Weekly Top Five Articles
R.E.M, Why Playful Husbands Have Better Marriages, New Data on Fathers, and more
Here’s what stood out the last week or so. . . . I can’t believe I’m old enough to see a book about R.E.M. as a band of music history’s past (ha!).
(1) “The Kings of College Radio: What happened when R.E.M. went mainstream,” by Mina Tavakoli, The Yale Review (February 5, 2025)
Mina Tavakoli’s The Kings of College Radio explores how R.E.M., once a countercultural icon of alternative rock, became a staple of mainstream music and, eventually, “Alternative Muzak.” Initially emerging from Athens, GA’s underground scene, R.E.M. gained traction through college radio, avoiding major-label influence while crafting a unique, jangly, genre-defying sound. Their early years (1983–87) saw them dominate indie music while rejecting corporate influence, a reputation that made them heroes to bands like Nirvana and Radiohead.
However, as alternative music became mainstream, R.E.M. evolved with it, signing a $10M deal with Warner Bros. in 1988. Their success exploded with Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), making them a household name. By the late ’90s, though, the band’s shift from indie underdogs to stadium rockers alienated early fans. After drummer Bill Berry’s 1997 departure, their cultural influence waned. By 2011, they disbanded, leaving behind a paradoxical legacy—both trailblazing and ultimately absorbed by the industry they once resisted.
Today, R.E.M. is remembered less as a revolutionary force and more as background music in shopping malls. Yet, their DNA persists in bands that still carry alternative rock’s torch. Their rise and fall encapsulate the tension between staying independent and achieving mass appeal, a lesson for every artist navigating the fine line between credibility and commercial success.
(2) “A Need for Roots,” By Adam Kirsch, Jewish Review of Books (Winter 2025)
This is fascinating—I had never heard of Simone Weil until today.
Adam Kirsch’s A Need for Roots examines the extraordinary life of Simone Weil, a philosopher, activist, and mystic whose relentless pursuit of justice and truth led her to the front lines of war, labor movements, and spiritual transformation. Weil’s radical activism was inseparable from her deepening engagement with Christianity, shaping her belief that true solidarity required personal suffering and self-sacrifice.
Weil’s political and social activism was uncompromising. A committed leftist, she supported workers’ strikes, lived among factory laborers to experience their struggles firsthand, and even fought briefly with anarchists in the Spanish Civil War—though her time at war ended in an ironic mishap when she scalded herself with boiling oil. Later, she joined the Free French resistance, desperate to serve in Nazi-occupied France, but was denied due to the sheer recklessness of her plan. Despite her unwavering commitment to justice, Weil distrusted all political institutions, believing true virtue lay beyond ideological systems.
Her spiritual journey was just as intense. Weil had mystical experiences that drew her to Christianity, particularly after an encounter with the spirit of Christ in an Italian chapel. Yet, she refused baptism, resisting institutional religion as fiercely as she resisted political structures. For Weil, Christianity was not about doctrine but about identification with human suffering, leading her to extreme personal asceticism.
Her final act of devotion was an attempt to embody wartime sacrifice. While in London, she starved herself to match the rations of those suffering in occupied France, a decision that ultimately led to her death from malnutrition and pneumonia in 1943. Weil saw suffering as a necessary path to truth, but her uncompromising ideals left her physically and emotionally fragile.
Weil’s legacy remains paradoxical—a radical activist who distrusted politics, a Christian who refused baptism, a Jewish-born intellectual who distanced herself from Judaism. Yet, her fearless pursuit of justice and transcendence continues to inspire both theologians and revolutionaries, proving that her life was as uncompromising as the ideals she lived—and died—for.
(3) “Ketogenic Diet May Stabilize Mood in Young People with Bipolar,” Neuroscience News (February 7, 2025)
I've been [unsuccessfully] trying to get parents to cut sugar and processed carbs from their kids' diets. The mental health impact is becoming undeniable. Churches need to stop feeding teens junk food.
A new UCLA-led study is set to investigate whether a ketogenic diet—a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet—can help stabilize mood symptoms in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder. This 16-week clinical trial will monitor 40 participants (ages 12-21) who will follow the diet while continuing their standard medications. Researchers will track mood symptoms, metabolic markers, and diet adherence to determine if a ketogenic approach is both effective and sustainable for young people.
Why This Matters
Previous research has shown that the ketogenic diet may improve mood stability and cognitive function in adults with bipolar disorder, but this is the first study focused on younger populations. If successful, this pilot study could lead to larger clinical trials comparing ketogenic therapy with other dietary interventions, such as the Mediterranean diet.
Why Parents Should Reconsider High-Carb Diets for Kids
This study highlights a broader issue: the impact of carbohydrates, processed foods, and sugar on mental and metabolic health. While the ketogenic diet is being tested for bipolar disorder, its core principles—reducing processed carbs (bread, pasta, cereals) and sugar (snacks, juice, etc.)—are beneficial for all children.
Churches that serve teens junk food are doing real harm and failing to love them well. Parents, don’t let churches feed your kids unhealthy food during Sunday School or youth group. Pizza, doughnuts, chips, cookies, soda, and juice aren’t just bad choices—they signal a lack of care for teens’ physical and mental health.
Diets high in processed carbohydrates and sugar can contribute to blood sugar spikes, inflammation, mood instability, and metabolic disorders. Many parents unknowingly feed their children foods that contribute to poor attention, irritability, and energy crashes throughout the day. By shifting toward a whole-food, nutrient-dense diet—rich in proteins, healthy fats, and fiber—parents can support their child’s brain health, mood stability, and overall well-being.
