Crises of Liberalism

Everybody these days is saying liberalism is in crisis but nobody really seems to be able to settle on what liberalism is, let alone understand well what it has been. To address this, I am hard at work on a history of liberalism, called for now Superpower, that chronicles the many crises of liberalism throughout its two-century history. It is a book that promises to be my biggest and most ambitious.

Reading Hannah Arendt

In 2020 I published Poiltics for Everybody: Reading Hannah Arendt in Uncertain Times. Arendt is one the most important political thinkers of the 20th century, but much of her work reached the public only in bits in pieces. Politics for Everybody is attempt to introduce Arendt as a popular thinker for popular politics.

Nuclear Imagery and the Cold War

I got into political theory and political history through a back door called the Cold War. My first three books — Spirits of the Cold War: Contesting Worldviews in the Classical Age of Naitonal Security Strategy; The Iconoclastic Imagination: Image, Catastrophe, and Economy from the Kennedy Assassination to September 11; and Lookout America! The Secret Hollywood Studio at the Heart of the Cold War (written with my good friend, Kevin Hamilton) — were all Cold War books.

The Journal for the History of Rhetoric

I am beginning to wrap up a multi-year stint as the editor of the Journal for the History of Rhetoric, a labor of love and fascination.

PhD in Communication Arts & Sciences

The Pennsylvania State University

At Penn State I studied rhetorical theory, media studies, and classics. I also have an MA in English from the University of Tennessee, an M.Div from Covenant Seminary, a double-major BA in English and Economics from Saint Louis University, and an Associates Degree in General Studies from St. Louis Community College.

Civic Fields

I have a weekly newsletter at civicfields.org. You can subscribe there.

Podcasts, Radio, and the Press

I have appeared on about 15 different podcasts or radio pieces on topics ranging from Cold War history to American current events.

Documentary Films

I have appeared a couple of Cold War documentaries and served as an advisor for a number of others.

Bicycles

I started competitive cycling when I was 12. I “retired” at 22, after a good stint, but have continued to ride over the years and, who knows, may get back on the race course again.

Balls

My children, all adults now, were all very good “ball sport” athletes. Over the years, thanks to them, I have grown especially fond of baseball and tennis.

Community Involvement

I have served on local boards and am a member of Hessel Park Church.