Stories by Grant Wishard
A Timely Performance of 'Othello'
Shakespeare's play dressed up in 19th century clothing with 21st century overtones.
12:12 PM, Aug 22, 2017
This summer, the Shakespeare Theater Company has brought Othello to the stage for its annual “Free For All,” a decades-old Washington, D.C., tradition that offers a Shakespeare classic to the public free of charge. And, no, it’s not like most other freebies. Unlike Costco samples, junk mail, and door-knocking missionaries, Free For All is always something to look forward to: It’s as professional and impressive a production as you could hope to see. This year is no exception. Othello is the s Read more
The Underground Artists of World War I
A new exhibit shows off the work of artists sent to war and soldiers who turned to art.
11:45 AM, Aug 17, 2017
When the U.S. entered World War I, the thousands of soldiers who headed to Europe were joined by combat artists attached to the American Expeditionary Force. In honor of the centennial, The National Air and Space Museum has created a new exhibit , Artist Soldiers, to remember their efforts, and the many forms of artistic expression inspired by that horrifying conflict. Before World War I, artists kept the battlefield at a safe distance, portraying important, heroic moments from a macro-pers Read more
Does the Democrats' Better Way Run Through Berryville?
3:32 PM, Jul 25, 2017
On Monday, the congressional leaders of the Democratic party announced their 2018 campaign agenda, modestly titled “A Better Deal.” And it was no coincidence that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Elizabeth Warren visited Berryville , Virginia for the big reveal. Berryville is located in Clarke County, which committed the great sin of voting for Donald Trump in 2016, while the rest of the district supported Hillary Clinton by double digits. Read more
Amtrak Chief Admits His Rail System Is a Financial Loser
Unique candor.
12:50 PM, Jul 21, 2017
Amtrak interim CEO Charles W. Moorman III made a rare admission for a businessman in a speech last week: His company is never going to make a profit. That’s no surprise to anyone who knows anything about Amtrak, which has cost taxpayers more than $45 billion in subsidies since service began in 1971. Even in a good year, such as 2014, Amtrak lost $227 million, or $1.1 billion including depreciating assets. Moorman said his mission is simply to minimize the rail system’s losses. “My mantra t Read more
The Surprising Thing You Learn at the Roswell UFO Festival
It has nothing to do with aliens.
5:30 AM, Jul 12, 2017
According to the government, Roswell, New Mexico, is an uninteresting place. They want you to believe the city (population 48,754) is little more than the birthplace of John Denver and the location of Leprino Foods, one of the largest mozzarella factories in the world. The men in black want you to forget that sometime during the first week of July 1947, a UFO crash-landed in a rancher’s field, that the U.S. military captured extraterrestrial life forms, and are, still to this day, hiding the sec Read more
The Not-So-Grand Tour
Grant Wishard takes a little trip.
Jul 17, 2017
To the recent college graduates who have somehow failed to spend all of Daddy’s money in five-and-a-half years, fear not, tradition says you deserve a vacation. Consider it your version of the Grand Tour, the jaunt through Europe that served as the capstone to a formal education in centuries past for (privileged) young people, exposing them to the greatness of Western civilization and the suffocating politeness of high society “on the Continent.” In the 21st century, of course, that means a me Read more
Lawrence of Arabia and the Battle of Aqaba at 100
6:00 AM, Jul 06, 2017
A century ago today, Captain T.E. Lawrence helped capture the city of Aqaba and became the legendary Lawrence of Arabia. Sent by the British army as a military advisor, Lawrence convinced Emir Faisal I, leader of the Arab Revolt, to attack the Turkish stronghold by way of the Nefud desert, which was thought to be impassable. As Sherif Ali tells Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia , “It takes more than a compass, Englishman. The Nefud is the worst place God created!” But Lawrence pushes on, joins f Read more
Midterm Watch: Comstock Faces Big Democratic Challenge in Virginia
The Dems view the district as an important chance for a takeover, which promises big money spent on both sides.
1:30 PM, Jun 20, 2017
Democrats are lining up to challenge Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock in the 2018 midterms in Virginia’s 10th district. The field includes Army veteran Daniel Helmer, former union leader Kimberly Adams, one-time Obama administration official Lindsey Davis Stover, and state senator Jennifer Wexton. Comstock was among the Republicans who took control of the House in 2014, and, despite Democrats best efforts, survived a tough re-election campaign in 2016. Though President Trump lost V Read more
Another One Rides The Bus
Notes on a Greyhound adventure.
6:00 AM, Apr 11, 2017
I recently regaled WEEKLY STANDARD readers with tales from my Florida biking adventure—eight days, 650 miles, and two college friends pedaling the east coast of the state to reach Key West—but I haven't yet told you how we got back home. The return trip was an adventure in its own right, best summed up in a single word: Greyhound. If you've ever experienced the classic North American inter-city bus service, the word itself is a talisman strong enough to conjure up repressed memories of that Read more
An Extraordinary Selection
A new theatrical take on Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
11:00 AM, Mar 14, 2017
The worst stage performance I ever saw was If Then , an off-Broadway production about hip young adults, standing around, wearing leather satchels, drinking coffee, and singing loudly about big life decisions. Besides having an irritating syllogistic title that wouldn't allow you to forget your own poor decision ("If you see If Then , then you will regret it"), the musical's most memorable failure was its shrill, microphone-blaring-in-your-ear messaging. If Then falsely believed it had someth Read more
Warm Showers and Cold Beer
Little platoons in action.
