A Lament for the Snail-Mail Letter — A Great Technological Casualty?
Tuesday, August 25 2026
During my lifetime, I have witnessed the death of the letter. Future historians will have to sift through an infinite number of mostly inane cellphone texts, with little real revelation of the individuals and the periods they are studying.
- Published in Features
In My Life: The Beatles and Global Connectivity
Tuesday, August 18 2026
I tuned in, along with over 300 million others from around the globe, on that landmark day when popular music connected with the space age and changed the world forever.
- Published in Features
A Review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Monday, July 27 2026
I rushed from Missoula, Montana, to Billings the other day to see Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey at a modified limited IMAX theater. This was the same theater where I first saw Nolan’s Oppenheimer three years ago. Quick take: I liked Oppenheimer better, but read on ...
- Published in Features
Happy 250th Birthday, America
Tuesday, June 30 2026
As much as the United States confronts monumental challenges, there is much to celebrate as the nation turns 250.
- Published in Features
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
A Lament for the Innocent in Four Acts
Tuesday, March 24 2026
Why is it that the innocent are always the ones to suffer?
- 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