As longtime readers of this blog may recall, I’m not a huge fan of online education. While I’ve taught an online course every summer since 2013, plus a couple of hybrid courses a few years back, I’m still skeptical that that mode of education can bring about the kind of whole-person transformation that I would … More How I’m Planning to Teach Online (part 1)
This week is my scheduled spring break, so I was expecting to be home, catching up on grading and writing a chapter in my Lindbergh book. But I didn’t expect that this break would last two weeks, nor that when classes resume on March 30th, they would be taught online through our Easter break. Such is life … More How Christian Colleges Are Responding to COVID-19
Tonight HBO premieres the first episode of a six-part adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, The Plot Against America. Since its alternate history premise centers on the subject of my current writing project, I thought some of my readers might be interested in my response to Roth’s book — originally published at The Anxious Bench after … More Charles Lindbergh and The Plot Against America
This week I wrote about the effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic on American churches. I thought it might be well-timed, but I couldn’t have anticipated what would follow, during a week unlike many others in recent memory. (For that matter, I can hardly remember recording a podcast on Wednesday, in which we innocently wondered … More That Was The Week That Was
As usual, this week’s episode of The 252 touches several bases, including the impact of COVID-19 on college and professional sports and the historic rise and fall of boxing’s popularity. But this week we were most excited to talk to our special guest, Jason Jennings of Mortenson Construction. In our History and Politics of Sports class, students are starting … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Building Sports Stadiums
Some of what I was reading last week: • As a historian, I often wrestle with the pull of nostalgia. As Michial Farmer explained, it might be that such longing for the past has its uses. • It was 250 years ago that British soldiers killed five colonial protesters in Boston. “Such commemorations offer opportunities … More That Was The Week That Was
Congratulations to the Bethel University Royals, winners of the 2019-2020 women’s basketball championship in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. We were there this afternoon at a packed Robertson Center, where Bethel eked out the victory over the Augsburg University Auggies, 72-70. Bethel gets the MIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Since Chris … More Saturday’s Podcast: Live from a Basketball Championship Game!
A couple days before Bethel announced its new president, I wrote about the risk of Christian colleges like ours closing. Elsewhere: Important piece from @cgehrz @anxious_bench. Hoping that institutions like Bethel thrive in the years ahead. Religious colleges and universities are a key piece of America's intellectual diversity and vibrancy. https://t.co/h7yODegP8b — John Turner (@JohnGTurner2020) … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I interviewed the host of a new podcast on animal rights, and recorded a new episode of our podcast on sports history. Elsewhere: • Every revelation about church sexual abuse is disturbing. But this morning’s was especially hard to read, as it involved the founder of L’Arche, Jean Vanier. • The executive committee … More That Was The Week That Was
On this month’s episode of The 252, our two main segments found Chris, Sam, and me discussing two vastly different topics from the world of sports: 1. Watching the NHL and NBA play around with the format of their all-star games got us thinking about the significance of rules changes in sports — and how they … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Rules Changes and Sports Entertainment
The Pietist Schoolman 