Articles on Politics and Policy

  • Pete Buttigieg has called climate change a religious crisis — but is he brave enough to do it in evangelical Texas? Miles looks at the Democratic Debate in the religious U.S. state. Published September 11, 2019 in The Independent.

  • A once unimaginable scenario: No more newspapers - Miles and Douglas McLennan write an Op Ed, published March 21, 2018 in The World Post, a partnership between the Berggruen Institute's and The Washington Post, about the decline of newspapers and the dangers of a world without them.

  • Miles made a video (in three parts) to address the crisis of climate change, and the promise of religion as a possible ally to help address it [click to watch parts 1, 2, and 3] for to "Bending the Curve," a new video course to be offered on all campuses of the University of California.

  • California Burning - Miles reflects on the apocalyptic recent fires in Los Angeles and the future threat of continued climate change, drought, deforestation and dry conditions; published in Commonweal, January 2, 2018.

  • For the love of Earth, stop traveling - Miles makes the case to stop or cut back on air travel for the most significant impact on your carbon footprint. Published in The Washington Post, November 2, 2017. Miles was a contributor to the University of California’s 2015 “Bending the Curve” report on climate stability (see two links below).

  • With His Power Unchecked, Michael Flynn Could Lead Trump Into War With Iran - Flynn, who recently consolidated national security power, sees Iran as the U.S.’s number one enemy, from The Huffington Post, February 1, 2017.

  • Miles was a contributor to the University of California’s “Bending the Curve” report on climate stability, published on October 27, 2015 [PDF].

  • Why Are We Losing in the Middle East? - Miles writes for The Huffington Post about the lack of humanities in education and in government, from April 30, 2015.

  • How the Massive Response to the Charlie Hebdo Attack Will Backfire - Miles writes for The Huffington Post about the worldwide response to the Paris killing of cartoonists, from January 14, 2015.

  • How Will the Mideast War End? Christian History May Provide a Clue - Miles is interviewed by The Huffington Post, and writes a lengthy blog, relating the wisdom from the Norton Anthology of World Religions (which Miles edited), from November 10, 2014.

  • Waiting for the Preacher - Address and Q&A given at the University of Sydney from September 2010.

  • American Wildflower - Article about Obama accused of being a Muslim, from The American Review, September 2010.

  • Talking to Turkey, but Islam is listening - When President Obama speaks in Ankara, he can send a crucial message to Muslims. Published in The Los Angeles Times on April 4, 2009.

  • Iraq, oil and the Bush administration - Iraq will enjoy only partial control over its key national asset for another year; no one really knows who will end up with prime access to the world's second- or third-largest oil reserves. Published in The San Francisco Chronicle on January 4, 2009.

  • Who's cleaning up at UC? - The strike by service workers raises questions about administrators' pay. Published in The Los Angeles Times on July 16, 2008.

  • The Long Road Home from Iraq - Miles observes that, since tribalism and religious interests in the Sunni, Shia, and Kurds take precedence over any sense of nationalism, being "the Iraqis," withdrawal will need to account for these differences, the destabilization of U.S. invasion created in the Middle East, the importance of diplomatic relations with Iran, and how this affects "oil," the ultimate motive. A video lecture delivered at UCI on April 9, 2008.

  • Propaganda Then and Now - Panel discussion from the New York Public Library on November 7, 2007.

  • Is Lebanon Israel's Iraq? - The war against Hezbollah could leave the Jewish state even more isolated and insecure. Published in The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles on August 4, 2006.

  • A Clash of Proselytizations - a talk given at the Norman Lear Center, April 8, 2005.

  • The Word From Rome - From The National Catholic Reporter, March 18, 2005. [scroll down]

    • Suite deal has nuclear glow - About the proposed Ward Valley nuclear waste disposal dump and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's ties to Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. From The Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2005.

  • Prisoners and Other Strangers - Why Christian ethics demand we treat prisoners as we would the Lord. Published on Beliefnet, May 2004.

  • Burial Rites - Recognizing 60,000 Lost Lives: What we owe the Iraqi dead. From The San Francisco Chronicle, published August 3, 2003.

  • The Muslim Ally Within - A response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Originally from The Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2001. [scroll down]

  • Global Requiem: The Apocalyptic Moment in Science, Art, and Religion - Humans might become extinct sooner than anyone imagines. Think of the prospect as an opportunity for spiritual and artistic growth. From Cross Currents, Fall 2001.

  • Even in the Holy Land - Not all wars are religious, from Beliefnet, August 2000.

  • Three Differences Between an Academic and an Intellectual - If the academic tills one field and the intellectual is a hunter pursuing prey across many fields, which one is unemployed? From Cross Currents, Fall 1998.

  • Bosnia - The Western allies may have to end their neutrality and attempt a Cold War approach against the Serbs. From The Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1995.

  • The Coming Immigration Debate - An Englishman takes an alarmed look at a quintessentially American issue. From The Atlantic Monthly, April 1995.

  • Prop. 187's Message - Prop. 187 is probably unenforceable, and will strain ethnic and racial relations in the state even more. From The Boston Globe, November 10, 1994. [scroll down]

  • A Bold Proposal on Immigration - California will cease to be a democratic polity unless it lets its Mexican immigrants vote in local elections. From The Atlantic Monthly, June 1994.

  • Letters and the Law - The status of personal letters under the law. From The Los Angeles Times, December 8, 1991.