Dry January was started by a British woman named Emily Robinson. She signed up for a half-marathon in February 2011 and decided to stay away from alcohol for the month of January in order to prepare. (Rampton, Mental Floss)
Read MoreThe oldest baby boomers — once the vanguard of an American youth that revolutionized U.S. culture and politics — turn 80 in 2026. The generation that twirled the first plastic hula hoops and dressed up the first Barbie dolls, embraced the TV age, blissed out at Woodstock and protested and fought in the Vietnam War — the cohort that didn’t trust anyone over age 30 — now is contributing to the overall aging of America. (Schneider, AP News)
Read MoreThis past year we saw big changes under the second Trump administration as well as violence in the US and abroad. The news team looked back on what we covered to rank what we saw as the most significant developments for the church. (Christianity Today)
Read MoreNew Year's resolutions are a key part of how many people observe the holiday, as much of an annual tradition as the Times Square ball drop or a midnight champagne toast. The concept of taking stock and vowing to do better in the new year actually dates back centuries, though there wasn't always a pithy name for it. (Treisman, NPR)
Read MoreReaders bought about 184 million print adult fiction books this year. That’s roughly as many as they bought last year and 66 million more than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic gave book sales a jolt. (Harris & Alter, The New York Times)
Read MoreI’ve spent a lot of time over the past year talking to frustrated conservative Christians. They complain about their fellow believers’ tendency to make idols out of political power. But they also criticize the media’s simplistic depictions, especially in stories about Christian nationalism and a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. (Worthen, The New York Times)
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