The Coddling of the American Mind is a feature documentary based on the New York Times bestselling book by @glukianoff & @JonHaidt. @korchula @tedbalaker
Joined November 2023
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21 Jul 2025
If you’d like to help un-coddle our culture, now is a great time to do it. We’ve cut subscription prices to help us reach more students, parents, and others with our message of free speech, anti-fragility, and hope.
Check us out on Substack:
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Young Americans are still going to college.
They just seem far less convinced it’s worth it.
Sherman Criner explores why belief in the value of a bachelor’s degree has fallen sharply—even as college enrollment remains relatively stable.
Read here:
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In a new essay, Cornell biologist Randy Wayne argues that universities are facing a three-part crisis: a crisis of meaning, a crisis of faith, and a crisis of knowledge.
A powerful defense of truth-seeking, free inquiry, and civil discourse on campus.👇
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As America approaches its 250th birthday, Edward Campbell takes on one of the hardest questions in American history:
How should we judge the Founding Fathers?
Neither hero worship nor condemnation is enough. Ed argues for an honest reckoning.
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What do the UFC, Harvard, and Washington have in common?
Not enough.
Ted Balaker argues that MMA exploded in knowledge because fighters tested their ideas in the cage. Politics and academia increasingly avoid that kind of engagement.👇
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Commencement speeches used to be an apolitical tradition.
Today, more universities are disinviting speakers whose views some students oppose.
Austin Sarat explores what this trend means for free speech, intellectual diversity, and higher education.👇
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Do we absorb information better on paper than on screens?
The answer depends less on the screen itself — and more on distraction, formatting, and the reading habits digital environments encourage.
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“With malice toward none, with charity for all.”
In a new essay connected to America 250, Randy Wayne reflects on Lincoln, reconciliation, and whether elite universities are still comfortable being distinctly American.👇
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When every disagreement becomes “violence” and every election becomes “the end of democracy,” language loses scale — and societies lose perspective.
Hyperbole and catastrophizing are making people more fearful, fragile, and exhausted.👇
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Can the liberal arts be revived?
In a new guest essay from Jovan Tripkovic argues the answer is yes — but it starts with rebuilding a culture of reading, debate, and serious engagement with the Great Books.👇
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What happens when political violence stops being universally condemned?
@MichaelZiffraMD examines the growing permission structure around violent rhetoric — from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting to Hasan Piker.👇
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A new University of Chicago study found that high school GPA predicts college graduation far better than ACT scores.
Not slightly better.
Five times better.
Ted Balaker explores what that means for standardized testing👇
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For years, illiberalism on campus was associated mostly with the left.
Now, Ryan Self argues, some conservative campuses are drifting in the same direction.👇
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In a new essay, Randy Wayne examines the recent controversy surrounding Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff and argues that the real issue is not free speech — but selective enforcement.
Can elite universities still uphold one standard for everyone?👇
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Modern culture teaches us to avoid constraint.
Marriage does the opposite.
Hector Herrera on the link between marriage and social and economic stability.👇
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The Coddling Movie retweeted
May 5
For those of you that believe the @charliebcurran video on @spencerpratt is a gross exaggeration...this is Venice Blvd under the 405 freeway underpass. Disabled people in wheelchairs have to go off the sidewalk into the streets.
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Another guest post from the Martin Center exploring the hidden problem behind global university rankings.
China’s rise in the rankings is often treated as proof of academic superiority.
But what if the rankings themselves are rewarding the wrong things?👇
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We like to think morality comes naturally.
It doesn’t.
What comes naturally is tribalism, selective empathy and double standards.
Real moral progress is something we built on top of those instincts.
Ed Campbell returns to TCM with a great new piece.👇
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We’ve stopped teaching the craft of argument itself.
When people don’t know how to disagree,
they don’t debate—they escalate.
Another guest post from the Martin Center that gets at something deeper than politics.👇
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Another week, another Kimmel story. Ted Balaker with advice to the president on how to deal with cranks and hacks.
Spoiler: It’s not censorship.👇
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Ignorance isn’t the biggest problem.
A little information a lot of confidence
is a far more dangerous mix than simply not knowing.
The question isn’t: Do you know enough?
It’s: Do you know what you don’t know?👇
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