DIA-Today: Democracy in America Today

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 0:55): Headlines - We review the major themes of the Republican National Convention, including the Republican response to the Democratic case against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden. Link: Don Lemon on CNN .  Part 2 (33:45): Required Reading - Professor Corbin assigns a selection f...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 3:52): Headlines - We do a night-by-night review of the Democratic National Convention, discussing its major speeches and overall themes.       Part 2 (29:17): Required Reading - Professor Corbin assigns William James’s Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, Herbert...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (1:17): Required Reading - Professor Corbin assigns two essays by Frank S. Meyer to understand the intellectual roots of modern conservatism and Meyer’s own contribution to that intellectual tradition, fusionism: “Western Civilization: The Problem of Freedom” (1968), published in In Defense...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 3:43): Headlines - Covid-19 has led many states to expand absentee or mail-in voting in advance of the general election this November. We talk about how to preserve the integrity of the election and assure its legitimacy in the midst of our ongoing health crisis. Links: National R...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines.   Part 1 (starts at 1:46): Headlines -President Trump deployed federal agents to protect the federal courthouse in Portland in early July. We discuss the charges of authoritarianism that have followed.  Links: Bill Hutchinson for ABC News ; Oregon Public Broadcasting report ; Reuters reports on ‘Op...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 2:09): Headlines - Major League Baseball is back (!) with the NBA, NHL, and NFL starting soon. We discuss the big stories for each league.   Part 2 (27:12): Required Reading - Professor Corbin recommends Michael Lombardi’s Gridiron Genius while Professor Parks talks about Ted Will...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 2:27): Headlines - We discuss the politics and the science surrounding the debate over reopening schools this fall. Links: Noah Rothman at Commentary ; Fox News report on the demands of the LA Teacher’s Union ; Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on CNN’s State of the Union ; Flori...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 3:20): Headlines - We discuss the reaction to President Trump’s July 3 address at Mt. Rushmore and the release of the film of Hamilton the same night.  Links: President Trump’s speech ;  Zeeshan Aleem at Vox ; Senator Duckworth ; Charles C.W. Cooke at National Review ; Roger Kimba...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 1:08): Headlines - We discuss the recent efforts to remove, destroy, and deface monuments and memorials remembering key figures from American history. Links: Wilfred M. McClay at First Things ; Rich Lowry at National Review ; David Marcus at The Federalist .  Part 2 (18:06): Requi...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 2:00): Headlines - We take a look at the criminal justice system through the lens of the changes in the crime rate and incarceration rate over the last 55 years.  Links: FBI crime data ; Bureau of Justice Statistics on the prison population ; President Johnson's 1965 message to Co...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 3:26): Headlines - “Cancel culture” continues to encourage snap judgments about historical figures, individuals, and institutions. We discuss the firing of Emmanuel Cafferty and the effort to demonetize The Federalist. Links: National Review’s “Cancel Counter” ; Emmanuel Cafferty:...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1 (starts at 1:22): Headlines - Activists issue calls to “defund the police” and national political leaders try to chart a more moderate course while the Minneapolis City Council pledges to “dismantle” its police force and Seattle now has CHAZ. Links: Black Lives Matter petition ; Byron York i...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1: Headlines - The killing of George Floyd has led to debates, protests, and violence centered on the problems of racism and police misconduct. Links: Rafael Mangual at City Journal; Seth W. Stoughton, Jeffrey J. Noble, and Geoffrey P. Alpert at The Atlantic ; Andrew McCarthy at National Revie...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines. Part 1: Headlines - The presidential candidates accuse each other of being too soft on China while analysts suggest competing visions of US-China relations and the strategic challenge China poses to US interests. Links: Thomas Wright in The Atlantic: How Should Biden Handle China? ; Rachel Esplin O...

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines.  Part 1: Headlines - Reflections on this week's hyper-partisan lockdown/reopen debate featuring the (surprisingly?) good news out of Florida. Part 2: Required Reading - Prof. Corbin assigns Book III of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War to help us understand the deep political divisions o...