Dear Revealer readers, 

This fall, The Revealer turned 20! Founded by NYU’s Center for Religion and Media in 2003, the publication has taken on a variety of forms in its first two decades. What initially started as a website to correct mainstream media’s religion coverage grew into an award-winning online magazine that publishes incisive articles about religion’s place in our world.

On October 18, we gathered to celebrate the past 20 years. The evening was a welcomed opportunity to reflect on the many projects funded by NYU’s Center for Religion and Media and the exceptional people who have contributed to The Revealer. We also honored the visionary founders and co-directors of the Center for Religion and Media, Angela Zito and Faye Ginsburg, without whom The Revealer would not exist.

The Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch

Our 20^th anniversary also gave us the chance to applaud The Revealer’s growth. Our readership has risen remarkably over the past few years, and we are tremendously grateful to everyone who reads and shares our articles. We are also thrilled with the number of people who listen to the Revealer podcast. And we’re moved by the organizations who have honored The Revealer with awards in recent years, including the Religion News Association, the National Association for LGBTQ Journalists, the American Jewish Press Association, and the Medical Journalists Association.

As we reflect on The Revealer’s legacy, we remain committed to providing you with insightful articles about the varied roles religion plays in society. Our November issue is no exception. The issue covers topics of significance to many of you, including the war in Ukraine, antisemitism, racial inequality, the violence in Israel and Palestine, and more.

The November issue opens with Nicholas Denysenko’s “Ukraine’s Orthodox Churches as a Battleground in Russia’s Invasion,” where he explores the sizeable role the Orthodox Church has played in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Then, in “Jew Hatred in the 21^st Century,” Helene Meyers offers a review of the book We Need to Talk about Antisemitism and considers ways to address today’s rampant antisemitism. Next, in “The Myth of Black Morality, the Black Family, and Mass Incarceration,” Alessandra Harris considers why so many political and religious leaders blame Black inequality on the rate of unwed Black parents (and their assumed lack of morality) rather than on the mass incarceration of Black men. Following that, in “What the Rabbis Can Teach Us About STIs,” an excerpt from When We Collide: Sex, Social Risk, and Jewish Ethics, Rebecca Epstein-Levi turns to the rabbis of the Talmud to offer a way to destigmatize sexually transmitted infections today. And, for those who would like a better understanding of the situation in Israel and Gaza, in “Background Reading on Israel and Palestine,” our editorial staff offers a curated list of articles from The Revealer and other publications that offer important insights about the conflict.

The November issue also includes the newest episode of the Revealer podcast: “Sexual Ethics for Today’s World.” Rebecca Epstein-Levi joins us to discuss how our sexual behaviors reflect and influence our broader social interactions. We discuss what it means to be sex positive, what the rabbis of the Talmud, writing more than a thousand years ago, have to teach us about sexual risks, and why, in a world that is deteriorating from war, climate change, and right-wing politics, it is especially important to pay attention to sexual ethics now. You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As I reflect on The Revealer’s achievements these past 20 years alongside today’s wars in Israel and Ukraine, the rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism, racial inequality in the United States, and the prevalence of white Christian nationalism in our halls of government, I remain as convinced as ever about The Revealer’s importance. In a media landscape with unending daily hot-takes about religion and politics, The Revealer aims to provide a much-needed well of nuance and highly-researched insights that illuminate the intricacies of the issues we face. Our work here is as urgent as ever, and we take that responsibility very seriously.

Thank you for being part of The Revealer’s first 20 years. Here’s to the next 20!

Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D.