News & Ideas

Monday’s News & Ideas - 3/2/2026

  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed
  • Sobering up in church
  • Reporter on clergy abuse scandal
  • Churches suing ICE
  • Rachel Held Evans book
  • Indigenous slavery

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86
The Associated Press: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assembled theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its top leader and sought to turn it into a regional powerhouse, bringing it into confrontation with Israel and the United States over its nuclear program while crushing democracy protests.

A priest helped her see her drinking problem. Talks with Jesus kept her sober. She’s not the only one
CNN: What finally made her sobriety stick, Jenny Teeters said, was a newfound faith in a higher power.

He broke the story of the US Catholic clergy abuse scandal. Now he reflects on struggling to keep his faith
The Guardian: Reporter Jason Berry ponders on how to repair a religious structure long thought of as good but supported by an evil underside.

Churches vs. ICE
Politico: Thousands of congregations have sued over a policy change that opens the door for ICE raids at houses of worship.

What Rachel Held Evans knew about not going to church*
Sojourners: “Braving the Truth” is a new book with a collection of blog posts by the late Rachel Held Evans.

The Spark

The hidden history of Native American enslavement
Indigenous slavery,* which lasted for centuries, has gone by many names. A new public history project wants us to see it for what it was, The New Yorker says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers



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Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 4/15/2026

  • Last of an order of nuns
  • Study on antisemitic attacks
  • Micro-colleges
  • Far-right targets church funds
  • Church-state separation a ‘lie’
  • Car-crash conspiracy

Tuesday’s News & Ideas - 4/14/2026

  • ‘Delusion of omnipotence’ drives war
  • Women’s suffering in Holocaust
  • Institutional neglect
  • Rituals of religion in war
  • Driscoll at Trump event
  • Free restaurant bread

Monday’s News & Ideas - 4/13/2026

  • Pope criticizes the president
  • Quarter of private colleges may close
  • Paul remade history
  • Militant Christian theology
  • Catholics sue for exemption
  • Malibu in matchbooks
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