Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 4/15/2026

Will Sister Mary Kay turn out the lights?*
The New York Times: An influential order of nuns decided to complete its mission when the last sister dies. The only question left is how to finish well.

Antisemitic attacks in 2025 caused highest number of deaths in 30 years, study finds
The Associated Press: Last year saw the highest level of deadly violence against Jews around the world in over three decades, with 20 people killed in antisemitic attacks, according to an annual study released by Tel Aviv University on Monday.

The quiet surge of alternative micro-colleges
ARC: Innovation in higher ed is building from the ground-up, combining the liberal arts with practical skills in both religious and secular contexts

Germany’s far-right targets church funding
Crux: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) introduced the bill amid conflict between the far-right group and the German Christian establishment, with the Catholic bishops’ conference of the European country recently banning AfD members from working for the church and calling the party “unelectable.”

Church-state separation is a ‘lie,’ says Trump's Religious Liberty Commission chair
Religion News Service: “Church-state separation ensures we are all free to live as ourselves and believe as we choose, as long as we don’t harm others,” a church-state separationist countered.

The Spark

The car-crash conspiracy
High-speed accidents, crooked lawyers, and poor people desperate for cash — it was the kind of scheme* that could have been cooked up only in the Big Easy, The New Yorker says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers