On William Shakepeare’s 450th birthday, it’s worth taking stock of the depth of the Bard’s writing that has sustained his work through the centuries. Hamlet in particular emerges as a perennial favorite and perhaps the most popular of his plays. Themes about the…
A recent Journal of Mennonite Studies article offers a wide ranging discussion about the Mennonite experience in the far-flung edges of the Russian Empire up through the Soviet era. In the article, Royden Loewen and Paul Toews survey the century-long debate about the Mennonite…
In Gaziantep, Turkey, the children at a local orphanage were recently asked to write about what they wished for most in life. The exercise was designed to help them think about their goals for the future. However, one child took…
Working in journalism is one of the best ways to see all sides of the human condition. Over the years, I have reported from conflict zones and cow pastures, spoken to famous and infamous world leaders, interviewed both victims of violent…
I was looking at the videos from the AP religion beat over the past year. We really cover a wide range – from Santa Muerte worship to Amish buggy battles. Check out the samples below. I produced and edited each…
Check out this review of my book in a research journal produced by the think tank Uluslararası Stratejik Arastirmalar Kurumu (International Strategic Research Organisation/USAK) in Turkey. It’s good to see the exposure Pilgrims on the Silk Road is receiving: Journal…
This review appeared in the June issue of The Mennonite Historian. The reviewer is Ahmet Şeyhun, Professor of Islamic/Middle Eastern History at the University of Winnipeg. I consider it a great compliment that he gives his stamp of approval to the Islamic and…
This profile was printed in The Kansan newspaper just prior to the premiere of Through the Desert Goes Our Journey: The Mennonite Trek to Central Asia at the Bethel Fall Festival back in 2008. I thought Melanie Zuercher did a…
This week, Pilgrims on the Silk Road won a gold medal in the nonfiction war writing category from the Reader’s Favorite review site. Not bad for a book about a pacifist community and their peaceful response to Muslims. Yet, the…
Check out my “Art in the First Person” article in the latest issue of Elan, an arts magazine in Northern Virginia: An Author in Search of a Story: Retracing a Long-Forgotten Trek by Walter Ratliff A few flakes of white…
