

Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 30, 2020
Best Books I read in 2020
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer (1960) This is one of the best history books I've ever read. It relies almost...

Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 29, 2020
Best Films I watched in 2020
I'm doing a better job cataloging the media I consume, so I have a better idea of all the films I watch from year to year. Here are my...

Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 20, 2020
Wigtown Book Festival Podcast
I forgot to post a podcast I was on a few months ago. The Wigtown Book Festival (Scotland) was inspired to start a podcast because of the...

Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 12, 2020
Bushcraft - shelter building
I'm enrolled in a year-long bushcraft course, in which we're learning all manner of things, including axecraft, clothes making, primitive...

Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 9, 2020
Carrifran Wildwood
One of the most irritating rants I go on is about how ecologically impoverished the UK is. In America, it's not hard to find a mixed...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 5, 2020
2020 election impressions
Thoughts and emotions as of this moment… It appears that Biden, now that he’s secured Wisconsin and Michigan, will win. What relief I...


Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 23, 2020
A primitive understanding of manhood
Some men like Trump because they think he’s “manly.” (Click for NYT story about why many Latino men are drawn to Trump’s machismo.) What...


Ken Ilgunas
- Oct 8, 2020
"The Good Lord Bird" TV Review
I give the first episode of Showtime's The Good Lord Bird a C+. I've been patiently waiting for fifteen years for a John Brown...


Ken Ilgunas
- Jul 30, 2020
The Evils of Socialism
I’ve lived all of my adult life in the U.S., except for the past two years when I’ve mostly lived in Scotland. It’s probably safe to list...

Ken Ilgunas
- Jul 14, 2020
"This Land Is Our Land" comes to China
China Daily, a state-run English-speaking international Chinese newspaper, printed an Op-Ed, calling for the right to roam across the...


Ken Ilgunas
- Jun 30, 2020
Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
History lovers, I highly recommend the comprehensive, 1,280-page, and irresistible The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William...

Ken Ilgunas
- May 24, 2020
Op-Ed in the Washington Post
I have an Op-Ed in The Washington Post today, arguing for my favorite thing--the right to roam. If you're interested in learning more...


Ken Ilgunas
- May 22, 2020
Essay on pandemic life
[I've written an essay for the Wigtown Book Festival on my pandemic experience, where I've found myself marooned in North Carolina,...


Ken Ilgunas
- Feb 15, 2020
Public Lands Podcast
I'm on the Public Lands podcast today, talking about my right to roam advocacy.


Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 21, 2020
More Depopulation Panic
In his latest column, NYT's Ross Douthat sounds the alarm about the travesty of reduced human fertility rates. I'm not sure why so many...

Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 8, 2020
Movie Reviews: "The Two Popes" and "Thunder Road"
During the first 45 minutes of The Two Popes, I thought I was watching a classic-to-be. That should have been the whole movie: two great...


Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 4, 2020
Best Books I Read in 2019
[I only read 21 books in 2019, my lowest total in the fifteen years I've counted the books I've read. But, of these few, I was lucky to...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 2, 2020
The Decade in Review (and a revised Year in Review)
This is the seventh consecutive year I’ve done a “year in review.” I find them helpful and therapeutic to write, and greatly enjoyable,...