First Things Podcast

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The Death of Mass Literacy

In this episode, Wessie du Toit joins Rusty Reno on The Editor's Desk to talk about his recent essay, "The Future of Reading" from the June/July 2025 issue of the magazine. Subscribe at www.firstthings.com/subscribe in order to access this and many other great pieces!

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  Recovering the University’s Soul | 2026 Neuhaus Lecture

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  Disney Adulting (ft. Veronica Clarke)

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  Why Portico? (ft. Micah Mattix)

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  Is Churchill America’s Hero? (ft. Sean McMeekin)

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  The Return of the Mainline? (ft. Brad East)

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  The Sexual Abuse Crisis Is a Law Crisis (ft. Michael Mazza)

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  Disclosure in Modern Poetry (ft. Glenn Arbery)

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  Our Crisis is Metaphysical | 2026 D.C. Lecture | 2026 D.C. Lecture (Presen…

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  The Countryman–Foreigner Distinction (ft. Matthew Crawford)

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  Admiration as Inspiration (ft. Elizabeth Corey)

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  What Virgil Teaches America (ft. Spencer Klavan)

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  The Promises of Gay Liberation (ft. Scott Yenor)

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  The Evangelical Elite Gap (ft. Aaron Renn)

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  Caravaggio the Destroyer (ft. Jaspreet Singh Boparai)

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  The Realities of Empire (ft. Nathan Pinkoski)

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  The Church of Sarah Mullally (ft. Damian Thompson)