by Thomas R. Grover I wish I hadn’t looked at X on Sunday night. Earlier in the day, a gunman attacked a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan. He also set fire to the church building, which is a total loss. As of this writing, four congregants are dead, …
David Frisk reviews Lawrence Perelman’s American Impresario: William F. Buckley, Jr., and the Elements of American Character for Law and Liberty. He writes that the book is “a gem, richly insightful on two of Buckley’s deepest qualities—his love of classical music and generosity as a mentor.” It’s the story of how Perelman came to meet …
An April 2025 story in The Art Newspaper contains the headline “Miami dealer charged for hawking fake Warhols.” I must admit that the phrase “fake Warhol” forced an audible laugh; the American Pop Art icon’s work is saturated in “fake,” within the term’s connotations of “inauthentic,” “imitation,” and “unreal.” Warhol “forged” so much of his …
Up today on Words & Numbers, Antony Davies and I are joined by Clark Neily, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies at the Cato Institute, to discuss the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and what that might mean moving forward. The thing you can bet on is that whatever the Trump administration does with …
There is scarcely a person alive who wouldn’t say that music makes life better. Almost all of us, on the order of 90 to 95 percent, listen to music every day. Globally, people listen to over 20 hours of music a week on average. Music is, without question, an indispensable part of life. But sometimes, …
The federal government will spend $7 trillion in 2025. That’s roughly $19 billion per day, or around $50 million in the time it takes to read this article. On the other side of the ledger, the government will collect $5.2 trillion in taxes. Careful readers will already see the problem. That $5.2 trillion dribbles …
September 21 is Deficit Day for 2025, something we have been calculating and talking about for some years now. What is it? From this point forward, for the rest of the year, the United States government will be spending money it does not have.
Few people seem interested in learning. Many prefer cheering. Americans in 2025 are, in important respects, less knowledgeable about the world and about themselves than Americans were in 1925. Or 1825.
At the heart of Tolkien’s tale lies the One Ring, an object of immense power that corrupts all who seek to wield it — even the noblest fall prey to its seduction. Tolkien reminds us that power, no matter how well-intentioned, must be handled with caution and humility or not at all.
On this episode of Words & Numbers, Antony Davies and I talk about the clear problems that have emerged in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. When people are confident and comfortable in their public celebration of a young man’s death, something has gone horribly wrong. And if we don’t set things right, things will …
A space for the Beautiful.