I’m keeping this newsletter off of social media so I can just talk to my email subscribers (relax, this isn’t an email telling you I’m going to start charging!).
First, thanks for following what I’ve been up to! I wrote the first piece announcing my SubStack presence on June 29th. Since then, I’ve written 24 posts ranging from one-offs (about Christian Colleges, SCOTUS decisions, and the Biden College Debt Plan) two long series (six posts on political polarization, nine on the criminal justice system), and the rest prompted by recent books (including several follow-ups on Will Bunch’s book).
My first 30 subscribers came from friends and family who responded to my initial invitation to follow. The next 47 have come from other friends who came across my work on social media or from not-yet-friends who have opted to follow what appears on these pages because someone shared it.
For those who joined more recently, here’s a recap of my background. I earned a PhD in sociology from Purdue University in the mid-1980s, with a focus on religion. I began and ended my teaching career teaching sociology in Christian University settings. In the middle of my career I served as a senior academic administrator. I have side interests in media, politics, and jurisprudence. My wife and I retired to the Denver area in 2021 and live near our daughter and her family. We also have a son in the Indianapolis area (where I grew up).
I’m taking the Labor Day weekend off from posting (not counting this note). I usually try to post MWF. But while I have you, I thought I’d do one of those open question posts I’ve read others do.
So in the comments section below, I’d ask you to do one (or more) of the following:
introduce yourself if you’re new (some of you have very obscure email addresses)
ask me a question that may have lingered from an earlier newsletter
make a suggestion for a topic or series that you think I should speak into
whatever you want to say
Otherwise, enjoy your holiday weekend!
Hi John! Thanks for the great posts. I'm still ruminating over several of them and may go back and post some thoughts/questions.
Regarding me: I am David Ward and I teach physics at a Christian university in Tennessee. I've been reading John for several years now. Social science is not in my training, but if i could go back in time...
Teaching social science has got to be more ticklish than teaching science at a Christian university--don't you think so? The big bang and evolution pale in comparison to some social controversies.
Thanks again!
Thanks John! I think the recent Alaska election would invite a post or several on ranked-choice voting as a nonviolent way out of our polarization.