Can James Talarico Reclaim Christianity for the Left?
Jan. 13, 2026•Episode #820
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The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

Authors: Robert D. Putnam , Shaylyn Romney Garrett
ISBN 13: 978-1982129156
From the author of Bowling Alone and Our Kids , a “sweeping yet remarkably accessible” ( The Wall Street Journal ) analysis that “offers superb, often counterintuitive insights” ( The New York Times ) to demonstrate how we have gone from an individualistic “I” society to a more communitarian “We” society and then back again, and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger more unified nation. Deep and accelerating inequality; unprecedented political polarization; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private narcissism—Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: This is the worst of times. But we’ve been here before. During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, America was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized, and deeply fragmented, just as it is today. However as the twentieth century opened, America became—slowly, unevenly, but steadily—more egalitarian, more cooperative, more generous; a society on the upswing, more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less focused on our narrower self-interest. Sometime during the 1960s, however, these trends reversed, leaving us in today’s disarray. In a “magnificent and visionary book” ( The New Republic ) drawing on his inimitable combination of statistical analysis and storytelling, Robert Putnam analyzes a remarkable confluence of trends that brought us from an “I” society to a “We” society and then back again. He draws on inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era, when a dedicated group of reformers righted the ship, putting us on a path to becoming a society once again based on community. This is Putnam’s most “remarkable” ( Science ) work yet, a fitting capstone to a brilliant career.
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Lonesome Dove: A Novel

Lonesome Dove: A Novel

Authors: Larry McMurtry , Taylor Sheridan
ISBN 13: 978-1439195260
The 40th anniversary edition of the Pulitzer Prize–winning classic of the American West, with a new foreword by Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan. An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness . Journey to the dusty little town of Lonesome Dove , where retired Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call undertake a perilous cattle drive to the untamed plains of Montana. Along the way, they face danger, adventure, and an unforgettable cast of characters. Richly authentic and beautifully written, Lonesome Dove is a story of love, loss, and the unyielding spirit of the American West.
Jesus and the Disinherited

Jesus and the Disinherited

Authors: Howard Thurman , Kelly Brown Douglas
ISBN 13: 978-0807010297
Famously known as the text that Martin Luther King Jr. sought inspiration from in the days leading up to the Montgomery bus boycott, Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited helped shape the civil rights movement and changed our nation’s history forever. In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower--it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.
by @zachbellay