Bari’s Picks of the Week: Men Melting Down

I’m girding myself for a weekend of binge-watching my favorite new show: The Real Housewives of Pennsylvania Avenue. We’ve already had a cameo by Ye. Trump is reportedly selling his Tesla. What could the next 48 hours bring?

While the most powerful men in the world melt down on X—and please read Batya Ungar-Sargon’s excellent analysis on why this was inevitable and our reporting on what the tech right is doing in the midst of this nasty, public divorce—I realize, looking back on this week, that we’ve published a lot of stories about men. Or as Nellie calls them: people who can do math.

So let’s dive right in, starting with Rod Dreher.

The Radical Right Is Coming for Your Sons

In a piece that prompted a ton of debate, Rod made his case for why the right ignores the bigots in its midst at its own peril. More than that, his piece is about how both the right and left are particularly susceptible to evil impulses, and how evil ideologies are always on the lookout for lonely, atomized young men.

As anyone will tell you, Rod—a man who counts both Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Vice President J.D. Vance as friends and allies—isn’t exactly a squish. So when he notices that something has gone wrong with the right—in particular among young men—it would be wise to listen.

A friend wrote to tell me why he loved the piece: “As the father of a teenage boy, I think it really captures the malignant forces that come at him from the left and the right.” You don’t need to be a parent to appreciate and understand what Rod’s talking about. Only someone who loves this country and is concerned about where we are headed.

Read the whole thing here, and check out the livestream recording of our conversation here.

How Catholicism Got Cool

Some good news on the young male front: Many realize that old-fashioned values and some “smells and bells” spiritualism are a lot better for the soul than stupid, stultifying ideologies. And so our own Maddy Kearns took a deep look at America’s ongoing Catholic boom: the trend of young people from across the country joining the Church.

Not all these new Catholics are young men. But those who are, according to one priest Maddy spoke with, ​​are looking for answers: “How do I become a better leader? Or how do I take control of my life? Or how do I overcome my addiction? Or how can I get girls to say ‘yes’ to me when I ask them out on dates?” Often they arrive at the Church after trying out “manosphere” influencers like Andrew Tate, and turn to Christianity when they realize that Tate and his ilk aren’t the answer.

That’s just one reason Catholicism is having a moment in America and across the West. For more, check out Maddy’s beautiful essay, which struck a chord with so many readers.

How Can Democrats Win Back Young Men?

Our River Page had a great piece this week on why he left the Democratic Party and how their attempts to win back young men like him keep falling short. The latest: a $20 million project to study male voters, which he likens to “Margaret Mead observing the grass-skirted natives in Samoa.” Instead of spending all that dough, he says, you just need to read his essay.

River writes, “It’s money well wasted. The Democrats have been losing the support of young men like me for years. Why? Let me tell you from my perspective as someone the Democratic Party once won and lost.”

River recounts what attracted him to the party in the first place—namely, Bernie Sanders. He also recalls how Sanders supporters like him were treated like sexist pigs “for not sacrificing the long-shot possibility that Sanders could give me—and lots of men just like me—a better life on the altar of Hillary Clinton’s political ambitions.”

Agree with him or not, River writes, Bernie has remained consistent in his relentless focus on economic populism. And that is a winning strategy.

“If Democrats want to win back young men, they cannot promise reform. They have to admit what Americans already feel is true: that there is something that’s going very wrong with this country—and it’s time to radically change it.

“Trump knows this. He leaves you in no doubt as to who his enemies are, and they happen to be some of the most unpopular people in the country: a governing elite in both parties who have gotten all the big calls wrong.”

Read River’s whole piece here.

Speaking of Dems . . .

Our Peter Savodnik went looking for the new generation of Democrats who could maybe rescue the party from its post-Biden stupor. But first they have to win their primaries. Read Peter’s dispatch here.

Blasphemy Laws Come to the West

The free speech situation in the UK is shocking, even for those who have been closely following it for a while.

Please read Dominic Green’s essay: “Blasphemy Laws and Two-Tiered Policing in Europe.”

And do not miss this firsthand account from Hamit Coskun, the man at the center of the latest free speech scandal in the UK: “I Burned a Quran. The British Government Punished Me for Blasphemy.”

Last But Not Least . . .

This is an astonishingly informative piece about media coverage of Gaza from our friends at Tablet. It pairs well with this brilliant video from our own Tanya Lukyanova. I highly recommend both . . .

What did you read or listen to this week that you’d recommend? Share links in the comments. And have a beautiful weekend. I’ll try to log off.