“The Frog Prince” by Stevie Smith

Poems read aloud, beautifully

The Epic Viking Saga of the Everyday

Eleanor Barraclough on the ordinary people of Norse history

All Talk

Ease of communication will not save us

Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr

Burned

“The White Heart of God” by Jack Gilbert

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Paige Ledom

Out of the ordinary

The Brahmin and His Imaginary Friend

How a classic paean to the honest virtues of a Maine fisherman obscured several ugly truths

Old Christ Church in Alexandria. Virginia, attended by General Robert E. Lee in his youth and pictured here in 1911 (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign/Wikimedia Commons)

Divided Providence

Faith’s pivotal role in the outcome of the Civil War

Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln’s Union by Richard Carwardine

Cudillero

“The Terrorist, He’s Watching” by Wislawa Szymborska

Poems read aloud, beautifully

What Our Politicians Can’t Bring Themselves to Say

(And why the personal essay might help)

First Snow

Early delights of the season

The Real Nanny State

“I Stop Somewhere Waiting for You”

Ghostland

Read an excerpt from Colin Dickey’s history of America’s most haunted places

Ocean of Possibility

Pawns for Fascism

This piece from 1937 envisions the forces that make a demagogue like Trump possible

The Martyrdom Prayers

Enigmas and mysteries

Heading to Nanwalek

And hoping for a smooth approach

The Exceptional City

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