper scalers, or the murky oceans. Guess...
Movies & TV
Visual poetry
On the eve of its nationwide release, surprise wins at the Golden Globes catapulted war drama 1917 to the front of the Oscar race for best picture. ...
