On the third anniversary of the horrendous Hamas attack against innocent Israelis on October 7th, 2023, many in the West remain ignorant of the true nature of the evil that perpetrated that attack. Mere days before the anniversary, another would-be murderer attempted to hijack and crash a plane full of Israelis into the terminal building at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in the name of Islam. The fact he failed is thanks to the heroic actions of captain Smit Machchhar and the passengers who helped him subdue the fanatical jihadist. Their actions, which I describe in my latest article, are a welcome reminder that those who value human life can triumph over those who would destroy it.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Achieving a happy, fulfilling life depends on recognizing that your values, choices, and actions are within your control. This week, Maddox Locher details how he took charge of his thinking and life choices in “How I Renounced Religion and Embraced a Life of Reason” (adapted from his talk at LevelUp 2025). Also, I interview life coach Daria Ermolenko about how to “get in the driving seat of your life” by discovering and understanding the nature and causes of your emotions.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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As a frequent flier in both Europe and America, I’ve enjoyed both the extremely low fares available in Europe and the higher standard of service often provided by American carriers. That we can’t have both in either market is the fault of government, according to Michael O’Leary, CEO of Europe’s largest airline, Ryanair. In this week’s new article, I celebrate O’Leary for his willingness to name and shame government for its role in holding back aviation competition.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Those of us who frequently fly between continents know the stress and hassle of spending hours on a plane, only to have to get off and get on another one to complete the journey. For passengers travelling between Europe or the Americas and Australia, the trip often involves two long-haul flights back-to-back. But aviation innovators are working to change that. Although Boom Supersonic’s plans to halve the time such journeys will take are still a decade or so away from implementation, Airbus and Qantas have just demonstrated the viability of an interim solution: a plane capable of making the 10,000-mile journey in one go. In my new article, I celebrate these heroes of aviation innovation.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey is taking theaters by storm, rapidly approaching a worldwide box-office gross of $1 billion. Although the film is undeniably impressive on a technical level, its success is concerning on a fundamental level: Most viewers seem unaware of the ideas it expresses—or fails to.

At the same time, many concerned about Europe’s migration crisis are rushing to praise Citizen Vigilante, a film with a moral message that will horrify any sane mind. In his new reviews of both movies, Tim White examines their stories, showing why they fail to convey the kind of life-enhancing themes we need in our culture today.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
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Christopher Nolan’s movie adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey is taking movie theaters by storm. That’s directing a lot of attention at the original work and the movie’s differences from it. Many of those differences are down to the cultural context that gave rise to the original story—a context that imbued it not only with heroism but also mysticism. In “Odysseus and the Limits of Ancient Heroism,” John Devlin shows how that mystical context undermines the story’s heroism, while also paying tribute to the story’s important role in pioneering the concept of a rational, heroic protagonist.

Those of us who have been deeply affected by Ayn Rand’s ideas struggle to imagine what the world would have been like had she not been able to escape Russia in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. Although thankfully she did, many others did not. Among them may have been countless great minds who could have contributed to philosophy, art, and more. This week, in his first article for TOS, Georgy Sinitsky profiles a group of poets who, despite the mystical, collectivist nature of Russian culture at this time, briefly created a remarkably reality-oriented school of art in opposition to all that prevailed around them. Perhaps, had their movement not been snuffed out by the repression of communism, they might have affected the course of 20th century culture much more significantly.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
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Ayn Rand once observed that art is the barometer of the culture. The values expressed in our most popular movies, TV shows, novels, and so forth tell us the values that are widely accepted in our societies. With that in mind, the huge popularity of Citizen Vigilante—a film that promotes senseless violence without a semblance of justice—among people who regard themselves as defenders of Western civilization is alarming. In his new article on the film’s significance, Robert Bidinotto shows in detail how it reflects a culture in which conservatives and leftists alike are abandoning objective principles.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
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Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, a small group of men set out the principles according to which the United States of America would be governed. These men were geniuses and polymaths, each extraordinarily well versed in history, philosophy, statecraft, and more. Between them, they created the first nation on Earth to be founded by principles—the principles of liberty, rights, and the pursuit of happiness.

