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Netflix&#8217;s &#8220;Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere&#8221; wants viewers to fear the men it puts on screen. What it never seriously asks is why millions of young men are looking there for guidance in the first place.
The easiest thing about the documentary is to focus on the symptoms: hyper-masculine influencers, status obsession, aggression, and young men chasing money, control, and dominance. Some of it is ugly, and some of it should alarm us. But the documentary mistakes the supply for the demand. This culture did not emerge out of nowhere. It filled a vacuum that mainstream institutions still refuse to name.
Spend five minutes online, and the shift is obvious. Podcasts about discipline and self-mastery command enormous audiences, and gym routines now double as moral philosophy. Young men trade advice on confidence, money, dating, ambition, and purpose with an urgency that feels almost existential. Much of it is crude. Some of it is wrong and openly corrosive. Yet millions keep watching for a reason elite culture still resists admitting: For years, young men have been told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/america-tried-to-fix-men-for-two-decades-heres-what-it-got-instead">what not to be</a>, while almost no one has been willing to say what they should become. That vacuum became a market.
We have taught an entire generation of young men how to analyze their emotions, but not what to do with their lives. As a psychotherapist, I see a version of this often. A young man recently spent nearly an entire session describing, with impressive self-awareness, why he felt stuck: fear of failure, fear of judgment, and fear of choosing the wrong path. He could name every feeling in detail. What he couldn&#8217;t name was what he actually wanted. The problem was not a lack of insight. It was the absence of aim.
In my forthcoming book, &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Therapy-Nation-America-Anxious-Divided/dp/1335000658">Therapy Nation</a>,&#8221; I argue that our culture has become increasingly fluent in the language of validation and self-analysis while growing less comfortable with challenge, standards, and the harder work of building resilience. Nowhere is that imbalance more visible than in the lives of young men who have been encouraged to interpret themselves endlessly but rarely challenged to build a life.
Andrew Tate and an entire ecosystem of male self-mastery influencers thrive because they offer what mainstream culture increasingly withholds: direction, standards, and permission to pursue ambition without apology. None of this excuses the ugliness of what many of these figures sell. It simply explains why the market for it became so large. The mainstream response has been to condemn the message while refusing to confront the conditions that made it so attractive.
Young men today are caught in a double bind. Show ambition and risk being labeled toxic. Hold back and risk becoming invisible. Assertiveness is suspect, but passivity is miserable. The result is paralysis followed by backlash. What is often dismissed as &#8220;bro culture&#8221; did not create this confusion. It recognized it early and built an industry around it.
What makes this moment more dangerous is the collapse of credible alternatives. Institutions that once offered direction, from schools to workplaces to families, now speak in softer, more hesitant language. Expectations are blurred, standards are hedged, and authority is treated as something to apologize for rather than exercise.
In that environment, many young men are left with a surprisingly vague idea of adulthood. They are taught to be emotionally aware and careful with language, which matters. What they are less often given is a clear sense of what adulthood actually asks of them: responsibility, competence, discipline, and something worth aiming at. The result is a generation that often knows how to monitor itself better than how to direct itself. Self-awareness becomes an end in itself rather than a tool in service of ambition and growth.
That leaves a dangerous opening for anyone willing to offer a more forceful script. Even a flawed script can feel liberating when it is one of the only things still speaking in the language of standards, goals, earned competence, and direction. When institutions stop offering a believable model of mature masculinity, the loudest online figures step in and supply one.
A second cultural shift has made the problem worse. The language of therapy has escaped the consulting room and seeped into schools, workplaces, and culture itself. Ordinary struggle is now recast as harm, discomfort as danger, and stress as injury. The result is a generation less practiced at enduring difficulty and more dependent on emotional permission before action.
We have become fluent in emotional vocabulary while growing less comfortable with standards, authority, and the basic truth that difficulty is often the price of growth.
That gap is where the manosphere thrives. It offers something closer to permission: the freedom to pursue goals without endless self-qualification, to value discipline without shame, and to move forward without first turning every impulse into a diagnosis.
Young men are asking a basic question: What should I aim for? If mainstream culture refuses to answer it, the loudest and most extreme voices online will.
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Jonathan Alpert is a psychotherapist in New York City and Washington, D.C., and author of the forthcoming book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Therapy-Nation-America-Anxious-Divided/dp/1335000658">Therapy Nation</a>.&#8221; Find him on X <a href="https://x.com/JonathanAlpert">@JonathanAlpert</a>.

