About Carrisa Smith

Called to Account by David Foster Wallace: The Pale King Wins the (CaPC) Pulitzer!

Examining the three Pulitzer finalists reveals an interesting trend.

The Televangelists: In Praise of Sherlock & its Co-Creator Steven Moffat

“Here, then, is a brief tour through Moffat’s oeuvre of awesomeness.”

The Hunger Games, the Movie, and the Problem of Film Violence

How do you portray teens fighting to the death without reinforcing the problems The Hunger Games warns against?

Our Favorite Five Books of 2011

Carissa Smith shares an idiosyncratic list of the best five books of 2011.

The Magician King: Enduring the Loss of Eden

Lev Grossman’s latest explores the perceived tragedy of gods who pick and choose.

'Divergent': Derivative Dystopia?

A Christian author’s young adult novel seems similar to others, but not in the way you might think.

The Vampire Defanged: An Interview with Susannah Clements

Why is our culture fascinated with vampires, and how has that fascination changed over time?

Of Gods and Men and the Surprising Drama of Spiritual Discernment

Finally, a film that does justice to the voice of God.

Eat Your Vegetables . . . and Ponder the Global Consequences

Each week in Eat Your Vegetables, Carissa Smith shares the benefit and appeal of some more high-brow culture we should be consuming. This week I have for your consideration a literal vegetable, the South American “superfood” quinoa, readily available to U.S. consumers in the upscale supermarket of your choice. Quinoa, which resembles something like a nuttier, [...]

Repent, for the Stupocalypse is Nigh!

How do we cope with the seeming inevitability of an irretrievably dumb culture?