Culture

Looking for Springtime in an Age of Outrage 0
- Culture
- March 7, 2019
I am not a fan of talk-show radios. Too many commercials, too little charity. Nor am I a follower of Glenn Beck. I’ve read one of his novels, The Christmas Sweater, and Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America, but otherwise have taken little interest in Beck’s work. So I’m
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How Toxic Masculinity Permeates the Intellectual Takeout Office 0
- Culture
- March 6, 2019
When the #MeToo movement was at its height some months ago, I threw my shoulders back, took a deep breath, and let loose with my own story of the “toxic masculinity” I have experienced while working as the sole female in an entirely male office. Time has passed, and instead of seeing the toxic
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The Real Problem with Today’s Discourse 0
- Culture
- March 6, 2019
Ask a dozen people and you will probably get a dozen different answers for what is wrong with public discourse in America today. It’s the Republicans. It’s the Democrats. It’s the Russians, the Social Justice Warriors, the Millennials, the Baby Boomers, social media, lack of education, lack of opportunity, the list goes on. Whatever the
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Are We All ‘Cat Persons’ Now? How Modern Dating Destroys Intimacy 0
- Culture
- March 6, 2019
In our previous Public Discourse essay on the #MeToo movement and hookup culture, we argued that careful attention to human experience can teach us important and surprising things about the meaning of sex. The same can be said for popular culture. It often tells the truth about sex, in spite of itself. Kristen Roupenian’s short story “Cat
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Sorry, Marie Kondo. Most People Have Too Little Stuff.0
- Culture
- March 5, 2019
Marie Kondo’s Netflix show “Tidying Up” is a hit. Apparently, Americans love watching other people throw stuff into trash bags – saying “thank you” to each item first, per the KonMari method. In each episode, Kondo cheerfully sweeps into a new family’s home like a Japanese Mary Poppins and teaches them how to declutter their
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Arresting Homebirth Midwives Just Reduces Women’s Birth Choices 0
- Culture
- March 5, 2019
After being arrested and charged with practicing midwifery without a license last fall, a midwife in upstate New York is wondering whether or not she will go to jail for the work she has done for decades. Elizabeth Catlin is a beloved certified professional midwife (CPM) who has caught hundreds of babies in the tight-knit
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