This weekend on the Dish, politics receded as matters of faith and love dominated our coverage. Andrew's summary of Obama's post-debate slide and updated thoughts on the election were the main commentary we provided on the horse race.
We ranged widely over the topics of religion and philosophy. On the themes of faith and doubt, Elizabeth Drescher complicated how we understand the rise of the nones, Lee McCracken sighed at the way fundamentalists read the Bible, Tim Muldoon described why learning doesn't threaten his faith, Kenneth Shepherd traced the evolution of atheism's meaning, Eliza Gray examined the strange alliance between Scientology and the Nation of Islam, Noah Millman contemplated prayer's relationship to boredom, and Sunday's brilliant poem from Henri Cole captured the struggle to believe. In philosophy coverage, Liel Liebovitz held that Judith Butler as an apt recipient of the Adorno Prize, Brian Leiter and Michael Weisberg proposed a way of thinking about our knowledge of the world, Paula Marantz Cohen lamented how little college students ponder death, and Chris Higgins riffed on another tranformative lecture from Alan Watts.
We also thought about love and sex this weekend. Chloe Angyal celebrated the intimacy of reading in bed with your significant other, Alex Heigl explained why Objectivism isn't for lovers, Christopher Ryan answered your questions about gangbang porn, Christopher Ferguson feared banning ex-gay therapy in CA might backfire, Tracy Clark-Flory reflected on the joys of traditional courtship, and Saturday's poem was a meditation on eros from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
In literary and cultural coverage, Goodreads charted the reading habits of Obama and Romney supporters, Peter Orner provided counterintuitive advice for writers, Joshua Rothman claimed Wuthering Heights is unadaptable for the big screen, Philip Maugham pondered the dying art of the handwritten note, and A Different L.A. showcased those who love and repair typewriters. William Kremer taught us about elevator etiquette, Jake Hanrahan interviewed an elite art smuggler, Keith Axline deconstructed Instagram's impact, Jacob Mikanowski gave us a tour of portraiture's history, Lynne Murphy offered a word of caution about importing your swear words, Roger Ebert mused on the ease with which we adopt our parents' religion, Peter Beinart responded to questions about the Jewish generational divide, and Willa Paskin expressed displeasure at the Romney campaign's adoption of the Friday Night Lights slogan.
Poseur alert here and Hathos alert here. MHBs here and here, FOTDs here and here, VFYWs here and here and the latest window contest here.
– M.S.
(Photo by Flickr user nkpl)
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