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: thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Did James Cameron help start Hollywood’s woke trend? Rewatching Aliens, Ted Balaker noticed a familiar pattern: heroic women surrounded by largely incompetent men. Hollywood celebrates masculine virtues in female characters but distrusts them in men. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

AI didn't create the cheating problem in higher education. It may simply have made an old problem easier to ignore. Many students arrive at college with established habits of academic dishonesty. The solution must go deeper than policing ChatGPT. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

A Harvard professor debates a college dropout about free speech on campus. Who comes better prepared? Senior Editor Hector Herrera examines Steven Crowder’s debate with Randall Kennedy—and what it reveals about Harvard’s reluctance to examine itself. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

“We will use your democracy to destroy your democracy.” What does a free country owe those who would use its freedoms against it? Hector Herrera examines the tension between free speech, national sovereignty and the duty of a republic to preserve itself. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Three years ago today, Hamas attacked Israel. Ted Balaker argues Oct. 7 also marked a cultural transition: wokeism didn’t simply disappear. Some of its underlying ideas hardened into a growing tolerance for political violence. He calls it “Savage Culture.” thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

College students need to be taught how to make friends? Justin Vaughn noticed his students barely spoke to one another. So he created a course on friendship. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Would you let your 12-year-old go to an Iron Maiden concert without adult supervision? Ted Balaker went to see Megadeth with his son and came away thinking about heavy metal, Western civilization and how much independence we give our kids. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Cornell has released a major report on the crisis facing American universities. Professor Randy Wayne argues it largely blames external forces while ignoring a central question: What role did universities themselves play in creating the crisis? thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Hollywood loves a villain. Big Tobacco. Big Banks. Big Oil. Big Pharma. Big Tech. But where are the stories about teachers unions or higher education? Cultural storytellers obsess over certain abuses of power while other villains are barely mentioned. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

On Yom Kippur, Eileen Riley Hall remembers three Jewish friends from her childhood—and the lasting ways they changed her. Decades later, amid rising antisemitism, she has a simple message for them: “I see you. I will stand up for you.” thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

What do we lose when rituals disappear? Hector Herrera argues that rituals do more than preserve tradition. They carry memory, belonging, and obligation from one generation to the next. Before abandoning them, we should ask what they were doing for us. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Can you still call yourself a free-range parent if you track your kid? A mom wrestles with letting her 13-year-old go fishing alone—and the irresistible temptation technology gives parents to keep one eye on their children even after letting go. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Patrick Deneen’s students are bright, accomplished—and know remarkably little about the civilization they inherited. His provocative argument: this isn’t a failure of our education system. It’s what the system was built to produce. Read it at The Coddling. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

“Woke 1 was crazy” AOC’s viral line says something about her cultural influence. But Ted Balaker argues it says even more about the social elites who helped make her influential in the first place—and their remarkable power to shape our political language. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

A year ago, Charlie Kirk was killed while doing something essential to a free society: arguing with people who disagreed with him. Twelve months later, the question remains: Can we still answer disagreement with persuasion rather than force? thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

AI isn’t just changing how college students learn. New research finds university students feel ‘anxious, confused and distrustful’ about AI in the classroom and among their peers Read more at The Coddling. 👇 thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Nearly a year after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, political violence remains a disturbing feature of American life, and tolerance for it is especially high among progressives. Ryan Self looks at the data. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

What should a college degree actually signify? Rob Jenkins argues that higher-ed reform should start with a basic question: What should graduates actually know and be able to do? thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

As summer winds down and kids head back to school, it’s worth asking what they got from summer camp besides keeping busy. Pazit Cahlon starts with a deceptively simple question—would you pay someone to teach your child to ride a bike? thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…

Performative outrage may feel satisfying. But does it actually persuade anyone? History suggests that dignity, discipline, and respectability politics have often been far more effective at producing lasting change. thecoddlingmovie.substack.co…