FEATURES
Exclusive! Inside John Steinbeck’s famous Travels with Charley Truck Camper, Rocinante
Tuesday, October 10 2023
Clay, was the featured speaker at The National Steinbeck Center’s 25th anniversary and wrangled a rare visit inside the writer’s famous rig.
- Published in Features
Theodore Roosevelt’s Literary Mastery
Tuesday, October 03 2023
Roosevelt was a serious writer and one of America’s great readers — in addition to being the 26th president of the United States, the Governor of New York, Police Commissioner of New York, a U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, and the hero of San Juan Hill.
- Published in Features
Down the Salmon: A River Journal
Tuesday, September 19 2023
Every summer I lead a cultural tour on the Lewis and Clark Trail in Montana and Idaho. Usually, we canoe through the White Cliffs section of the Missouri for a couple of days, regroup, head west, and then climb up to the ancient Lolo Trail. But occasionally we switch things up by floating the Salmon, the “River of No Return.” This was such a summer.
- Published in Features
Slings and Arrows of Teaching Shakespeare
Thursday, September 07 2023
One Florida school system will only allow classroom study of excerpts from some Shakespeare plays in its high school curriculum because it is afraid they will violate the new state laws forbidding the inclusion of taboo issues in the curriculum.
- Published in Features
President Jefferson and the Big Cheese
Tuesday, September 05 2023
The recent record-setting auction of a $32,000 Spanish cheese reminds Clay of the curious tale of Thomas Jefferson’s 1,235-pound Mammoth Cheese.
- Published in Features
India’s First Lunar Landing and America’s Sense of Wonder
Thursday, August 24 2023
Today, I read in my news feed that India has successfully landed a probe on the south pole of the moon. Chandrayaan-3 touched down at 8:30 a.m. EDT, August, 23, 2023. U.S. news of the event seemed decidedly matter-of-fact.
- Published in Features
The Professor Who Changed My Life
Saturday, August 12 2023
I was leaving Three Forks, Montana, when I got the call. My beloved English professor Thomas Clayton died this morning, August 9, 2023. He was 90 years old and an exceptional educator who made all the difference.
- Published in Features
My Favorite Photographs of Robert Oppenheimer
Monday, July 31 2023
Inspired by the new Oppenheimer film here are a few of my favorite photographs of the noted physicist.
- Published in Features
The Story Behind a Famous White House Dinner
Wednesday, July 26 2023
Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed new film has ignited a fascination with Robert Oppenheimer. Clay reflects on a surprising connection between Oppenheimer, John F. Kennedy, and “America’s da Vinci,” Thomas Jefferson.
- Published in Features
Remembering the Great Charles Wilkinson
Monday, July 17 2023
A beloved educator and leader in environmental and Native American law, Professor Charles Wilkinson of Colorado University, Boulder had a profound impact throughout the American West and beyond.…
- Published in Features