Bruce Chilton’s new book sheds fascinating light on one of history’s most notorious dynasties. — When I was in my teens, I developed a fascination with the Herods of the Bible, arguably the most infamous dynasty to have ruled over Judaea. There was something luridly fascinating about these men and women that clung to power for so long, despite the many bouts of unrest that…

The new film from Pablo Larraín is a claustrophobic blend of biopic, psychological drama, and gothic horror. — Going into Spencer, the new film from Pablo Larraín, I thought I was going to see a traditional biopic, like something that could double as an episode of The Crown. I hadn’t seen the director’s film Jackie, and I hadn’t really read many of the reviews (other than to learn…

The eighth episode of the sprawling sci-fi epic moves the story forward but still struggles to overcome its limitations. — If you’ve been reading my reviews of the Apple TV+ series Foundation for the last few weeks, you know that I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated by this series’ rambling, shambolic plotting and its notable lack of clear goals. Fortunately, the eighth episode, “The Missing Piece,” goes some way toward correcting…

The proposed anti-woke university is another example of how intellectually bankrupt the “free inquiry” advocates have become. — A few days ago, I saw some commentary flitting across my Twitter timeline about some university in Austin that was going to be institutionalizing an anti-woke mentality. At the time, I thought it was incredibly odd that the University of Texas at Austin — which I assumed they were referring…

The West Virginia Senator is blowing his chance to be a true leader. — If you’ve been reading any of my work here at Reluctant Moderation, you know that I have a deeply conflicted relationship with my home state of West Virginia and in particular with its senior senator, Joe Manchin. I recognize that he has an almost impossible job — balancing his state’s…

Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut excoriates rape culture with razor-like precision. — I’d been hearing good things about Promising Young Woman for a while now and, since it’s streaming on HBO Max, I thought I’d make it the center of my Sunday viewing. From the moment that the film started, I knew that it was going to be something special, and so…

The election results in Virginia show just how dire the situation is, and how necessary it is for Democrats to get some important things done. — Well, Election Day 2021 is in the books, and while it’s not clear yet who is going to emerge the victor in the race for New Jersey Governor, Glenn Youngkin has already been declared the winner in Virginia. Given how closely this race was being watched by those desperately looking…

Lindsey Davis manages to deftly weave together historical fiction and murder mystery in another of her delightful books. — For some years now, I’ve been meaning to read the books of Lindsey Davis. For those who don’t know, she is the famous author of numerous historical mystery novels set in ancient Rome. The first series she wrote focused on the informer Marcus Didius Falco, but her more recent books…

The new book from the veteran fantasy author has all of the key ingredients his fans expect…and a little something more. — If you know anything about my tastes in fantasy, you know that I’ve been a fan of Terry Brooks since I was a pre-teen, when my mom and aunt introduced me to The Sword of Shannara. I’ve read almost every single one of his books since then (his novelization of…