Consumerism

“Trigger warnings just don’t help,” Payton Jones, a clinical psychology doctoral student at Harvard, tweeted alongside a preprint of his new paper. He further explained that the paper actually suggests that trigger warnings might even be harmful. When I saw the tweet, my gut reaction was... Read more

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed the so-called “Save Chick-fil-A” bill into law, a new provision that supporters say defends the fast-food restaurant and protects religious freedoms. Opponents have argued it discriminates against the LGBT community. Abbott, a Republican, did not hold... Read more

A mini-runway, lined with stiletto heels, glistens in bright fluorescent lighting. Shoes of various types sit neatly in individual glass shelves. A statue of an angel carrying several shopping bags stands in the middle as Los Angeles fashionistas mill about, trying on shoes, posing on the red... Read more

With Christmas day falling on a Monday this year, many families will be be rushing around on Sunday trying to find those last-minute gifts or cooking ingredients. But Gary Grant, the founder of The Entertainer (the largest independent toy retailer in the UK), will be sitting at home “helping... Read more

In a recent First Things column, editor R.R. Reno confirmed that the magazine founded by Father Richard John Neuhaus has substantially revised its hitherto generally positive view of the market economy. This formal shift toward what I’ll call “One Reluctant Cheer for—and Many Doubts... Read more

On Monday, Marvel Comics admitted what those who actually read comics have known all along: the emphasis on leftist messaging in comic books is killing the appeal. David Gabriel, the vice president of sales at Marvel, said that comic book retailers were reporting a drop-off in interest in the... Read more

As those from the Depression and World War II eras die, their children are left to resolve a tragic problem that past generations did not face. The problem involves stuff nobody wants. The possessions of parents are no longer prized by many children. The family silver means little to them.... Read more

Over the last year, as the presidential campaign grew increasingly bizarre and Donald Trump took us places we had never been before, I saw a spike in media references to Amusing Ourselves to Death, a book written by my late father, Neil Postman, which anticipated back in 1985 so much about what... Read more

Before Jorge Bergoglio’s election as the first Latin American pope in 2013, Argentina was famous for many things: tango, its magnificent pampas, the beautiful late-nineteenth century architecture that marks much of Buenos Aires, to name just a few. Unfortunately, other things also come to... Read more

Even materialists crave religion. The need to believe—to locate ultimate meaning in the universe—is deeply embedded in our natures. Atheists seek to deflect attention from this deeply human yearning. Thus, Richard Dawkins famously wrote that Darwin made it possible “to be an... Read more