culture, Essays, Film Reviews, ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026

“The Thing” as an Agent of Popular Culture

By Sophia Mandt John Carpenter’s The Thing is a clear illustration of perspectives—both conscious and unconscious—held by individuals within modern culture. Since The Thing is a horror film, it vividly depicts a more overtly primal, anguished, and fear-mongering understanding of what it means to be human than other similar works of popular culture. Note that my views align with a professor’s definition of culture as … Continue reading “The Thing” as an Agent of Popular Culture

Hillsdale ForumMay 13, 2026Leave a comment

Essays, ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Short Stories

Migratory Birds

By Isaiah Sasser When the last goldfinch of the fall left the bird feeder, it took my father’s soul with it, hopefully to somewhere with better weather. The neighbors say my father never had a soul, but they never really knew him. It takes a lot of soul to be as bitter as he was. Last fall, I asked him to read me poetry with … Continue reading Migratory Birds

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culture, Essays, ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Satire

An Attack on Fashion

By Nikolaos Friedrich Suppose fashion were a woman. What then? Would she wear a midi skirt and a crew-neck blouse? Or would she wear a tight skirt and a revealing top, hoping to catch a young man’s eye? Certainly, the answer is clear to anyone who has stepped outside on a warm summer day. Men do not help the issue of immodesty. They do not … Continue reading An Attack on Fashion

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Essays, ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Religion

Leo XIV and the Reemerging Relevance of the Papacy

By Frederick Woodward Catholicism is making a comeback. From France to Texas, metrics pour in from all across the West, pointing to a generational shift taking place. But what’s at the heart of this phenomenon? What implications does it have for the future of Western civilization? And why should defenders of a Christian social order, even non-Catholics, care? Recent statistics paint a dramatic and diverse … Continue reading Leo XIV and the Reemerging Relevance of the Papacy

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ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Short Stories

Bottom Floor

By Brennan Berryhill The gold was dizzying. It spun in his eyes like spirals, sparkling in the mirror caging them in from above. Unreality made real. He looked up and saw himself like he was down. People pressed him from all sides, brushed him with briefcases, crossed him with sleeve cuffs. 20 became 19 became 18. Ding. Faces drifted off the elevator, removing the haunt … Continue reading Bottom Floor

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ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Poetry

“‘Hope’ is the thing with claws”

By Brennan Berryhill ‘Hope’ is the thing with clawsThat scratches hold the soulNo matter how I shake the branchI cannot make it go The little bird was nice at firstIt kept me warm and dryBut cold hard truth’s a nasty thingAnd still the bird won’t fly I hate the looks to peripheryI hate the lingering faithBut the worst part of this clinging hopeIs that I … Continue reading “‘Hope’ is the thing with claws”

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ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Poetry

Sacral Friendship

By Zelda Gilbert Nothing is extinguished in the human personality but, on the contrary, everything is set ablaze. —Valentin Tomberg You threaten, with your blazing Self, The sweet decay of solitude,In which affection would be coarse And sacraments seem almost lewd; For stillness grown from emptinessShrinks back, as mushrooms do from fire, At contact with another Self.I cannot build my phoenix-pyre, But, if you pile … Continue reading Sacral Friendship

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ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Short Stories

The Turret of Accustom

By Andrew Winter She came to me in my tall tower locked,She knocked, and said, “I am that beautyWhich your maker fitted for your life and nockedWithin the string of your good sense. Open,For long have we two lived in good concourseAnd I would not a stranger be nor leaveYour love-couch fully cold, nor sourceThe goldest good of yours in other thanMyself, appointed for your … Continue reading The Turret of Accustom

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Book Reviews, ISSUE #53 | MAY 2026, Religion

Training the Tongue: A Review

By Campbell Collins In his new book, Training the Tongue and Growing Beyond Sins of Speech, Father Gregory Pine lays out a path toward developing virtue in speech. Pine’s book—which discusses truth-telling, conversation, communion, correction, humor, teaching, and prayer—seems particularly pertinent to the lives of Hillsdale students. We talk so much that we have our own conversational clichés: “That guy” in Logic and Rhetoric and … Continue reading Training the Tongue: A Review

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Essays, ISSUE #52 | MAR 2026

Spartan XIX: Story of a Faithful Soldier

By Frederick Woodward When you meet Patrick Kopytek, the first thing you notice about him is the uprightness of his posture. He turns 74 this March, but he doesn’t look it. His blond hair hasn’t grayed out fully and his stance is tall and proud, defying gravity’s relentless drag toward the earth. As he starts to walk, though, he displays a pronounced limp, the result … Continue reading Spartan XIX: Story of a Faithful Soldier

Hillsdale ForumMarch 24, 2026Leave a comment