It would be really interesting to see an analysis by an independent researcher of the money behind the transgender debate. I suspect that if you tally up all private and public funding, transgender advocacy has outspent its opposition by orders of magnitude.

I have no issue with science journals publishing opinion pieces on various scientific issues and questions. There's real value there. But few things are more corrosive to public trust in science, and science itself, than when journals publish political opinions, pure activism, or endorsements of presidential candidates—especially when it only goes in one direction. It undoubtedly generates clicks and may make sense from a business perspective, but it betrays their primary duty of being objective seekers of truth. Political and cultural opinion and commentary have a home in the opinion sections of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and countless other publications. I'll invoke Stephen Jay Gould's concept of "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA) here. Science journals like Nature should not endeavor to be a hybrid publication of science and politics, because it will inevitably spoil the former. Those domains should be kept totally separate.

A pleasure to speak at Education Writers Association’s 2026 higher ed seminar. My panel was on college readiness. 3 key points I made: 🔹Standardized tests are valuable 🔹The national anti-testing movement has been an anti-evidence-based movement 🔹Journalists need to get out of information bubbles & talk to more people w/different views

My latest for @dcexaminer on the childcare and stay at home debate: "The proposed rule is well-intentioned; the government should encourage marriage and fertility, especially given the demographic crisis. But it should do so effectively." ⬇️

America is 250 years old. 9/11 was 25 years ago. Ten percent of our history has come and gone since that terrible day. A generation. 90 million Americans have been born since. Twenty-five percent of our people weren’t even alive when the world stopped turning. They do not remember because they cannot. So today we remember, those of us who can. We tell the story so those born too late to remember may know. We call to mind the lessons, many of which have already been lost to time and decay, to conspiracy theories and cynicism peddled for money and fame and power: That ignoring the world does not mean the world ignores us. That competition between civilizations does not end simply because we claim the board is settled. That peace is not the norm, but the exception, and is purchased only by strength and will. And that a nation that sneers at its own mission and mythology will not long remain a nation at all. That the barbarians are always at the gate—and inside it. We mourn the unimaginable loss of that day, when our sleeping nation was jolted awake for a moment, only to doze again. We pray that our eyes might one day remain open.

This new masters thesis says that "2SIQTIPeople" (2-Spirit, Indigiqueer, Queer and Trans Indigenous Peoples) experience "homophobia, transphobia, [and] racism" on "Turtle Island" (i.e., N. America) due to colonizers imposing the "gender binary and heteropatriarchy" on them. "This research creates a relational understanding through Storytelling from a Two-Spirit perspective to examine how the Land can be healing and can teach one to be confident and proud of their 2SIQTIP identity."

It’s been one year since Charlie was murdered in the most significant political assassination of my lifetime. One year, and it feels like every day of that year was somehow a reaction to that horrible moment. Charlie had flaws, like any man. He was not killed for them. Charlie was murdered for what was best about him — for what was extraordinary about him: He spoke the truth with strength and love — two qualities we’ve been assured cannot coexist, and yet Charlie showed us that they can and must. Some of the worst ugliness humans are capable of has been unleashed by Charlie’s death. Evil performed for clicks, for money, and sometimes just for attention. Evil performed in the name of friendship. Evil performed in the name of God. Evil performed in the name of politics, both left and right. His death has been celebrated. His beloved wife has been mocked and scorned. His friends accused. His life’s work disparaged. His children will have to grow up in a world that lies to them every day about what kind of man he was. It is easy on a day like today to damn it all. Charlie wouldn’t. He would have hugged his wife, sent a few Bible verses off to his friends, modeled love for his children, and gotten back to work — speaking the truth with strength and love. He had a better heart than I do, but I will try to follow his lead.

This new masters thesis says that "2SIQTIPeople" (2-Spirit, Indigiqueer, Queer and Trans Indigenous Peoples) experience "homophobia, transphobia, [and] racism" on "Turtle Island" (i.e., N. America) due to colonizers imposing the "gender binary and heteropatriarchy" on them. "This research creates a relational understanding through Storytelling from a Two-Spirit perspective to examine how the Land can be healing and can teach one to be confident and proud of their 2SIQTIP identity."