Friday’s News & Ideas - 3/13/2026
- More security for synagogues?
- Clergy showing up
- Pastor who worked for Epstein
- Why is Buddhism shrinking?
- Thiel’s Antichrist lectures
- The life of a gambler
After latest attack, some Jews wonder how much more security is possible*
The New York Times: “We are synagogues — we are houses of worship,” one rabbi said. “We are not Fort Knox.”
Showing up as clergy*
The Christian Century: “I wasn’t sure about the MDiv,” says Teresa Kim Pecinovsky, a chaplain and pastor in St. Paul, Minnesota. “But in Ferguson, I kept seeing clergy show up in support of protesters on the front lines.”
Probe underway of pastor who worked for Epstein
United Methodist News Service: Bishop Robert Farr has suspended a United Methodist elder from clergy responsibilities after learning this week that she worked for Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.
Why is Buddhism shrinking worldwide?
Pew Research Center: Buddhists are the world’s only major religious group whose population shrank between 2010 and 2020, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of religion in 201 countries and territories.
Thiel brings his Antichrist lectures to the Vatican’s doorstep, and Catholic institutions back away
The Associated Press: The invitation-only conference in Rome, from Sunday to Wednesday, has proven so controversial that the Catholic universities initially associated with it have all denied official involvement.
The Spark
Sucker
McKay Coppins lives a year as a degenerate gambler* for The Atlantic.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