Tate Brothers Return To Romania After US Visit

The Real Reason Young Men Are Flocking To The Manosphere

Andrew Tate

Internet

Netflix

Upstream

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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We have four kids, and sometimes when my husband and I are making dinner, the homework is done, and the siblings aren’t playing well together, we need TV time to hold their attention for a bit. The shows we choose are important — not just because we care about the messages our children are seeing and receiving, but because we care about their ability to be able to sit and engage in “longer-form” entertainment.
Research backs this up. “Children who watched the fast-paced television cartoon performed significantly worse on the executive function tasks than children in the other 2 groups when controlling for child attention, age, and television exposure,” a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9923845/#:~:text=RESULTS:,impair%20young%20children's%20executive%20function.">study</a> from 2011 found. Even nine minutes of exposure damaged the executive functions (emotion, behavior, and thought processing to achieve goals) of four-year-olds.
Our toddler has a speech delay and has an incredible therapist who works with him during sessions in our home. Speech pathologists have told me since he started his therapy over a year ago that, among kids&#8217; shows, &#8220;Cocomelon&#8221; is the worst, and &#8220;Bluey&#8221; is the best. I agree. The frame rates of the shows matter, and &#8220;Cocomelon&#8221; is literally <a href="https://www.parents.com/news/some-think-cocomelon-is-too-stimulating-for-their-kids-we-asked-an-expert-to-weigh-insome-think-cocomelon-is-too-stimulating-for-their-kids-we-asked-an-expert-to-weigh-in/">created</a> to keep a toddler staring as it hops from frame to frame. There’s no beginning, middle, or end. It’s non-stop music, colors, and people. Compare this to &#8220;Bluey,&#8221; which develops story and characters for young viewers to root for and get to know.
&#8220;Cocomelon&#8221; is all music-based, which many parents might think is innocent enough because we have been told that music for kids is great. But, as the nursery songs are being sung by the main characters, there are often rapid and disjointed scene changes.
&#8220;Bluey,&#8221; on the other hand, has a cohesive flow and plot lines featuring recurring characters such as Bluey’s sister, Bingo; a mom and a dad; and other extended family. The episodes of Bluey also have names that correlate with the plots of the 7- to 9-minute stories. &#8220;Cocomelon&#8221; is nonstop for over an hour per episode.  
One director of a speech center for kids and adults told me, “Cocomelon is too fast-paced and does not allow the child to engage. They’re just blank staring at a screen.” She added that the show requires no patience, contains no storyline, and builds no anticipation. Therefore, there&#8217;s no reward. 
A writer at the Atlantic recently raised the alarm about film students who can no longer sit through a feature film. College <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/college-students-movies-attention-span/685812/">students</a> are now being assigned only clips and scenes from major motion pictures that professors deem influential. We can blame the smaller screens; professors often saw students looking at their phones in pivotal scenes of classic films. How is the next generation going to create art if they can’t sit through a two-hour movie with classmates?
The piece also noted that students prefer to stream movies in their dorms instead of attending a screening in a group. But watching television as a group is vital. Watching &#8220;Bluey&#8221; as a family, we get to see everyone’s reactions to it. Our toddler’s reaction to &#8220;Home Alone&#8221; over Christmas brought us all joy. A toddler laughing at certain spots of slapstick comedy during a film, the rest of us know scene by scene, is so cute; it gave us a glimpse into his awareness and personality. Seeing something through children&#8217;s eyes is amazing. I can guarantee you our family would not be sitting down together to watch &#8220;Cocomelon.&#8221;
We are such big &#8220;Bluey&#8221; fans that our 12-year-old created a spreadsheet with each episode to monitor everyone’s favorite and average out the “best” one. From Season 1, &#8220;The Pool&#8221; is a favorite “because it reminds us of going places and mommy has everything and daddy says we don’t need anything until we get home,” she says. In the episode, Dad and Bluey make fun of Mom because she is always over-packing, only to realize they miss the sunscreen and floaties when no one remembers to bring them. 
The &#8220;Camping&#8221; episode is adorable and realistically bittersweet, showing how sometimes we make friends just for a little while, but we can all find something in common, even with a language barrier.
The &#8220;Onesie&#8221; episode alludes to an aunt’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bridgerton-just-told-a-story-many-women-know-too-well">infertility</a> and desire to have a baby. It teaches kids that sometimes we want things we cannot have, and when we have loved ones going through such an experience, we need to be there for them and acknowledge that it might be hard for them to engage when they’re reminded of that pain.
A show with community, consistency, and a mom and a dad is pretty “conservative” these days. But honestly, it’s just real life. Moms needing an occasional break (see the &#8220;Sheepdog&#8221; episode) and the requirements of hosting and serving others (the &#8220;BBQ&#8221; episode) resonate with people of all ages.
For such short episodes, they contain all the elements of a good story: a beginning, middle, and end with good pacing and good morals. Compare that to the quick-moving images and lack of direction that can bookend long &#8220;Cocomelon&#8221; episodes.
I can kind of relate to those film students; sometimes, some movies are “slow.” But the art of storytelling cannot be limited to TikTok videos and YouTube shorts. Attention spans need to last in order to engage in real life — at work, at school, in relationships, in friendships, and with a spouse and your kids.
As many parents saw during the pandemic, the shows your kids watch can even affect their communication and behavior. Some parents swore in early 2021 that their youngsters were talking with British accents because of watching so much &#8220;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/19/peppa-pig-american-kids-british-accents">Peppa Pig</a>.&#8221; Honestly, I’m fine if my kids start talking like &#8220;Bluey.&#8221; Australians say “no” in a humorous way and never sound mad. If they&#8217;re going to imitate anyone, it might as well be a beloved family of cattle dogs.
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Elisha Krauss is a conservative commentator, writer, and speaker who resides in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and their four children. She is an advocate for women’s rights, school choice, and smaller government.

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The Gap Between Two Popular Kid Shows Is Bigger Than It Looks

Children

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***
The New York Times calls plunging birthrates “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/us/politics/us-birthrate-decline-women.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20260227&amp;instance_id=171724&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=263851259&amp;segment_id=215895&amp;user_id=be0e9c6070d70a9915bd4f91d61f750a">a good thing</a>,” while New York Magazine highlights the stories of women who “<a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/women-regret-having-children.html">regret having children</a>.” If you looked at the mainstream media alone, you might think humans are looking forward to becoming an endangered species.
At the same time, however, there is a growing band of pronatalists who decry the coming consequences of a smaller, older population: safety-net programs will suffer, labor markets will contract, and elder care will face a shortage.
But these economic distortions aren’t the worst of it: Fewer people means fewer creators, lovers, and thinkers. In religious terms, there will be fewer image-bearers of God on this planet.
These are problems we should take seriously. But falling birthrates aren’t just a problem in themselves. They are downstream evidence of other, in some ways bigger, problems rooted in relationships, identity, and meaning. Family formation, faith, and fertility are all falling together.
While individual anecdotes — like those of teen motherhood featured in the New York Times — can paint a different picture, the bigger story around falling birthrates is a sad one. Many more people <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/to-have-kids-or-not-which-decision-do-americans-regret-more#:~:text=The%20final%20score?,whether%20currently%20parents%20or%20not.">wish they’d had more children</a> than those who regret having children in the first place. 
Most women today delay marriage and motherhood not because they watched their parents wrestle with teen parenthood, but because they are struggling to find a mate, or they are simply following the cultural norm of later marriage. Delayed marriage, for many, means delayed motherhood, which can often mean foregone motherhood.
Even for those who successfully bear children later in their childbearing years, there is a price: higher-risk pregnancies, fewer children, and less intergenerational overlap with grandparents. To suggest that women can simply cut and paste their fertility windows into later years is wrong.
While some people have always happily chosen the single life, <a href="https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/marino-geographic-variation-percentage-mid-life-never-marrried-adults-2021-fp-23-13.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent years have seen an increase</a> in people living alone, and usually not as an intentional choice. Or, it is a strained choice that settles for singlehood when family life is less attractive or attainable. We should all be asking what has changed to make life’s most basic and natural human relationships less desirable. Fewer teen births are the silver lining, but this whole thing is a cloud.
The fertility crisis is <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/3470061/marriage-solution-birth-rates-fertility-crisis/">a marriage crisis</a>. But it’s more than that. It’s a crisis of identity, purpose, and optimism. In 2013, when Jonathan Last wrote “What to Expect When No One Is Expecting,” he identified socialism (the redistribution of resources through programs like Social Security) and secularism as the main drivers of reduced fertility. Secularism has a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23780231211031320">strong negative relationship</a> with fertility, both at the societal level and the individual level.
Many people derive a sense of meaning from their religious faith, and many faiths teach about the blessing of children. As the United States has become more secular, our fertility rate has fallen. We’ve lost an important framework that generations of people have relied upon for meaning. And while <a href="https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/2024/07/13/politics-has-become-the-new-religion-in-america/74367173007/">political activism</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/VIBE-INK-Social-Justice-Pro-Active/dp/B07SJJDC72">secular creeds</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Racism-Religion-Betrayed-America/dp/0593423062">social justice movements</a> have offered something of a new secular religion, they’re hardly a replacement. Weekly church attendees still have the best <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/regular-church-attendance-associated-lower-030001242.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental health</a>, the strongest sense of <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4580713/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purpose</a>, and the <a href="https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/02/13/married-churchgoing-couples-among-the-happiest-data-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">happiest marriages</a> of any group. They also have the <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/americas-growing-religious-secular-fertility-divide">most children</a>.
Christine Emba was correct when she wrote in 2024 that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/08/fertility-crisis/679319/">fertility is tied to meaning</a>. When people do not have a sense of purpose for their own lives, why would they create a new life for someone else? But this sadly seems to welcome a self-fulfilling prophecy: For many parents, their children become their purpose, or at least a big part of it. Fully <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/to-have-kids-or-not-which-decision-do-americans-regret-more#:~:text=The%20final%20score?,whether%20currently%20parents%20or%20not.">88% of parents</a> say having kids is “one of the most important things I have done.”
In the same vein, a new study <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6126426">shows a strong causal relationship</a> between national optimism and fertility. Indeed, many people are hesitant about welcoming a new child precisely because <a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2022/08/06/cover-story-facing-hopeless-future-many-young-coloradans-turn-away-from-having-children-83765512-11ee-11ed-803d-a3618e39002e/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20thought%20of%20raising%20a,security%2C%20authenticity%20and%20happiness.%E2%80%9D">they believe the world is a hopeless, dark place</a>. Young people today are not optimistic about the world or about themselves: In a poll commissioned by Independent Women, the number one reason young adults said they didn’t want to have kids was “<a href="https://www.independentwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/TDD_Survey-Results.pdf">I don’t think I’ll be a good parent</a>.”
None of this is to say that every childless individual lacks confidence or a sense of purpose. Indeed, there are many reasons that people might end up with fewer children than they’d hoped, including health challenges, financial constraints, or divorce. But there’s no denying that at the societal level, as we become more secular and atomized, children become less common.
Falling fertility will bring its own set of problems. But that’s not the real reason it’s problematic. Falling fertility is the result of frail families and failing faith — in God, our future, and ourselves. 
None of this can remotely be categorized as “a good thing.”
This is why we should all care about falling birthrates: not because there’s an ideal number of people for the planet, not because we need age balance across our labor force or tax base, but because our birthrate points to matters of the human heart, and many hearts are lost or lonely.
This diagnosis means — perhaps frustratingly — that falling birthrates can’t be fixed with baby bonuses, childcare subsidies, or paid family leave. It’s a far larger issue than that. Instead, we have to focus on cultivating relationships that last, hearts that serve a higher power, and minds that weigh our choices in terms beyond individual costs and benefits.
If we want tomorrow to have more humans in it, we have to have more humanity today.
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Hadley Heath Manning is a senior fellow at <a href="https://www.independentwomen.com/">Independent Women</a>.

