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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- After the Kings: Ben Fordham and the Remaking of 2GB Breakfast
- The Entertainer’s Exemption: John Laws and the Price of Trust
- What the Record Shows: David Marr and the Uses of Evidence
- Peopling the Emptiness: The Life of Patrick White
- Crossing Lines: Nick McKenzie and the Limits of Method
- Australian Investigative Journalist Chris Masters: The Man Who Saw In
- The Unwinder: George Packer and the Study of American Decline
- Thomas Edsall: The Reporter Who Treated Politics as a System
- Ross Douthat and the Persistence of Belief
- Joseph Kahn and the Stewardship of The New York Times
- The Institutionalist: Dean Baquet and the Remaking of American Journalism
- The Publisher Always Wins – A Jill Abramson Biography
- Howard Zinn – The Historian Who Took Sides
- Linton Besser: A Reporter and the Paper Trail
- Gerald Stone and the Making of Australian Current Affairs
- Paul Barry: A Chronicler of Australian Power
- The Dean of Revolutionary Scholarship: Gordon S. Wood, 1933-2026
- The Last Generalist: Bob Ellis and Australian Public Life
- WEHT to Investigative Journalism?
- The Genius Myth: The Dangerous Allure of Rebels, Monsters and Rule-Breakers
BEST POSTS:
* American Epistemics (1-19-26)
* The Most Socially Toxic Inconvenient Truths (1-18-26)
* The Luke Ford Genre (1-18-26)
* The Filkins Pivot: Legacy Prestige and the Fracturing of the Chattering Class (1-16-26)
* Decoding The Trump Doctrine (1-4-26)
* If Tatiana Schlossberg were “Tatiana Smith” (12-30-25)
* ‘I’m So Trained’: How The Credential Society Burned Down the Palisades (12-28-25)
* Status Closure and The Lost Generation (12-25-25)
* The Bondi Massacre (12-15-25)
* Sydney Jews Learn That Their Aussie Social Contract Has Become A Suicide Pact (12-15-25)
* Terror in Sydney: Analyzing the “Chanukah by the Sea” Massacre (12-14-25)
* Decoding Nick Fuentes (11-2-25)
* The Landscape of Emotional Sobriety (10-29-30)
* The Rise & Fall Of Air Supply (10-19-25)
* No Kings, No Results: How Elite Pride Replaced Real Progress (10-19-25)
* You Are An Important Soldier In A Great War (9-7-25)
* The Revolt Of The Masses (8-31-25)
* The Covenant of Ashwood (8-24-25)
* If you can’t trust central bankers, then who can you trust? (8-23-25)
* Why Is The Elite Media Singing From The Same Hymnal About The Trump-Putin Summit? (8-17-25)
* Why Do Smart News Operations Sound So Uniformly Dumb So Often? (8-16-25)
* Nobody Is Coming (8-10-25)
* When Elites Restrict Our Speech, It’s Because They Love Truth, Freedom & Democracy (8-3-25)
Category Archives: Orthodoxy
Rabbis Who Built Orthodox Judaism In Los Angeles
Per Alliance Theory: Rabbi Elazar Muskin Long-term coalition manager. Excelled at holding a broad donor-professional alliance together without splintering. High trust, low drama, strong institutional continuity. Rabbi Marvin Hier Alliance entrepreneur. Mapped Orthodoxy onto global Jewish politics, media, and power. … Continue reading
Decoding Valley Village Orthodox Jewry
Per Alliance Theory: Valley Village Orthodox Jewry is a frontier alliance. Smaller density, lower status competition, more voluntary cohesion. Geography drives everything. The San Fernando Valley is spread out, suburban, and car-oriented. Unlike Pico or Fairfax, you do not get … Continue reading
How do members of Manhattan’s elite Orthodox shuls see each other?
Per Alliance Theory: Upper East Side Modern Orthodox elites Examples: Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ) Congregation Ramaz Park East Synagogue Self-view Establishment Orthodoxy. Cultured, educated, donor-class, historically central. Torah with dignity, restraint, and social polish. How they view the downtown/right-leaning MO … Continue reading
Auditing Jewish Institutions
Orthodox Jews have followed the same long arc of institutional distrust as Americans generally, but with a crucial twist. They have lost trust asymmetrically. Trust in American institutions collapsed early and decisively. Trust in Orthodox institutions collapsed later, unevenly, and … Continue reading
The Leading Orthodox Blogs, Vlogs & Podcasts
Here’s a list of notable Orthodox Jewish blogs, vlogs, and podcasts worth checking out. Some are heavily Orthodox-focused in theology or community issues. Some lean more broadly Jewish but include Orthodox voices or content. Blogs and Written Sites Jew in … Continue reading
The Hero Systems Of Orthodox Judaism
Below is a social reality map, not an ideals chart. These are lived hero systems. Each one answers the same Ernest Becker question of what counts as a successful life and the same Alliance Theory question who protects you if … Continue reading
Decoding Orthodox Judaism
Aaliyah Adas Torah (LA) Adath Israel (SF) Affordability Agudath Israel of America Aish HaTorah More Apologetics Atlanta Baltimore Bais Yaakov (LA) Belz Yeshivot – Jerusalem Ben Shapiro Bergen County Bet Din of America Beth Israel Congregation (Miami Beach) Beth Jacob … Continue reading
Decoding Orthodoxy’s Response To Historicism
Historicism says ideas, texts, and norms are products of time and place. Orthodox Judaism has produced several durable responses. These are the main ones that actually govern institutions and people. 1. Revelation above history Torah is divine and binding regardless … Continue reading
Decoding The Convert
Alliance Theory says people signal loyalty to attract and retain allies. Religion is one of the oldest and most powerful alliance systems. Orthodox Judaism is a high-cost, high-demand alliance. A convert who completes an Orthodox conversion has run a gauntlet … Continue reading
Decoding The Loss Of Faith
Alliance Theory treats belief less as a private metaphysical conclusion and more as an alliance signal. In Orthodoxy, faith in God is not just an inner conviction. It is the glue that binds a dense, high-cost coalition with rules, rituals, … Continue reading