Are the Hunger Games an example of Girardian scapegoating? Yes, totally. | Virginia Aabram firstthings.com/what-weve-been…

They're letting me popesplain now. Listen to the latest episode of the First Things podcast, where you'll find the best takes about the pope and everything else. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fir…

Is it right to give the Gospels the Marvel treatment? Germán Saucedo responds to season five of “The Chosen.” firstthings.com/the-gospel-cin…

Very serious watch party happening on this Friday night Paula Scanlan Virginia Aabram

An uncertain journey, a certain reward. Chartres Pilgrimage 2025

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Our first full episode Against the Grain spotlights Peter Navarro, the man behind Donald Trump’s tariff policy. The research took us to some strange places, including the FAQ page of the Bay Area’s More University (“Are you a cult? … Why do you paint your houses purple?”).

Joined my first space ever to talk about very important topics like the dissolution of culture and labubus

You may not agree with everything published in First Things, but you cannot deny that the stuff they are publishing lately is truly fascinating, innovative, and thought-provoking. We need more faith-based pubs taking risks the way they do.

Have you seen the new issue? October is out now & has been spotted around town:

A majority of Gen Z women who voted for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in 2024 say that a fulfilling career and financial independence are their definitions of personal success. A piece of my conversation with Rob Henderson and Carolyn D. Gorman discussing this and more:

I’m thrilled to see this piece. Who curates the curators? What do museum curators have in common with male peafowl? Read to find out.

How I came to see the “Great Feminization” as the most significant event of our century—and a potential threat to civilization. compactmag.com/article/the-gr…

Two of my favorite things: fashion and an insightful podcast. Really enjoyed Against the Grain’s recent episode breaking down how modern brands like Brandy Melville, Los Angeles Apparel, and Tuckernuck, are being associated with certain ideological values. (Link below.)

My First Things print debut is out today on the website. I went on a traditional Catholic pilgrimage in France this summer, and found that embracing our embodiment is sometimes the best thing for the spirit. firstthings.com/the-road-to-ch…

“Modernity, secularism, popular forms of Protestantism, and diluted ­Catholicism all say that it’s medieval and superstitious to believe that undertaking hardship somehow wins us favor and ­graces from God. And yet here we all are.” Virginia Aabram

I’m delighted to share my first feature essay in First Things, a deep dive into the history of Halloween as a signal case of the decadence of western institutions.