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People Aren’t Having Kids, And One Reason Keeps Coming Up

family

Fertility

Marriage

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The Levin family Seder was a throw-the-gates-wide-open sort of affair. There was something different about crossing the threshold of the house in Ann Arbor on days like that — kicking your shoes into the pile of Sambas and hanging your jacket among the others steeping in lived-in smells of the day: brisket, soft wood, chicken baked in parchment paper, and the faint, sweet perspiration of college kids in spring.
Tables stretched diagonally through the living and dining rooms, pushed together to accommodate 20, 30 people, sometimes more, and empty plates were set out for latecomers, stragglers, strangers, and Elijah, the long-awaited prophet.
Dan, the family patriarch and kibbutz cook-turned-scientist, would be standing over a pot of broth or pulling a Pyrex, brown with age, from the oven. “Stir,” he’d say when I’d peer in (he liked to communicate in declarative sentences and smiles), handing me an olive wood spoon. I’d watch him mix the matzo balls from a packet and roll them between his hands.
People giggled and drank wine and played music until it was time to sit. Matriarch Aviva handed out worn copies of the Haggadah, and led us in her favorite prayers. We passed the food and ate our fill. Aviva and Dan ate, too, looking at each other softly across the table. They served and talked but never worried, that I can remember.
And then came Aviva’s favorite part: the poetry. “There is a beautiful hum,” she once said, describing that time of night, when papers were passed and we were given time to write our pieces for the group. I would pause to listen to the whir of thinking people, the soft graphite wearing down, the candles snuffing themselves out. We’d go to sleep full that night, thinking of next morning’s bagels and lox and coffee with real cream. 
Even years later, after I’d moved to New York, I wanted my home to feel like that. I wanted to invite people in and to have them show up. I summoned the courage to invite 11 friends to a Friday night dinner party for which I cooked all day, making brussels sprouts, crispy potatoes, and <a href="https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/engagement-roast-chicken-recipe-1948980">Ina Garten’s roast chicken</a> from scratch. I spent more money than I’d made all week.
Turns out, I wasn’t the only one trying my hand. The art of “gathering” is surging, perhaps as a response to the disconnection of what’s been called the “loneliest generation.” According to Pinterest’s 2024 Summer Trends <a href="https://newsroom.pinterest.com/news/summer-trends-report-2024/">report</a>, searches for “dinner party” rose 6,000% year over year.
Riding that resurgence, Martha Stewart re-released her 1982 classic, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/173354/entertaining-by-martha-stewart/">Entertaining</a>, extending her “<a href="https://www.notboring.co/p/martha-stewarts-reign-of-relevancy">reign of relevancy</a>.” In it, she looks backward to the banquet scenes of Sir Walter Scott, the Roman punch dinners of Edith Wharton, and the country weekends of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. These are not casual meals; they are worlds unto themselves — ordered, aesthetic, and exacting.
And if Stewart walked, it was so Instagram accounts and Substacks such as <a href="https://atisabelles.substack.com/">Isabel Heikens</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brightmomentco/">Bright Moment Co.</a> could run, adding paper menus, homemade garlands, and handwritten letters to elaborate, multi-course meals.
Just watching these reels makes me nostalgic for a simple Shabbat at the Levins’ house. With content like this filling our feeds, the expectation our work-worn mothers pushed against is seeping in again, more polished, more visible, and harder to ignore. If the dinner party is back, so too is the tacit requirement that we know how to host one. We are left with big shoes to fill, leaving us to feel as though we have failed an unspoken class in the domestic arts.
My first attempt was an abject disaster. Only two people came. A tense few hours later, after everyone had left and the heaping piles of leftover food were packed into plastic bags, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I was exhausted, overextended, and embarrassed. Mostly, I was hurt.
What had I done wrong? Where was the warmth I remembered, that glimpse of heaven Dan and Aviva had created in their living room? 
Looking back, the problem was what it almost always is: a skewed motive of the heart. If I’d read Entertaining more closely, I might have seen it. The word entertain comes from the Old French entretenir, from the Latin tenere: to hold. To hold together. To maintain. To keep appearances intact — as if I could keep the evening from coming undone. What I called hosting had become a performance, and I was a one-woman show.
Our Lord of hosts offers a different vision of hospitality. The word host comes from the Latin hostis, which means the stranger, even the enemy, the one outside the circle. And yet from that same root comes hospes: a word that means both guest and host. They are not opposites. The stranger is brought near, received, and honored. Our job then is to share who we are and what we have with whomever God sends.
In her 1986 book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hospitality-Confidence-Grace-Pittman/dp/0871238586">Hospitality with Confidence</a>, Grace Pittman writes about “opening your home and heart.” She writes, “From a biblical perspective, hospitality recognizes that God is more interested in caring relationships than the mold behind the shower curtain. It need not matter whether we live in a single-room apartment or a split-level ranch. The only real requirement is allowing God to use our lives and our possessions. Our homes and our lives are, together, the most powerful ministry we have to offer the world.”
When we approach hospitality this way, it helps us to serve and talk, but never worry. The questions we ask change profoundly. “Will I have enough?” becomes, “Lord, how can I use what you’ve given me?” “What will they think of me?” becomes, “Lord, what might they see of you?” “How will I stay relevant?” becomes, “Lord, how might I be of use to you today?” 
Like all kingdom work, hosting is an opportunity to be a collaborator, a co-conspirator, and a co-creator with God in bringing about heaven on earth. “Hospitality is not to change people,” wrote theologian Henri Nouwen, “but to offer them space where change can take place.” In other words, set the table and open a bottle of wine. God will do the rest. 
We are called to hospitality not just to bless others, but for the posture it cultivates in the host herself. It shapes her heart, loosening the inward knots of self-preservation, self-reliance, and the familiar resistance to being known. It loosens the death grip on her possessions, guards against stinginess and grumbling, and teaches her by experience the truth about herself and her role in the world: She was made to do what God has done without reservation — to give herself away.
Though it took me several years after my home-cooked fiasco to host again, once I began, I couldn’t stop. I’ve spoken a liturgy from Every Moment Holy, Vol. III over birthday book exchanges, going-away parties, wine nights, bagel breakfasts, and baby showers. Now I offer its final lines to you with the hope that, by God’s grace, you too might bring a glimpse of heaven into your living room: &#8220;Let the simple gift of a seat in this house, and the experience of hospitable fellowship, long remain with our guests as a small reflection of your welcome, and as a reminder that with you there is no leaving.&#8221;
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Grace Salvatore is the senior editor of media, arts, and culture at Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Restoring the West and a contributor to Independent Women’s Voice.