Since that time, America has flourished to the extent that Americans have stayed true to those rational principles. Although it has departed from the Founders’ vision in a great many ways, it still remains in many respects the freest country on Earth. This week, we celebrate a quarter century of America, tip our hats to the heroes who made this life-empowering nation possible, and remind ourselves of the values and ideals that Americans must rediscover and hold dear if the country is to survive and flourish in the centuries to come.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

Celebrating America the Rational

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History is replete with examples of societies wherein large proportions of people have abandoned all respect for human life. How does this happen? What ideas contribute to it? These are questions that the recent film Mickey 17 broaches through its depiction of a world in which some people can be “reprinted” after death, effectively making them “expendable.” In her review of the movie, Ava Scott-Nadal examines its depiction of this society and the way the film conveys the idea that we must uphold the value of our own lives.

Valuing ourselves includes expressing ourselves through the work we choose to engage in. Volunteering, when motivated by one’s own values rather than any sense of “duty,” can be a powerful way to express oneself productively. In my new article, I tell the story of the volunteers who, as the steam-driven rail industry they loved was collapsing in the 1950s and 1960s, banded together to acquire, operate, and rebuild scenic rail lines as tourist attractions and museums of industrial history.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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After the publication of the Summer 2026 issue of TOS, the team is once again hard at work on new articles. Among those published with the Summer issue was Anna Shnaidman’s critical analysis of the oft-celebrated “epic theatre” play Mother Courage and Her Children. Alongside that, this week we mark the birthday of the little-known and vastly under-appreciated hero of liberty and reason Auberon Herbert, the similarly overlooked atlases of abolition, and the anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Although Jane Austen is one of the most celebrated writers of all time, few of her readers fully appreciate the philosophic depth of her novels. One who does is Helena Kelly, author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical. Angelica Werth, in her new review of this book, sheds light on some of the powerful moral ideas to be found in Austen’s work.

Whereas some great artists are merely under-appreciated, others have their reputations unjustly sullied. A prime example of this is Michael Jackson, who is back in the headlines thanks to the new biopic Michael. In his review of the movie, Tim White refutes the critical claims that the film dishonestly evades the issue of the sexual abuse claims levied against Jackson, demonstrating how those criticisms miss the essential purpose of a biographical movie.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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New outstanding music and new outstanding fiction seem equally hard to find in today’s culture, so I was astonished to find a little-known band from Nashville that excels at making both. As I detail in my new article, the Protomen have created a three-part work of dystopian fiction in the form of innovative and intricate synthwave rock music.

We owe thanks for the fact we can discover such niche things in the age of the internet to the pioneers of electronic communication. One often under-recognized innovator in this field is Samuel Morse, whose heroic life Aditya Patil has profiled in detail. Despite being better known for Morse Code, Morse labored through all manner of hardship to create America’s first long-distance electromagnetic telegraph, the forerunner to the electronic communications network that has brought the world together over the subsequent two centuries.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Few philosophers are as widely quoted as Friedrich Nietzsche—yet few truly understand his ideas. To do so requires disentangling his own contradictions and 150 years of his ideas being misconstrued by those entrusted to convey them. But, with the assistance of a capable, objective guide, it’s possible to get real value from his many powerful insights and novel ideas without falling pray to his misintegrations. One such guide is Sue Prideaux’s I Am Dynamite, and Margherita Bovo’s new review of this book demonstrates how it dispels many of the misconceptions that abound regarding Nietzsche’s philosophy, leaving the way clear to appreciate his many significant steps in the right direction.

Also this week, Craig Biddle discusses the nature and existence of free will with Gregg Caruso, and we celebrate the birthdays of swing music legend Duke Ellington and prolific author of Western novels Elmer Kelton.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Great artists—be they writers, musicians, painters, poets—are true heroes who enhance our lives by bringing us joy and helping us deal with life’s questions and challenges. In this week’s new article, Rebecca Day profiles one such artist: Little Feat founding member and former frontman Lowell George. Her article has left me eager to dive into George’s impressive creative output from his sadly short life.

This week we also celebrate two literary anniversaries —Margaret Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale on April 17, 1985, and Charlotte Brönte was born on April 21, 1816." Both penned works that, in very different ways, concretized the importance of independence. Alongside them, we also celebrate baseball legend Jackie Robinson and hero of the American Revolution Joseph Warren.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor

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Human civilization is capable of reaching far greater heights than anything seen until now, and this week’s Artemis II flight around the Moon is a tantalizing glimpse of the future we could have. But the fact that it has taken fifty-four years for humans to return to the Moon is a stark reminder that we could have been much closer to that future by now.

