The week began, for me, with the Pope's new encyclical. That story has been buried in the US beneath the wave of big news stories involving violence here and abroad, SCOTUS decisions, and flags.
- I posted a wonderful guest essay from historian Ellen Arnold on the ways in which medieval ideas about the environment are consistent with Pope Francis' vision. Arnold says - "The capacity to imagine a “whole earth”—fragile, surrounded by emptiness, is not ours alone."
I am always open to guest posts from regular readers who want to share their expertise and analysis here. See my email from the About Me page.
I returned to The Atlantic this week, writing a piece on the same-sex marriage decision, Obergefell v Hodges, and the way this new right was grounded in history. In my blog post, I offered a few comments on Justice Roberts' bizarre dissent from Anise Strong, one of the historians I interviewed for the piece. Carthago delenda est!
Other pieces:
- I got to witness an encounter between an individual with age-related disabilities and the police on My Front Porch. My local PD did an outstanding job. I only told them I was a journalist after.
- Voluntary Wellness Programs are Neither Voluntary nor Promote Wellness: They discriminate against people with disabilities, in fact.
- Language and Power - Philosophy and Propaganda - I comment on an essay on language by my editor at Al Jazeera, David Johnson.
- Making Books Accessible: An Inside Higher Ed reporter tells disabled folks they better be nice when asking for accommodations. I get angry.
I am travelling to DC briefly to work on a big project on which I'm collaborating (reveal coming in a few weeks). Then I'm going to Harvard to participate in a workshop about fighting misogyny on the internet. That event is being held under Chatham House Rule, which means I can talk about what I';m doing, and I can talk generally about what is said, but not reveal names or participants.
Thanks for reading!