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We Replaced Community With Content. Here’s How To Fix That.

Easter Brunch Recipes Your Whole Table Will Love

Easter

recipes

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***
Few TV shows illustrate the heart of the culture war like &#8220;Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End,&#8221; a Japanese anime whose hit second season just wrapped up. Centered on the adventures of elven-mage Frieren and her traveling companions over several lifetimes, the show has garnered <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/18c9594ecce16258912d3521c1115401c6618307?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/18c9594ecce16258912d3521c1115401c6618307?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1NS_ZwtiDpuEwWh-SOV0y5">immense</a> popularity in America since landing on Netflix in March 2025. Frieren’s singular focus is slaying demons, and as she performs this duty from one century to the next, the human friends she makes must learn what Frieren has come to know with time, and it’s very controversial: Demons are irredeemably bad.
I cover the intersection of philosophy and culture on the <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/48e58da707ed3bdcffec0e50f11118e1dfdd14a7?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/48e58da707ed3bdcffec0e50f11118e1dfdd14a7?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw18Ol9su3wV4Vk74VFyQuwL">GeekyStoics</a> YouTube channel, and our predominantly Christian-Catholic audience wouldn’t stop recommending &#8220;Frieren&#8221; in the comments. So I caved. Upon looking into the show, I found analysis after analysis claiming this show was <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/6f2b68b0f59944ac934c231232140a1260dc6b9f?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/6f2b68b0f59944ac934c231232140a1260dc6b9f?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw10Wv_7gAz-ywBlJx-0pC0l">racist</a>, <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/b9fe4767f9ef7b35bc48651d068d7d48b6ab098d?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/b9fe4767f9ef7b35bc48651d068d7d48b6ab098d?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2TvbUVzA4QfPDNnckH0Ltu">genocidal</a>, and <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/93d4f40abc29566e1954499cc472e2f1aeddf184?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/93d4f40abc29566e1954499cc472e2f1aeddf184?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2IJNLAKPu_i01rrdlOKqOu">fascist</a>, which is a signal that fringe weirdos don’t approve and, therefore, it might be worth watching.
Meanwhile, in right-wing pockets of X, &#8220;Frieren&#8221; litters feeds with conservative and MAGA-themed memes depicting the elf and her companions as <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/dfb663d577c6d4b896bbd7ca34dcb913069e38aa?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/dfb663d577c6d4b896bbd7ca34dcb913069e38aa?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MBHHNdg9DVaI9gyShYSdE">ICE</a> <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/48f7c556dce0950d12d49b81d5f6fc9c3b9e5a02?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/48f7c556dce0950d12d49b81d5f6fc9c3b9e5a02?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Bm0D0Ovflv-hsN5nIXUCn">officers</a>, <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/db51dc656ee287847ea927e509eef10a36de5f52?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/db51dc656ee287847ea927e509eef10a36de5f52?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2LG94cfZKJnSpPq0NkmM-5">Crusaders</a>, <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/85f4ab9d2488986e7281494d44cee6ffaac6d041?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/85f4ab9d2488986e7281494d44cee6ffaac6d041?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1yiTd03TK83TlcsxaXsUwD">stained-glass</a> iconography, and quasi-missionaries <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/8a6ed46f042307619805a53a80891b0778e97722?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/8a6ed46f042307619805a53a80891b0778e97722?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1IRZCNcvnAAliztB3ygVjk">wielding</a> <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/7008ade7f520f810829a304dddb9cdb41709b8de?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/7008ade7f520f810829a304dddb9cdb41709b8de?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw33-G2w2H48cU2MqNzs_kDz">Bibles</a>.
&#8220;Frieren&#8221; is polarizing because the show&#8217;s central claim is that man-eating demons <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/3130af1e510bb728e88b1c3a29d0a5169913a3ee?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/3130af1e510bb728e88b1c3a29d0a5169913a3ee?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw23gTDqNMOvysvgBso6Bt-m">cannot</a> coexist with other species. It violates the most sacred dogma of progressives raised on moral and cultural relativism, the belief that no one idea or set of values can be proven superior to another.
It’s Frieren’s mentor, Flamme, who <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/7dd19039c81732d37701654d3376783d36380ace?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/7dd19039c81732d37701654d3376783d36380ace?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0N_azNBTOAcMB973Xiy5FZ">tells</a> her of demons: “They are nothing more than monsters capable of speech.” It’s a black-and-white view, and depending on the viewer&#8217;s biases, it’ll come across as either a statement demanding evidence or an obvious truth. One of Frieren’s idealistic companions, Himmel, needs evidence.
In a <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/8c80d9ea524bd42f2aef5d6466bcbd7439a6a831?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/8c80d9ea524bd42f2aef5d6466bcbd7439a6a831?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw09wN6MLrOBfTEiZQSJojby">pivotal moment</a> from the first season, Frieren recalls arriving with Himmel at a town where a demon, presenting as a child, has eaten a young girl. Despite the grief and rage of the victim’s family, Himmel can’t slay the demon once it calls for its “mommy.” When the village chief offers to take the demon under his roof and raise it alongside his children, Himmel accepts this plan, hoping the creature can be reformed.
Frieren knows better but allows events to unfold — and is proven right when, eventually, the demon child brutally kills the man who adopted it and burns the house to the ground.
Frieren intervenes and uses her magic to kill the demon, and just before dying, the demon <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/9b94f24411ba282c98ae23f1b88da4a251fc6d1e?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/9b94f24411ba282c98ae23f1b88da4a251fc6d1e?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw06ULVeGgiSt51LPoHEG3Td">calls out again</a> for its mother. Frieren points out that demons aren’t raised by parents and asks why it would use such a word. The demon answers: “It stops you from killing us, doesn’t it? It’s a wonderful, almost magical word.”
Language is neither natural nor necessary to demons. They use it only for the purpose of deception, knowing that human empathy can reach almost suicidal proportions. It’s also a reminder to viewers that, in the context of &#8220;Frieren,&#8221; demons might not even be “evil” in the way Westerners understand it.
These demons do not perceive good and evil and then consciously choose evil. They’re not trying to lead you to ruin like C.S. Lewis’s Wormwood and <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/350672bf29ca72ebc0cf2a5bffd559abbe06477d?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/350672bf29ca72ebc0cf2a5bffd559abbe06477d?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1dAnsH5gwSbSpsQhAiZjf_">Screwtape</a>; moral order is unknown to them. In that sense, they are less like rebels and more like predators.
A wolf is not evil for killing cattle — or even devouring a human child. It acts according to its nature. The human task is different. Because we are endowed with moral reason, we are responsible for recognizing what wolves do, restraining them, and, when necessary, killing them.
&#8220;Frieren&#8221; provokes backlash by being clear-eyed and confident about a threat to human life (demons), much like &#8220;K-Pop Demon Hunters&#8221; <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/ac37ab5c442b83f32c9589ad145bd71f8b0dfab1?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/ac37ab5c442b83f32c9589ad145bd71f8b0dfab1?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw186Qats1ix0MPt-dntAx-u">drew</a> consternation from writers <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/ed6d6352b5b8b0ce3529cb597a261e873ddfc31c?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/ed6d6352b5b8b0ce3529cb597a261e873ddfc31c?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1PYfZHYsk8FhjlIBKP2a6m">who wondered</a> whether it was “problematic” to celebrate the genocidal killing of demons.
They say these stories embolden “fascists” in the real world who might seek to <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/4cd67d5aa454778f53585cb6982406cf7d0983f9?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/4cd67d5aa454778f53585cb6982406cf7d0983f9?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Aj8fD6v_Ldk30T-d0mFRQ">characterize</a> illegal immigrants, Muslims, and “trans” people as somehow less than human. This is mainstream liberalism’s fatal conceit: the <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/0f1d9fc760cdcf9469a39c6d69f756213d836401?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/0f1d9fc760cdcf9469a39c6d69f756213d836401?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12Z5IkUYgnWtPqKyEKYoX0">slogan</a> “diversity is our strength,” hinging on the belief that all cultures yearn for freedom, universal rights, and coexistence.
Any violence that breaks out between groups isn’t seen as evidence of incompatibility between certain cultures, but as evidence of bigotry, intolerance, or some other academic nonsense meant to shame and weaken the majority group&#8217;s confidence in defending its own existence.
So, to the credit of &#8220;Frieren’s&#8221; left-wing haters, the uncomfortable truth is that the show’s clarity does provoke some real-world questions.
For instance, America has incurred at least <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/7a8057bd56cf37dcc994fc4c72bdae7f6ec65319?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/7a8057bd56cf37dcc994fc4c72bdae7f6ec65319?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zAM6BhVt9eFINAXQP7-D6">four</a> Islamist terror attacks since the start of its war with Iran by individuals originally from Turkey, Lebanon, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Progressives will sloganeer and say “hate has no home here,” but they don’t seem to believe that hateful ideologies can be imported.  They reject any responsibility to screen for views that might be incompatible with American life or <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/ed2cec3c54d432797b6b88a809254f9380ca7555?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/ed2cec3c54d432797b6b88a809254f9380ca7555?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0bDH7tnnAfL6Zx3eo7ZB9o">threaten the safety</a> of our people in the event of, say, hostilities with an Islamic terror state such as Iran.
Being confident in your knowledge that there are two biological sexes, male and female, necessitates boundaries between men’s and women’s spaces; “transgender” identity doesn’t trump reality. Borders exist, as does immigration law, which means you should either enforce those laws or simply abolish them.
Clarity and boundaries are what progressives find most threatening, so it’s natural that &#8220;Frieren’s&#8221; simplicity in handling demons rubs some the wrong way and excites conservative anime fans (yes, we do exist). And for conservatives who aren&#8217;t usually into anime, &#8220;Frieren&#8221; might just change their minds.
***
Stephen Kent is the co-creator of <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/b9630a1ec771c5fb2005a404ba6c46f980a206eb?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/b9630a1ec771c5fb2005a404ba6c46f980a206eb?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2iSXaUSxNZzTqj6_Ch82-S">GeekyStoics</a> on YouTube, a conservative columnist, and author of <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/2e443fe88b6cc39651ea434bbff4f270c867d06c?u=11850803" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://l.gourl.es/l/2e443fe88b6cc39651ea434bbff4f270c867d06c?u%3D11850803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1774968362249000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3glINtZX_mqcIrxck_C01v">How The Force Can Fix The World.</a> Follow him on X <a href="https://x.com/StephenKentX">@StephenKentX</a>.

