In a Far Corner of Colorado: One Chapter in the Great Dispossession
Monday, June 08 2026
A recent visit to northwest Colorado reminds me of the paradox of Manifest Destiny and our American history.
- Published in Features
My Close Encounter With Devils Tower
Tuesday, June 02 2026
I’ve loved Devils Tower since I first close encountered it four decades ago. President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower as the nation's first National Monument in September 1906. Roosevelt would establish 18 National Monuments during his two terms. Today we have 138.
- Published in Features
Wind Cave National Park
Tuesday, June 02 2026
Our roving humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson is typically dedicated to the truth and nothing but the truth, but his visit to Wind Cave National Park seems to have addled his brain. No other visitor on his recent tour reported meeting Dante and Virgil at the Seventh Circle of the cave.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
On the Road! Westward With Teddy Roosevelt
Tuesday, May 26 2026
Memorial Day weekend 2026, Clay and the LTA Airstream hit the trail, following Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy in the American West.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Homer and Hubris in a Turkish Rental Car
Monday, May 18 2026
After a rental car odyssey, trekking 215-miles southwest of Istanbul, Clay spends a magical afternoon at the site of Homer’s epic, the Iliad.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Dispatch from the Coast of Turkey
Monday, May 11 2026
Clay and his daughter make a long-planned pilgrimage to Troy, the site of the ancient epic the Iliad.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Who Knows What to Believe (Or Rule Out) These Days?
Tuesday, May 05 2026
The Destabilization of Truth may be the epitaph of the American republic.
- Published in Features
Who Was the Indispensable President?
Monday, April 27 2026
How would you answer the question of which U.S. president was indispensable to the Republic?
- Published in Features
Edward Abbey — Now More Than Ever, Even With All His Faults
Tuesday, April 21 2026
A recent visit to Arizona had me thinking about the legacy and prescience of Edward Abbey. With warts and all, he’s a kind of modern-day Henry David Thoreau.
- Published in Features
What Might Theodore Roosevelt Say About America’s Current War in Iran?
Monday, April 13 2026
As a longtime student of President Theodore Roosevelt, historian Clay Jenkinson considers how TR might have approached current events in Iran.
- Published in Features