TOS Weekly - Life Lessons from Austen, Rowling, and Rand
Plus reevaluating Joseph McCarthy, how travel can foster a personal renaissance, and reclaiming spirituality for lovers of life.
Welcome to this week’s TOS Weekly!
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
What’s New?
From the Archive
The Vindication of Joseph McCarthy
On February 9, 1950, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, launched a massive campaign against alleged Communists and Soviet agents working for, and perhaps spying on, the U.S. government. He and his tactics were widely demonized, but is this tarnished legacy the one we should remember?
How Travel Can Foster a Personal Renaissance
“Quit your home in town, and leave your family and friends, and go over the mountains and valleys into the country.” —Leonardo da Vinci
Reclaiming Spirituality for Lovers of Life
Does spirituality pertain exclusively to the realm of religion? Many people think so. But this is an error—and a spiritually destructive one at that.
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Thank you once again for the publication of The Vindication of Joseph McCarthy. It was and is a fresh look at a unique individual and his work.