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Why The Left Hates Hit Anime’s Simple Message About Good And Evil

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Jews across the world will gather around their Seder tables on Wednesday night. Families, friends, and strangers who become family for the night will open the Haggadah, follow a structure thousands of years old, and tell a story that changed the course of human history. They will do this while missiles fall on Israel and armed guards stand outside American synagogues.
Passover has always carried weight. It is the story of a people enslaved under Pharaoh, a dictator willing to murder Jewish children. But the Jews rose up and walked out of Egypt into freedom with God guiding them. That story has echoed across civilizations for thousands of years.
But this year, the ancient story feels less like history and more like a mirror.
In Israel, the last few weeks have been brutal. Iranian missiles and Hezbollah rockets have sent families running to bomb shelters in the middle of the night. Schools have been closed. Houses of worship have been forced to limit attendance under Home Front Command directives. Holy sites without adequate shelters have been closed, including the Western Wall, Al Aqsa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and more. Some strikes have hit holy sites in Jerusalem itself.
In America, the picture is different and, in some ways, more unsettling. After a targeted attack on a synagogue in Michigan and rising threats tied to the Middle East conflict, Jewish communities are celebrating Passover under the watch of extra police. Europe has dealt with this reality for years. Now it has come to America.
The antisemitism we are seeing in the streets and online, from the extreme Right and the extreme Left, is distressing. A shared impulse is forming between the fringes to come after Jews and blame us for our own victimhood. On October 7, 2023, Jews were slaughtered in the worst massacre since the Holocaust. None of us imagined that in the aftermath, we would be the ones portrayed as aggressors.
In the 1990s, American Jews felt a sense of safety, and that has changed dramatically. The Jewish community has, unfortunately, often turned a blind eye to our youth and those who are on the outskirts of mainstream Judaism. The more these Jews on the fringes felt there was no place for them in mainstream Judaism, the more they became isolated and easily susceptible to the messaging of those espousing anti-Western values of hate and intolerance.
Over the past two years, I&#8217;ve seen young Jews join anti-Israel and anti-American protests because they think they are making the world a better place by doing so. I&#8217;ve been approached by older members of the Jewish community who&#8217;ve pleaded with me to help reach out to their Jewish grandchildren who have protested against the Jewish people. This is something that we need to fix, and we need to fix it soon. Passover teaches that every Jew has a place at the table, no matter their background or status of religious observance. Every Jew is a part of the family. We all need to remember that and work toward making each and every Jew feel included.
So, we will not hide. We are going to go to our synagogues. We are going to pray. We are going to be publicly Jewish. We are going to wear the chai, the Star of David, and the kippah and walk into our Seders with our heads held high.  We are going to invite all of our fellow Jews to join us and to participate. We are the Jewish people, we have been through worse, and we are still here.
Fear is a real thing. I do not dismiss it. But fear comes from a feeling of being alone, the sense that the world is closing in, and no one has your back. The most important thing for every Jew to know right now is: You are not alone. Being Jewish is being part of a family. Whether you are in Israel, in France, in Argentina, or in New York, we are going to come together and stand with each other.
That is how we fight fear: not by ignoring it, but by showing up together.
I think about Jews in Soviet gulags who risked everything just to mark Passover. They had nothing, yet they held onto the idea of freedom because that idea was stronger than any prison. I think about Jews during the Holocaust who would risk their lives to bake a small piece of matzah or whisper the words of the Haggadah. Surrounded by death, they chose to remember freedom. I think of former Hamas hostages such as Agam Berger, who maintained faith and honored the holiday as best they could in the depths of hell in Gaza tunnels. Memory carried them. It gave them strength to endure, to survive, and, for some, to rebuild everything.
Jews have disproportionately won Nobel Prizes. That is no accident. Those prizes changed the world. They created vaccines. They advanced science and peace. We do not build only for ourselves. We build to improve the world. Passover reminds us that this mission depends on freedom. Only a free people can bring light to the nations.
So, where do I see hope? I see hope in God. I see hope in a people who, on October 7, 2023, were devastated and who, two and a half years later, have caused Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran to stagger on their heels. I see hope in Jewish families sitting down tonight, opening the Haggadah, and doing exactly what their grandparents did.
Hope is not the absence of pain. Hope is the ability to look forward, to believe that tomorrow will be better and so will the next day and the day after that. It is the refusal to get stuck in the present or the past.
We are living through challenging times. There is uncertainty, and there is real danger. But we have been here before. Every single time, we have come out stronger.
We finish off the Seder by saying, &#8220;Next year in Jerusalem.&#8221; This year, I invite everyone to ponder that and mean it. Not someday. This coming year — because Jerusalem is here. Israel is here. The Jewish people, as always, are still here, and we aren&#8217;t going anywhere.
***
Rabbi Steven Burg is the international CEO of Aish, a global Jewish educational movement. He formerly served as eastern director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he oversaw the Museum of Tolerance in New York City.

