Purewow for the week

YOU ARE SO EMOTIONALLY NUANCED AND COMPLEX. How reading literary fiction is linked to emotional intelligence.

The mad farmer is slightly madder: Wendell Berry discusses civil disobedience, our ecological tasks, and the exacting obligation of the Gospels.

All the secretaries of defense (and even the secretaries of satire) grew speechless on Wednesday when 16-year-old Malala issued her peacekeeping resolution: she will change the world, and she will not hit you with her shoe.

Last week we read about the increasing violence to Christians in the Middle East. It will surprise and humble you to know who is coming to their defense.

Short story writer Alice Munro was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in literature, but don’t expect to read anything new from her except, perhaps, the occasional “retired lyfe” tweet. Here she is cited making a case for writers retiring. Of course, this made us think of the Hauerwas piece “Why a theologian can never retire.”

Three Ted talks we wish congress had watched before the government shutdown.

How one remembering community fights urban crime  “. . . Begin with children as young as 5, give them help with homework, playtime, field trips, and cultural activities. Invite them, as they become teenagers, to work on community service projects and help with younger people. Then, as they reach adulthood, offer them a job and a chance to lead. Put children at the center of a caring community, the thinking goes, and they will be OK.”