Esther O'Reilly

Esther O'Reilly is an American freelance writer and cultural critic. Her work has appeared in Plough, Quillette, the American Conservative and the Critic, among other outlets. She also contributed to the Lexham Press anthology Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson.

Monday

Esther O'Reilly

Seventy-five years of It’s a Wonderful Life

Frank Capra was almost too embarrassed to pitch his greatest film to Jimmy Stewart. At the time, both men were veterans in a post-war slump. Capra was losing his first confidence in a shelved Cary Grant vehicle-that-wasn’t, a script that had been torturously adapted from a short story by a fractious committee of writers. He stumbled through the premise for Stewart, trying to explain that the story starts in Heaven, and it’s about this fellow who thinks he’s a failure in life, so an angel named Clarence has to come down and stop him from jumping off a bridge, except Clarence can’t swim so the fellow has to save him… Here Capra paused, mopping his brow to confess, “This doesn’t tell very well, does it?

wonderful life

Tuesday

Esther O'Reilly

An interview with Hatun Tash, the Christian preacher stabbed at Speakers’ Corner

From our UK edition

Hatun Tash is recovering well after being assaulted at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park last month. The attacker, who is still at large, appeared to aim for her neck, but Hatun deflected the knife so that it broke off in the folds of her clothes. Her bandaged right hand and scarred forehead are the only visible clues of her near escape. She tells me she started watching footage of the incident but couldn’t bring herself to finish. ‘All I can say is, it wasn’t my time.’ She speaks with the calm of a woman who has faced death before. In May, a mob surrounded her screaming for her blood. Last October, she was punched in the face.

Tuesday

Esther O'Reilly

Richard Dawkins’s views on Down’s syndrome aren’t a surprise

From our UK edition

Irish radio host Brendan O’Connor is not interested in having an emotional discussion. He’s just curious: if a man of science claims that it would increase the sum total of the world’s suffering to bring a child with Down's syndrome into it, what evidence does he have for that claim? In a viral clip, O'Connor — whose daughter has Down’s syndrome — maintains his professional poise as he asks Richard Dawkins to comment on an old tweet offering advice to a woman torn over what she would do if pregnant with a Down’s syndrome child: ‘Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have a choice.’ https://twitter.com/RTERadio1/status/1392179711338553346?

Monday

Esther O'Reilly

What’s the truth about John’s Gospel?

From our UK edition

Veteran actor David Suchet is no stranger to Biblical readings, but his new Westminster Abbey performance of John’s gospel carries a special poignancy. The combined power of his voice, the abbey’s acoustics, and the breathtaking interior, apt portions of which the camera captured in beautiful synchronicity with the reading, made for a richly resonant experience. And for Christians who are even now being harassed as they seek incarnated fellowship, the reminder that 'the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us' is more timely than ever. Yet the gospel most beloved among laymen is also the most contested among scholars. For some, it is a uniquely illuminating, intimate piece of reportage on Christ’s life and passion.

Friday

Esther O'Reilly

What Chariots of Fire can teach us about identity politics

From our UK edition

Next week marks the 40th anniversary of Hugh Hudson’s Chariots of Fire, the Oscar-winning true tale of Olympic glory which captured the affections of critics and mass audiences alike. Fondly cited by everyone from Maggie Thatcher to Joe Biden, parodied by Mr. Bean, beloved and bemoaned for its Vangelis score and heightened slow-mo cinematography, Chariots reliably jerks tears from most filmgoers of a certain generation. Yet, four decades on, the film has lost none of its vitality, even for the newcomer. Indeed, so far from being a faded relic of its era, it still crackles with a sharp and nuanced screenplay that offers particularly apt food for thought in a news age dominated by debates over discrimination, both racial and ideological.

Tuesday

Esther O'Reilly

A morning in a diner with Michigan’s COVID rebels

Portage, MichiganThe short notice taped to the door is addressed ‘to all government officials’. It gives them a warning: ‘You are in violation of your oath of office by trespassing unlawfully on the property of this business establishment and committing an act of terrorism under Section 802 of the Patriot Act.’ Taped up next to it, a longer warning in black and set-off red type, with Title 18 from the United States Code copied out underneath. I pull out my phone for a snapshot, then walk back to wait in line. [caption id="attachment_10429477" align="alignnone" width="1200"] (Esther O’Reilly)[/caption] On this particular crisp December morning, a small group has gathered outside the D&R Daily Grind Café in Portage, Michigan.

michigan