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This Passover Comes With Something You Wouldn’t Expect In America

People Can’t Stop Arguing Over This Viral Cookie, But The Real Story Is Bigger Than Dessert

cookie

crumbl

everything bagel

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
In a hundred years&#8217; time, people will still remember the name J. K. Rowling — and not only for writing one of the most beloved and best-selling fantasy book series of all time. She will be remembered for the role she played in saving civilization from the harms of gender ideology.
Rowling is an internationally beloved icon, known for bringing joy to millions through the Harry Potter book series. Harry Potter was, and still is, a cultural behemoth that has been retold through movies, video games, and theme parks, and is now being turned into an HBO<a href="https://people.com/harry-potter-series-cast-side-by-side-original-movie-actors-11934425"> television series</a>.
But in 2020, almost overnight, Rowling went from being the queen of popular culture to becoming an internationally hated villain. Her crime? Defending women&#8217;s rights and publicly acknowledging you can&#8217;t change your sex.
In late 2019, Rowling was already receiving backlash for hinting she disagreed with the transgender agenda in social media posts. However, she fully outed herself as &#8220;transphobic&#8221; in June 2020 by publishing a powerful and highly controversial <a href="https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/">essay</a> that defended women&#8217;s rights and biological reality.
Rowling explained in the essay how &#8220;trans activism&#8221; was threatening the rights of women across the globe and expressed concerns over women losing their fertility from medical transitions and the dangers of allowing men into female private spaces.
&#8220;It’s been clear to me for a while that the new trans activism is having (or is likely to have, if all its demands are met) a significant impact on many of the causes I support, because it’s pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender,&#8221; Rowling wrote.
&#8220;I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman — and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones — then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.&#8221;
It&#8217;s incredible to read this essay today and see how ahead of the curve Rowling was in understanding the many ways gender ideology harms women and society. 
As one of the earliest and boldest celebrity figures to speak clearly on these issues, Rowling earned brutal backlash from nearly every corner of the internet, from fans removing their Harry Potter tattoos because they now represented &#8220;<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/fans-tell-us-why-they-want-to-cover-up-their-harry-potter-tattoos/#:~:text=Some%20people%20have%20covered%20up%20their%20Harry,assume%20she%20has%20similar%20views%20to%20Rowling.">transphobia</a>&#8221; to harsh<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/may/01/daniel-radcliffe-says-rupture-with-jk-rowling-over-trans-rights-is-really-sad"> criticism</a> from Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter in the movies.
Rowling has been called derogatory names and had her physical safety<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/jk-rowling-opens-up-about-threats"> threatened</a> thousands of times over her opposition of gender ideology. And almost six years after publishing her initial essay, she&#8217;s still being criticized for supporting biological reality and women&#8217;s rights.
Just last week, Andrew Garfield, a B-list actor best known for being Emma Stone&#8217;s<a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a65796803/emma-stone-andrew-garfield-spider-man-experience/"> ex-boyfriend</a>, went viral for taking a dig at Rowling in an interview. Garfield called watching the Harry Potter movies &#8220;<a href="https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/andrew-garfield-harry-potter-daniel-radcliffe-jk-rowling-b2948074.html">controversial</a>&#8221; and said, &#8220;We shouldn’t be, you know, putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now through she that shall remain nameless.&#8221;
Rowling has a <a href="https://jkrwf.org/">fund</a> that supports individuals and organizations &#8220;fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life.&#8221; Rowlings financially <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/16/critics-of-trans-rights-win-uk-supreme-court-case-over-definition-of-woman">supported</a> a group that won a U.K. Supreme Court case in 2025 that clarified the definition of &#8220;woman&#8221; should be based on biological sex in the U.K.&#8217;s Equality Act 2010.
In response to that win, Rowling tweeted a photo of herself, holding a drink and smoking a cigar, with the simple caption, &#8220;I love it when a plan comes together.&#8221;
Tuesday is Transgender Day of Visibility, a fake holiday<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-history-behind-international-transgender-day-of-visibility"> created by a man</a> pretending to be a woman, and I think it&#8217;s a perfect day to celebrate J.K. Rowling. Rowling is a real woman who has held the line on biological reality for us all. She has given the issue of gender ideology visibility in a way that only a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2025/05/30/jk-rowling-is-a-billionaire-again/">billionaire</a> cultural icon could.
She&#8217;s chosen to make herself visible, putting a target on her back, and has taken many arrows from angry transgender activists who have threatened her safety and tried to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64729304">destroy her legacy</a>. In spite of it all, she&#8217;s carried on with a smile and a sharp sense of humor and has helped other women fighting similar battles.
One of her first acts of defiance against gender ideology happened in 2019 when Rowling defended <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/01/maya-forstater-woman-who-lost-job-after-tweeting-view-on-biological-sex-awarded-100000-by-tribunal">Maya Forstater</a>, a British researcher who lost her job for tweeting that a man cannot change his biological sex. She continues to face headwinds for women fighting for biological rights on the ground through the<a href="https://jkrwf.org/"> J.K. Rowling Women&#8217;s Fund</a>.
Rowling could have just chosen to stay quiet and enjoy life in her private Scottish castle. Instead, she chose to fight for and support those who don&#8217;t have the means or voice to fight alone. Those who give up their own comfort for the betterment of others are the kinds of historical figures that save civilizations. History will remember J. K. Rowling for doing her part.

