Monday’s News & Ideas - 1/5/2026
- Deepfakes of pastors
- Political parties’ religious divide
- Israel’s ban on humanitarian aid
- Mamdani sworn in on Quran
- What to do with ashes
- Birth of modern literary fraud
AI deepfakes are impersonating pastors to try to scam their congregations*
Wired: Religious communities around the US are getting hit with AI depictions of their leaders sharing incendiary sermons and asking for donations.
GOP increasingly the party of ‘white Christians’ as Democrats quickly become less religious
Deseret News: Two-thirds of Harris voters report ‘seldom’ or ‘never’ attending church.
Israel’s ban on humanitarian relief groups will severely impact aid to besieged strip, letter warns
Religion News Service: Israel’s decision to deny registrations to 37 aid groups comes at a perilous time for Palestinians in the occupied territories and especially in Gaza.
Zohran Mamdani officially sworn in on a Quran full of symbolism
The Associated Press: Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City used Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
What should I do with my father’s remains?*
The New York Times: Ordination and a Ph.D. provide no protection from grief. They just make you vulnerable to it in a different way, Danielle Tumminio Hansen writes.
The Spark
Joan Lowell and the birth of the modern literary fraud
A century ago, an aspiring actress published a remarkable autobiography.* She made up most of it, The New Yorker says.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
