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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:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Judaism
The Rise Of The Pre-Fab Sukkah
From the New York Times: WITH the onset of Sukkot, an increasingly popular Jewish harvest holiday that has lately emerged from the high, holy shadows of its immediate precursors, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, those new to celebrating it will … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism
Tagged harvest holiday, holy shadows, long holiday, sukkah, sukkahs, three walls
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‘May You Have A Sweet Year’
A lot of people have come out of the woodwork of late to wish me a good year. Some of them actually mean it. They actually believe that our fate for the next year will be sealed during the next … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Personal
Tagged eleven days, good year, jewish teachings, sweet year, woodwork
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Holiness Does Not Require Perfection
Rabbi Dan Fink writes: Because I was the rabbi’s son, I learned that holy vessels are made from the same mud and clay as everything else. Clergy kids rarely share the attitude of reverence that most people of faith bring … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism
Tagged beloved rabbi, conservative synagogue, human foibles, plastic imitations, school classmates, synagogue community
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The Role Of Journalism In Judaism
Joey Kurtzman and I chat this afternoon live on my cam:
Posted in Journalism, Judaism, Torah
Tagged joey, Journalism, Judaism, kurtzman
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Amazing Grace
Steve Rowitt emails: Dear Luke, It would be really nice for you to actually do some homework before sharing your thoughts with the world. It was John Newton who wrote Amazing Grace and was one of the major influences … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism
Tagged abolitionist movement, coral springs fl, influences and inspirations, john newton, penitent sinners, who wrote amazing grace
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My Dialogue With Marc Gafni About Reputation Online
The videos of our dialogue are here and here and here and here and here. The book (The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet) underlying our discussion is here. Here’s a selective transcript of what I … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip, Internet, Judaism, Marc Gafni, Personal
Tagged internet vigilantes, marc gafni, roman coliseum, satire 3, subway rider, vigilante group
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Should We Celebrate The Penitent? Judaism Vs. Christianity
Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Marc Gafni, Personal
Tagged Christianity, Judaism, penitent
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Replying Promptly To Phone Calls, Emails, Letters
By: Rabbi Ari Enkin I don’t know about you, but I am disturbed by those who do not respond to letters, email, or return phone calls within a reasonable time frame. In fact, in the event of a first time … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism
Tagged letter from a friend, long term health, palagi, rabbi chaim, term health concerns, unfortunate circumstance
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Hillel Publishes Gay Resource Guide
Rabbi Avi Shafran writes: Once upon a time, Jews who found Judaism cumbersome simply declared the Torah obsolete and went about their lives as they pleased. They weren’t inclined to intellectual contortions. Some “progressive” Jews today, though, choose instead to … Continue reading
Posted in Hillel, Homosexuality, Judaism
Tagged gay resource, jewish campus life, jewish religious tradition, jewish texts, sexual orientations, talmudic sage
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Judaism As Counterculture
Eytan Kobre writes: What do Senator Joseph Lieberman, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and attorney Jay Lefkowitz, President Bush’s special envoy for human rights in North Korea have in common? For one, they have each come under severe verbal abuse and … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism
Tagged comrades and colleagues, jay lefkowitz, john podhoretz, national security policy, senator joseph lieberman, senator lieberman
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