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She Spoke Out On Gender Ideology And Became A Global Target

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One of the most important moments in baseball history occurred on Saturday, in the 6th inning of a closely contested but otherwise ordinary early-season game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. 
With two outs and the bases loaded, with the Reds up 5-3, C.B. Bucknor, one of the worst home-plate umpires in Major League Baseball, rung up Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez on a called strike three. Suarez immediately tapped his helmet, indicating he was disputing the call. This activated the computerized ABS, Automated Balls and Strikes system, which the MLB is officially implementing this year after several years of trial and error. 
TV viewers immediately saw the pitch, as did people in the Reds home stadium. The computer animation showed that Bucknor was wrong. It was a ball. The crowd roared. Any true baseball fan — and the Reds have a passionate and well-informed fan base — knows that Bucknor has long been a problem for the sport, an out-of-control, marginally-competent egomaniac who often gets calls wrong in key situations, imposing his will, deciding games in inappropriate situations. 
On the very next pitch, Bucknor rung up Suarez again. Again, Suarez challenged, and again, Bucknor was wrong. It was a ball. The stadium reacted like the Reds had just won the World Series. The Reds announcers remarked that it was the loudest cheer on a day where the Reds had already hit two home runs. 
On the next pitch after that, Suarez grounded out to end the inning. But even though the Reds ended up walking off the game in the 11th with a single, winning a 6-5 thriller, the real headline was the gauntlet that this new technology laid down to the home-plate umpire’s authority. The Red Sox and Reds challenged Bucknor eight times. And they were right six of those times. Tensions boiled over so extremely that Bucknor ended up ejecting Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the eighth inning. But that was the desperate act of exactly the type of professionally doomed person that the ABS means to expose. The game will never be the same.  
One of baseball’s most beautiful features is that it’s always changing. It used to take nine balls to draw a walk. Black players had a separate league. There were no night games. People rooted for players with names like “Dizzy” and “Dazzy” and “Moose.” And the game today, though basically the same as the one I knew as a kid, also has some significant differences. The Houston Astros used to be in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers were in the American League. There were no Wild Card teams until 1995. There were no divisions until 1969. The introduction of in-season interleague play seemed like a dumb idea, and it remains a dumb idea, but there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it now. When the MLB added the designated hitter to the National League, it was a violation of all that’s holy. But that was before Shohei Ohtani signed with my beloved Dodgers. Now I like the DH. 
There was also a time when we couldn’t even conceive of robot umps, except on an episode of Futurama, but now they feel like they’ve always been inevitable. Fans used to have a lot of fun when fat old managers roared out of the dugout to scream at fat old umpires over ball-strike calls. But that was decades ago, when the calls were guesswork for everyone involved, fans, players, managers, and umpires alike. After TV broadcasts introduced pitch-tracking technology in 2008 and StatCast in 2015, suddenly everyone could see exactly what the umps were getting wrong. The era of “YER BLIND, UMP!” ended. It stopped being amusing and started just feeling pathetic. 
MLB first tried out the ABS system in the minor leagues and then last season in Spring Training. The system uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras and T-Mobile’s 5G network to track pitches within one-sixth of an inch of accuracy. It takes the guesswork out of the way, removing the last major bone of contention that teams have with umpires. 
If a pitcher, catcher, or batter thinks an umpire has missed a strike call, they can &#8220;challenge.” This triggers an automatic robot review. If the challenger is right, the call is overturned. But the challenger can also be wrong, which allows the game to retain an element of human error. From Thursday through Sunday, roughly 54% of all challenged calls were overturned, which means that players were right slightly more often than umpires. 
Umpires are often right, but the bad ones can no longer take charge of a game behind the plate through bad calls, briefly becoming the main character when the focus should be on the players. Also, the ABS mostly gets rid of “pitch-framing,” a sub-skill among certain catchers where they can micro-jerk their mitts into the strike zone, sleight-of-hand fooling umpires into making the wrong call. It’s going to get a lot harder for catchers to pull a rabbit out of that hat, just like it’s going to get a lot harder for batters to throw temper tantrums when they think the umpire has done them dirty. The rational ABS will quickly dump ice water on those hotheads. 
Most importantly, it will be a lot harder for a missed ball-strike call to determine a game’s outcome. We saw perhaps the last instance of this in modern history in the 9th inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinal between the USA and the Dominican Republic. The WBC didn’t use the ABS, and it sure showed. With the 2-1 game on the line and a runner on third with a three-ball and two-strike count, U.S. pitcher Mason Miller threw a low slider to the DR’s Geraldo Perdomo. It was clearly a ball. Perdomo didn’t swing. Umpire Cory Blaser called it a strike anyway, and that was ballgame. 
Cory Blaser may be the last umpire ever to crush a national fan base’s dreams. The ABS cannot make a mistake like that. It sees all. 
Over the weekend, the Baltimore Orioles successfully challenged two separate pitches in the 9th inning against the Minnesota Twins, turning a potential walk into a strikeout to nail down an 8-6 win. We’ve yet to see a dramatic game-ending ABS overturn, but it’s coming, and the stadium will go nuts like a stadium has never gone nuts before. Because the robot umps are here to save baseball.
***
Neal Pollack, “the greatest living American writer,” is the author of 12 semi-bestselling books of fiction and nonfiction and is a three-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

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Baseball Just Put An End To One Of Its Most Frustrating Problems

