Caleb Weingarten

Dec 12, 2024 | iowastatedaily.com | Caleb Weingarten

Vladimir Nabokov offers in his “Lectures on Literature” a scrupulous definition of what it feels like to read good works of literature. The experience is at once both mental and physical. “Although we read with our minds,” Nabokov stated, “the seat of artistic delight is between the shoulder blades.” I found I was curious at such a specific and precise example of something so familiar but never previously explainable.

Dec 8, 2024 | iowastatedaily.com | Caleb Weingarten

As the fall semester comes to a sudden end, I thought it would be a good opportunity to hear from our community on how the opinion section is performing and listen to any feedback all of you might have for this section. The opinion section is, naturally, the place where people in the Iowa State community look for discussions and debates on the most important issues that face them. It is my hope that Daily readers feel that goal has been properly nurtured.

Dec 6, 2024 | iowastatedaily.com | Caleb Weingarten

Syria is often forgotten in the modern discussions of international politics. Years ago, the Syrian civil war bombarded global news headlines and attracted the eyes of the world to the destructive and horrifying images of dead civilians, women and children terrorized and ancient cities and villages reduced to ruin. Then it faded away from mainstream media, cast aside for apparently more crucial matters that deserved our attention. This was a mistake.

Nov 21, 2024 | iowastatedaily.com | Caleb Weingarten

One can only hope that by the time President Joe Biden departs office, there still exists an office to depart. This is not hyperbole or fear mongering. Biden’s decision to authorize the use of ATACMS missiles against Russia by Ukraine is startling and highly irresponsible. It also marks the latest escalation between NATO and Russia.

Nov 19, 2024 | iowastatedaily.com | Caleb Weingarten

What is more offensive to Americans than the outward claim that their minds are “coddled?” No. It can’t be. Americans are not so inane and tractable as to need coddling–a mere assertion that, as Christopher Hitchens writes, violates “the conservative belief in American exceptionalism.”I referenced a great book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in my last article that deserves more scrupulous treatment.