If the ketogenic diet proves effective for stabilizing bipolar symptoms, it could reinforce the argument that what children eat significantly impacts their mental health. This study is not just about bipolar disorder—it’s about the growing recognition that sugar and processed carbs are harming young minds.
(4) Playfulness predicts attachment and jealousy in romantic relationships by Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost (February 8, 2025)
A recent study published in Scientific Reports explores how different types of playfulness in adults relate to their attachment styles and experiences of jealousy in romantic relationships. Researchers found that playfulness is generally linked to more secure attachment styles and lower emotional jealousy—suggesting that a sense of humor and a lighthearted approach to relationships can promote emotional security.
Key Findings:
Playfulness and Secure Attachment:
People high in other-directed playfulness (using humor and play to connect with others) had lower attachment avoidance, meaning they were more comfortable with emotional closeness.
Those with lighthearted and intellectual playfulness (a carefree approach to life and an enjoyment of deep, playful thinking) had lower attachment anxiety, meaning they worried less about their partner’s commitment.
Whimsical playfulness (quirky and unconventional behavior) had no clear link to attachment security.
Playfulness and Jealousy:
All four types of playfulness were associated with lower emotional jealousy, meaning playful individuals were less likely to feel anger or distress when facing relationship threats.
However, whimsical playfulness was linked to higher cognitive and behavioral jealousy, meaning these individuals had more suspicious thoughts and were more likely to check up on their partners.
Interestingly, when one partner was high in lighthearted playfulness, their partner tended to worry more about potential threats, suggesting that being too carefree might sometimes lead to insecurity in a relationship.
What This Means for Relationships:
The study suggests that playfulness plays a crucial role in relationship stability—helping individuals feel more secure and less threatened by jealousy. Couples who engage in lighthearted teasing, humor, and playful interactions may be better able to communicate their feelings and manage conflicts.
Though the research is correlational and doesn’t establish causation, it highlights the importance of playfulness in fostering healthy emotional bonds. Future research may explore whether actively increasing playfulness can strengthen romantic relationships and improve attachment security over time.
Takeaway: If you want a more secure and less jealous relationship, don’t underestimate the power of playfulness, humor, and shared fun with your partner!
(5) The Crisis and Promise of Fatherhood, by Anthony Bradley, Religion and Liberty Online, (February 2025)
Fatherhood isn’t just a social issue—it’s a moral emergency. The decline of engaged fathers is fueling poverty, crime, educational failure, & cultural collapse, yet family law, economic policies, & cultural narratives actively marginalize dads. If you care about social stability, I argue, start by fixing fatherlessness. However, I mean, actually, do something!
Legal systems punish low-income fathers instead of supporting them. June Carbone & Clare Huntington (Columbia Law Review) show how child support laws & family courts push dads out of their kids’ lives—especially unmarried, working-class men. Reforming child support enforcement & creating father-friendly policies would increase stability for kids, reduce poverty, & strengthen families.
But fatherhood isn’t just a legal issue—it’s a spiritual one. Fazel E. Freeks (Verbum et Ecclesia) argues that father absence, gender-based violence, & family breakdown aren’t just social problems—they’re moral crises. His research shows faith-based interventions—mentorship, pastoral care, & community support—restore men to their roles as fathers. The church must stop treating men as an afterthought and invest in rebuilding fatherhood as a spiritual calling.
And let’s kill the myth of the “absent Black father.” Harmon, James, Young, & Scott (Equity & Excellence in Education) show that Black fathers actively shape their sons' academic success despite systemic barriers. They instill responsibility, teach resilience, & model moral leadership, but research & media ignore their contributions. The narrative needs to change.
What Should Churches Be Doing?
Stop sidelining men’s ministry. The church needs fatherhood coaching programs, financial literacy training, & mentorship for young dads. Men need more than a 6:30 AM Bible study and an annual retreat. Fathers need real coaching, encouragement, and consistent, ongoing support to be good husbands and dads.
Teach the Fatherhood of God and the implications for earthly fathers. Stop letting culture define manhood—fathers aren’t accessories, they’re essential. Don’t be so Christ-centered that they men in your church never hear about how their role at home is modeled after the first person of the Trinity: God the Father.
Advocate for policy changes. Child support laws, family court biases, & anti-father economic policies crush working-class dads. Various members should fight for family-friendly legal reforms wherever they have influence.
Men need brotherhood. Fathers need strong communities of men to sharpen & challenge them. Churches should be leading the way in building deep, meaningful male friendships. Building support structures for fathers should be both a community initiative and an evangelistic mission.
No government program, non-profit, or school can replace an engaged, loving father. If we don’t restore fatherhood, the moral & social collapse will continue. Churches must lead the charge in rebuilding strong, responsible, godly fathers. No revival is coming without them.
Men in churches need to know this data firsthand. It changes them. Over the past few months, I’ve spoken at Redeemer Presbyterian Church(PCA)—Downtown, Tates Creek Presbyterian Church and Trinity Christian Academy in Lexington, KY, Christ Central (PCA) in Charlotte, NC, In April 2025, I’ll be speaking at Denver Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO. Every time I present this data in a church—without fail—fathers go home, step up, and change that same day. The impact is immediate! It’s such a blessing to hear stories. When they see the data and wrestle with it alongside other fathers, something clicks.
If you’re interested in having fathers in your church engage this data, click here. I’d be happy to come out—especially during football season if you’re in a college town (ha!). In the past, a Saturday morning breakfast or a Friday night-to-Saturday noon event has worked really well.