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***
The Amazon original film <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ryan-gosling-breathes-new-life-into-a-tired-genre-with-project-hail-mary">“Project Hail Mary”</a> just pulled off something extraordinary. With an $80.5 million <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/non-woke-project-hail-mary-blasts-off-with-massive-opening-weekend?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Non-Woke+%E2%80%98Project+Hail+Mary%E2%80%99+Blasts+Off+With+Massive+Opening+Weekend">domestic opening weekend</a> and a 95% critics&#8217; score and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it&#8217;s an undeniable blockbuster hit. By the second weekend, the film had crossed $300 million worldwide and became the second-biggest non-franchise opening over the past decade, second only to “Oppenheimer.”
The movie is a genuine phenomenon. It’s an echo back to simpler times when films like this were common rather than remarkable. “Project Hail Mary” reminded us what we’ve been missing, what younger generations didn’t even realize was possible. And now, Hollywood&#8217;s response is just as predictable as it is infuriating: Hey, let&#8217;s make it a franchise!
Per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/project-hail-mary-movie-sequel-ryan-gosling-1236547587/">the Hollywood Reporter</a>, there’s nothing officially in the works, but the idea has been mentioned in the wake of the film’s massive financial success. The outlet&#8217;s sources reported that Amazon MGM Studios said &#8220;a sequel isn&#8217;t out of the question,&#8221; with insiders highlighting the merchandising potential of Rocky, the film&#8217;s beloved alien character. 
The studio promised that the author of the novel on which the whole thing is based, Andy Weir, would be &#8220;in the driver&#8217;s seat,&#8221; meaning he’d probably have to write another book first. That&#8217;s better than handing it over to a team of ultra-left Hollywood writers, at least. But the very fact that the conversation is already happening, within days of the film&#8217;s release, reveals again how Hollywood doesn’t understand anything. 
Instead of taking time to figure out why “Project Hail Mary” worked, executives seek to stretch out the storyline until everyone hates it. It’s a tired method that turned movie fans away for years, and it represents a complete failure to grasp what audiences want. 
&#8220;Project Hail Mary&#8221; didn&#8217;t win over audiences because it was the first installment of an endless cinematic universe. It succeeded because it was an authentic, family-friendly story with a positive message and quality performances. 
And while Variety catches heat for promoting a lot of woke ideals, one of its writers managed to pinpoint <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/project-hail-mary-lessons-box-office-1236544231/">four reasons</a> the story worked that Hollywood likely won’t pick up on: It assumed audiences were intelligent, it took its time to tell the story well, it embraced “sincerity and optimism,” and it was visually stunning without using green screens or AI slop.
The movie is both simple and complex. Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone in space, figures out what&#8217;s happening, and befriends an alien; the duo then manages to save both their worlds. There&#8217;s no cliffhanger setting up a never-ending march of prequels, sequels, and spin-offs. The film respects its audience enough to be enough on its own.
Weir shared his thoughts on what made the story work. In a <a href="https://youtu.be/ezZ_QGBpaDo?si=HYeQ49SyHl_QVb4t&amp;t=3575">conversation</a> with critic Will Jordan (the Critical Drinker) shortly after the film&#8217;s release, the author noted, &#8220;I never put any politics or messaging in any of my stories at all.”
“There&#8217;s no deeper meaning; there isn&#8217;t even any symbolism,” Weir added. “My books are just purely to entertain … you don&#8217;t have to worry about the message.&#8221;
“Project Hail Mary” could have easily launched itself into politics and social commentary, adding in dialogue about climate change and a host of other divisive issues. Instead, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller respected the source material and delivered a film people actually wanted to see. When it came down to it, this was a feel-good movie about a hero’s journey with an unlikely friendship to warm your heart. It was simple and pure. So naturally, Hollywood wants to ruin it.
There’s nothing to indicate that a sequel would perform well, and everything to show it would ruin the magic. “Project Hail Mary” is only the third non-sequel or non-franchise movie to <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/project-hail-mary-is-doing-so-well-at-the-box-office-that-theres-already-talk-of-turning-it-into-a-franchise-and-dont-forget-the-merch-potential-of-rocky">open above $50 million</a> internationally in the post-COVID era, alongside “Oppenheimer” and “F1: The Movie.” Both of those films are also standalone projects, but apparently, we’re not talking about that. 
The moment “Project Hail Mary” becomes a franchise is the moment it loses its luster. Then, it’s just another soulless cash grab. 
Weir also mentioned that he has ideas for sequels but hasn’t come up with a good enough one yet. That&#8217;s at least better than working overtime to crank out anything vaguely palatable to capitalize on the original film quickly. It doesn’t seem like the problem is Weir, but rather Amazon MGM, which assumes it can push forward with any old crap and hope fans are willing to overlook mediocrity. 
Hollywood was given a golden opportunity to learn a lesson and to respond by serving up more non-political, non-preachy, family-friendly, and interesting stories in settings built with human hands. It was shown that a movie with heart can still draw a crowd and that audiences will show up for an amazing story. Too bad all it can see are ways to ruin the first good thing it’s done in ages.

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Project Hail Mary Is Proof Americans Want Normal Movies, And Hollywood Is Already Trying To Ruin It

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***
I’m a Catholic convert. We <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-catholic-convert-boom-is-real-but-a-troubling-pattern-is-emerging">hear about that</a> a lot lately. Some of the most prominent podcasters, online influencers, and elected officials are announcing their conversions. Rosaries are becoming more prominent, and the Latin Mass is back in vogue.  
Conversion is good, and these conversions align with a positive trend in the Catholic Church. After a 20-year decline in conversions, the Catholic Church has experienced a surge in new members since 2020. Converts in 2025 more than <a href="https://www.osvnews.com/trending-a-young-revival-in-the-faith/">doubled</a> those in 2020. Even Los Angeles <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/easter-2025-new-catholics-by-the-numbers?utm_source=chatgpt.com">experienced a 44% year-over-year growth in 2025</a>. The word “Gospel” comes from the Greek “euangelion,” which means “good news.” This is the good news.
But it comes with some tension. Some of the largest converts leverage their massive online followings and media audiences to proclaim their conversions to the world. Algorithms reward visibility, announcement, and identity signaling. This actually fits perfectly into conversion, which is declarative, shareable, and witnessed by an audience.
But this contrasts sharply with Holy Week, which is quiet, uncomfortable, and non-performative in its nature. This week is about ensuring we don’t skip the part of our faith that actually defines it. Today’s culture emphasizes performance, but Holy Week emphasizes discernment. Rather than partaking in passive activities such as sitting and scrolling, Catholics are taught to participate in Holy Week. Mass attendees take part in the full reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday, and we fast, abstain, and worship on Good Friday.
So, I’m urging my fellow Catholics — and specifically, my fellow converts — not to squander this week but to embrace the elements of our faith that actually define it. To bridge the gap between “becoming a Catholic” and what the faith actually asks of you.
I’ll never forget my first Holy Week. I was confused about what could be “good” about the Friday on which Christ was crucified, not knowing that good means “holy” and this was the day his suffering delivered redemption and his death gave us life. In my early years of conversion, Holy Week was something I observed, but over time, it has become something I live.
Easter aligns with cultural preferences for joy, victory, and public celebrations. This fits into our modern instincts of resolution, progress, and clean endings. While social media favors identity over transformation and announcement over discipline, there are very few hashtags for silence, repentance, and interior change. You can “like” Easter. You can post Easter.
But Easter without Good Friday is incomplete. Good Friday requires a specific tone that would be punished in any online algorithm. Two days before the culmination of Lent, we emphasize silence and a reflective slowness. There is no spectacle or performative payoff. You spend a day sitting with the heavy responsibility of carrying the faith forward. For me, my first Good Friday was quite dark. The kids were off from school, but this was no vacation. Good Friday is a day to log spiritual hours.
My fellow Catholic and friend Arthur Brooks has made a career out of proving that <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/arthur-brooks-why-your-perfect-life-feels-so-empty">“meaning” is a key ingredient to a happy life.</a> Holy Week gives meaning to our Catholic faith, and we should use this week to help accelerate the positive conversion trends in our church. It’s good that people are coming in, but it can’t stop at one’s announcement. Interest must lead to commitment. The internet can celebrate conversion, but only real life can sustain it. Jesus Christ’s faith doesn’t fit neatly into our algorithms today. If that’s where your faith is performing best, you may have skipped the part that actually changes you.
Pope John Paul II often discussed the divided life. He cautioned against separating spiritual values from one’s daily actions and promoted a unified life fixed in God’s eternal love. This is a message I hope my fellow converts will heed — especially those who lead <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-a-social-media-influencer-but-my-real-audience-isnt-the-internet">very public lives</a>, reaching audiences far larger than any single congregation or diocese. I pray they are participating in all of the activities of Holy Week, not just outwardly, but internally. Like prayer, Holy Week is an external sign of inward grace. And our culture is craving grace right now.
I’ll let Jesus in Matthew 16:24-25 have the last word: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it.”
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Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People with Gates Garcia. Follow him on X and Instagram @GatesGarciaFL.

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More Americans Are Finding Faith, But Social Media Is Changing What That Looks Like

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