7:40 AM, Feb 21, 2017
During a recent break home from school, a friend and I biked the east coast of Florida. Leaving our car in a Wendy's parking lot, we began in St. Mary's, a town straddling the Georgia border, and in eight days traveled 650 miles to reach Key West, the end of the panhandle and the southernmost point of the United States. My friend, who I'll call James, had never been down south before. "What is Bojangles?" he asked me. We agreed that Florida is beautiful in December—flat, cloudless, and so warm Read more
How Tablet Computers Are Revolutionizing Casual Dining
What happens when technology and dining out mix?
5:00 AM, Dec 30, 2016
If you've been to an Olive Garden anytime in the last year, you'll notice the Italian casual dining chain no longer offers unlimited pasta on the menu. More consequentially, the Olive Garden menu itself is displayed by a computer monitor at your table. It's called Ziosk, a black 7-inch touchscreen that allows diners to order from the menu and pay on demand. Apparently, the first systems were tested in 2013, and are gradually being adopted by major chains , including Chili's, Uno Pizzeria and Gr Read more
Holding Up a Black Mirror to Society
10:30 AM, Nov 03, 2016
The next big new thing is here— Black Mirror —and you have to watch it now. The British television series, created by Charlie Booker, has recently begun its third season on Netflix and it deserves our limited attention spans. Why? Because Black Mirror theorizes the consequences of future technology in such unsettling, terrifying detail, that we might just resist the next Next Big Thing—before it's too late. Though each hour long episode is comprised of different characters, a unique setting, Read more
Tempest in a Theater
10:56 AM, Aug 24, 2016
Did you know this year is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death? Theater-rats have been told this a hundred times by now, but it bears reconsidering. In the course of four centuries, audiences have remained entranced by his work—the same plots, characters, and dialogue—unchanged, ever since. Shakespeare has a truly universal appeal and it's the Shakespeare Theatre Company's latest production, The Tempest , now playing at the Sidney Harman Hall through August 28, which makes a fitting t Read more
Kennedy Center Honors the Original Shakespeare with 'Merchant of Venice'
The Globe Theater's unmodified, masterful "Merchant of Venice" proves the enduring magnetism of Shakespeare's work.
6:51 PM, Aug 02, 2016
If you've been casting around since April trying to find a way to celebrate Shakespeare's 400th deathday, look no further than The Merchant of Venice , just now completing its run at the Kennedy Center. Normally you should be mortified to forget such an occasion, but the rules of etiquette begin to relax after four centuries. Anyway, it's the perfect excuse to enjoy such worthy drama—produced by the Globe Theatre no less—and appearing in world playhouses from Beijing to Chicago. Earlier this Read more
A Man for All Seasons
Television Review: All the Way, on HBO.
2:04 PM, May 25, 2016
Find a friend with HBO and be sure to watch All the Way , a new political drama that remembers the first year of Lyndon Johnson's accidental presidency and his unlikely passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Robert Schenkkan has adapted his critically acclaimed Broadway play for television (it left the stage in 2014) and Bryan Cranston returns to play LBJ with the same great Tony Award-winning ferocity that he boasted on Broadway. If Hollywood names and accolades don't earn your vote, conside Read more
Against Leviathan
Book Review: 'By The People,' by Charles Murray.
9:24 AM, Nov 07, 2015
To the eye of Charles Murray, the situation is grim—grimmer than you realize. Our government is increasingly corrupt. The legal system is lawless. The regulatory agencies possess tyrannical levels of power. Murray, social scientist and author of Losing Ground and Coming Apart , no longer believes these problems can be solved by a series of conservative victories at the ballot box. The most basic elements of our government, including its constitutional foundation, are irreparably broken, he co Read more
Money Well Spent
Notes on the Biltmore estate.
2:23 PM, Sep 16, 2015
Asheville, N.C. The Biltmore mansion is the largest privately owned home in America. George Vanderbilt, son of the railroad magnet Cornelius Vanderbilt, built the mansion between 1889 and 1895. For decades, visitors have journeyed here for a chance to tour the estate and marvel at the Vanderbilt’s wealth. Beyond its sheer size, visiting the Biltmore is an astounding and unexpectedly refreshing experience. The estate’s homepage scarcely exaggerates in promising “travel to a whole new state Read more
Indiana Jones and the Declining Museum!
8:26 AM, Aug 05, 2015
My recent visit to the National Geographic Museum’s exhibit, Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology , revealed what the modern museum must do to keep the turnstiles turning. And the exhibits, I learned, they are a’changin’. As a private museum, Washington, D.C.’s National Geographic Museum has to give the people what they want. Under commercial pressure, the amount of information provided by museums is changing, and so is the traditional format. In place of the expected plaques, T Read more
No, Elon Musk’s Solar Battery Project Won’t Revolutionize American Energy
A Harvard professor throws shade at a much-hyped announcement.
2:26 PM, Jul 30, 2015
The sun is a stubborn on-again-off-again partner in our solar energy relationship. With no way to store excess solar energy, solar homes are forced to return shamefacedly to the electrical grid each evening, not to mention in moments of cloud cover and/or rain. Tesla Motors offers a solution to this dilemma, or claims to. Powerwall is billed as a home battery system that reserves extra solar energy during the day for use when the sun goes down. Powerwall is purported to revolutionize solar Read more