In conversation with Meir Soloveichik, the New York Times columnist Ross Douthat discusses his teenage conversion to Catholicism—and the experimentation with charismatic Christianity that preceded it—his experience as devout believer at an Ivy League university, trends in American religious life, and the state of American society more generally. (Video, 66 minutes.)

Considering the current state of the region and the policy mistakes of the recent past, David Pollock and Robert Satloff outline a strategy that is “both virtuous and realistic” for defending human rights and encouraging democratization in a region plagued by autocracy, chaos, and brutality. They argue that “in the long run, more democratic, tolerant, and inclusive governments are likely to be better at defending themselves, and more reliable and effective security partners for the United States.”