What Can You Say About Lewis and Clark in 30 Minutes?
Monday, March 09 2026
Oh my, it would be infinitely easier for me to give a three-hour lecture than one of just half an hour.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
A Republic, if You Can Keep It: War and America in Iran
Tuesday, March 03 2026
When the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to craft a new constitution, they worked strenuously to cage the “dogs of war” by way of constitutional restraints.
- Published in Features
America at 250: Echoes of the Roman Republic?
Monday, February 23 2026
America’s Founding Fathers drew heavily on the last years of the Roman Republic in crafting our nation’s founding documents, foreseeing both the promise and the frailties of a Republic.
- Published in Features
Encounters With Those Inescapable AI Generated “10 Best Lists”
Monday, February 23 2026
Can Artificial Intelligence reliably rank the 10 greatest poems of all time?
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Book Review — Volga Blues: A Journey Into the Heart of Russia
Monday, February 16 2026
My friend, the Italian journalist Marzio Mian, has just published a remarkable book on his monthlong underground journey along Russia’s sacred Volga River. Part travelogue, part Russian history, and part exploration of the dense, tragic Russian soul in a time of brutal war, the book is a powerful read when America’s place in world affairs is significantly unsettled.
- Published in Books
Downsizing Pays off Big — With a Trip Down Abbey Road
Tuesday, February 10 2026
I don’t know exactly what I expected from my personal downsizing campaign, but something really interesting is happening to me.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
An Age of Disillusionment
Monday, February 09 2026
What Is our American Story as the Nation’s 250th Birthday Approaches?
- Published in Features
Reading Thoreau Again
Tuesday, February 03 2026
One of my friends contacted me not long ago and said, “Hey, you’re going to be in the Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau in March. I just saw you in the trailer. Are you going to do anything to be ready for when it comes out?” Truth told, I knew there was a Thoreau documentary coming sometime in 2026, but I wasn’t sure when.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Solitude & Loneliness: Pondering Steinbeck While Reading Thoreau
Monday, February 02 2026
One of the great things about reading a lot is that it gives you the insights of triangulation. One book illuminates, interprets, and perhaps even disagrees with another, though the authors never met.
- Published in Books
When is Enough Enough?
Tuesday, January 27 2026
Do Jefferson's 27 indictments of King George III and the Parliament of Great Britain in his Declaration of Independence have application today?
- Published in Dispatches from the Road