Culture Sketches

The word that perhaps best characterizes the Puritans and Covenanters is faithfulness. Whether Edward Dering preaching boldly before a fuming Queen Elizabeth, Sandy Peden evading the king's men on horse, or Hugh Mackail undergoing the torture of "the Boot" and then execution for his faith, the Puritans' and Covenanters' courage and conviction shines as bright as ever today.

In this 1976 collection of essays, Americana icon Tom Wolfe explores the social status strife of the 1970s, eviscerating trends of faux-sympathy and self-absorption, going as far as to coin the term "The 'Me' Decade" to describe the period’s narcissism. And when paired with the clear, confident delivery of storied narrator and stage-and-screen veteran Peter Berkrot, Wolfe’s incisive wit and cynical bite is more blistering than ever.

Comedian-philosophers from Socrates to Sartre have always prodded and provoked us, critiquing our most sacred institutions and urging us to examine ourselves in the process. In Saturday Night Live and Philosophy, a star-studded cast of philosophers takes a close look at the "deep thoughts" beneath the surface of NBC's award-winning late-night variety show and its hosts' zany antics.