In my new article on the flight of Artemis II, I explore the story of America’s space program from the Apollo to the present day, identifying why it’s failed to achieve its long-held goals of a permanent human presence on the Moon and the manned exploration of Mars and beyond. In answering that question, it becomes clear that the Artemis Program shares many of the same flaws that undermine its predecessors, and that if we want to see a spacefaring future for humankind, a different approach is needed.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas F. Walker
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In the philosophically muddled political culture we live in today, the prominent opposition to Marxism-inspired efforts to malign and undo the achievements of Western culture comes in the form of conservatism. In that context, it is increasingly common for conservatives to claim that Christianity was a key part of why the West became enlightened and industrialized, unlike other parts of the world. But is there truth to this claim? In his rigorous article, Frederick Seiler explores the role of religion in the scientific revolution to see how it may have helped or hindered the West’s embrace of science and reason.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas Walker-Werth
Managing Editor

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Modern cinema is replete with movies that claim to be love stories, but what many of them depict as “love” is really infatuation rather than the esteeming of another person’s values and character. In his new review essay, Tim White highlights a recent example of this tendency, Luc Besson’s new adaptation of Dracula, noting the film’s merits compared to many modern movies while examining the errors it makes in depicting the nature of love.

True love can of course exist in the form of close friendships as well as romantic relationships. This week, I have decided to highlight a classicTV series—1971’s The Persuaders!—that depicts loving friendship exceptionally well, and that depicts the fact that a life of wealth and pleasure won’t be satisfying without a meaningful purpose.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas Walker-Werth
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True friendship—a trade of spiritual values between two people who admire each other’s characters—is one of the most enriching aspects of a full life. A heartwarming example of this is the short-lived but value-packed friendship between James Dean and Eartha Kitt. In her first TOS article, musician Rebecca Day explores this life-affirming relationship and what it demonstrates about the deep love true friends can share.

Another key aspect of a full life is the ability to think clearly. Language is our tool of comprehension, yet more and more people in the West today leave school with little understanding of how to use it properly, stymying their ability to think and communicate. Michael Rose’s new book The Subversive Art of a Classical Education is a line in the sand against this trend, as Tim White expounds in his new review.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,

Thomas Walker-Werth
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Art, as Ayn Rand observed, is a concretization of the author’s values and ideas, and good art is that which contretizes life-supporting ideas effectively and compellingly. Different art forms concretize ideas in different ways—fiction does so through stories that depict the choices characters make and the changes they undergo as a result. In her new article—adapted from her thought-provoking talk at LevelUp Europe 2025—Angelica Werth analyzes three great character arcs from such diverse authors as Jane Austen, J.K. Rowling, and Ayn Rand, drawing out the ideas and values that can inspire us to live better lives.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles.

Thomas Walker-Werth
Managing Editor

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In recent weeks, Donald Trump’s lack of principle has been on display perhaps more than ever. After failing to fulfill his promise to defend the Iranian protesters, he sidestepped that crucially important issue to focus on his obsession with conquering Greenland, needlessly threatening more destructive tariffs and penning an embarrassing letter to the prime minister of Norway blaming that country for not awarding him a Nobel Peace Prize. This kind of behavior is expected from Trump at this stage, but it points to the president’s dangerous fixation on his own image at the expense of due process and individual rights. Nicholas Provenzo’s double review of two new books about dealing with dictators shines a light on the cultural trends that have given rise to two Trump presidencies and the steps Americans must take in order to protect what remains of the freest nation on Earth.

The cultural trends that have made our current situation possible go back centuries and ultimately stem from a widespread abandonment of the principles of the Enlightenment—the ideas that reason is man’s means of knowledge and that all people should be free to use their reason to identify and pursue their values. Good books on the Enlightenment—especially accessible, clearly written ones—are a rarity in today’s academia. This week, Margherita Bovo reviews one of those rare diamonds in the rough, Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, drawing out the core Enlightenment values that so many other writers seem to misunderstand or overlook altogether but which are crucial to achieving happiness and building a better society.

I hope you enjoy this week’s articles.

Thomas Walker-Werth

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