This week I wrote a commencement address for the Class of 2020 and recorded the final episode of our Pandemics and the Liberal Arts podcast. Elsewhere: • There’s been a lot of attention paid to the success Asian countries like Taiwan and South Korea have had in responding to COVID-19. But what about two African countries … More That Was The Week That Was
Today Amy Poppinga and I wrapped up our podcast series on Pandemics and the Liberal Arts with an episode on art. Thanks to our Bethel colleagues Amanda Hamilton and Wayne Roosa for a really rich conversation about the importance of art within the larger curriculum of the liberal arts, how art has provided catharsis and … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Art and Pandemics
This week I engaged in some hopeful thinking about the future of the humanities, announced my first online adult ed course, recruited some Anxious Bench colleagues to join me in identifying non-religious turning points in religious history, and recorded podcasts about math and e-sports. Elsewhere: • Another week, another inspector general fired after he tried to … More That Was The Week That Was
As we reach the last week of spring classes at Bethel, Chris and I devoted part of this week’s episode of The 252 to talking our students through their final exam. But the rest of you will want to listen in for what follows: a conversation about e-sports with our Bethel colleague Adrian Smithee, who has … More Thursday’s Podcast: E-Sports
On this week’s episode of Pandemics and the Liberal Arts, I enjoying chatting with my colleague Nathan Gossett, chair of Bethel’s Department of Math and Computer Science. It’s hard to think of another time when math has been so prominent in American public discourse, so it seemed like a good moment to talk with Nathan about … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Mathematics and Pandemics
As I’ve spent more and more time on Charles Lindbergh, I’ve had less and less time to spend on Pietism. So I’m always thrilled when a church asks me to give a talk on our 2017 book, The Pietist Option, which was always meant for large and small group discussion in churches and is still … More Announcing… A Free Online Adult Education Course on The Pietist Option
This week I curated some advice from fellow historians about how parents can help their home-bound kids learn history, reflected on the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, and recorded podcasts about sports journalism and the psychology of pandemics. Elsewhere: • I haven’t formally announced it until now, but I don’t think it will surprise anyone … More That Was The Week That Was
Apart from debating the wisdom and likelihood of baseball returning by July, this week on The 252 we primarily talked about the two topics that students in History and Politics of Sports encountered in this second-to-last week of spring classes. 1. Chris talked about the history and (complicated!) politics of sports gambling, and how it’s being affected … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Future of Sports Media
Having spent the first two episodes of our new Pandemics and the Liberal Arts podcast on history and philosophy, Amy Poppinga and I wanted to get beyond the humanities and into the sciences. (Which, I’ve lamented before, are not always treated as full participants in the liberal arts.) So this week we talked to our Bethel colleague … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Pandemics and Psychology
This week I finished another chapter in my Lindbergh biography and recorded podcasts about the Olympics and the importance of philosophy in a time of pandemic. Elsewhere: • I was doubly grateful to Elesha Coffman: not just for giving me a week off at The Anxious Bench, but articulating something about teaching online that I’d struggled … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 