For decades, Americans have viewed their primary adversaries as foreign nationals or international terrorist organizations. Yet this perspective has proven dangerously naive. Over the past 60 years, socialist and Marxist ideologies have taken root within our own borders, often hiding in plain sight. This internal threat operates not from distant shores but from within.
Recent events only underscore this concern. The arrest of a would-be assassin at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — reportedly a former “Teacher of the Year” — is deeply disturbing. It raises a critical question: how have individuals entrusted with educating our children become radicalized to such extremes? And more importantly — where is the line when freedom of speech ends and subversion begins?
<h3>Quietly Reshaping Society From the Inside Out</h3>
This enemy is not a shadowy cabal of spies but a network of socialist and Marxist-influenced elites who have methodically gained influence over key pillars of American life: universities, the legal system, media, political parties, and even religious organizations. Operating under the banners of progress, equity, and social justice, they have advanced while many citizens focused on daily responsibilities. The outcome has been a slow erosion of foundational American values and a deliberate division of people along lines of ethnicity, religion, and sexual identity and even splits amongst once close family members. The result is the gradual weakening of the nation’s core institutions and social fabric.
<h3>The Decimation of the Nuclear Family</h3>
One of the most striking impacts appears in the decline of the nuclear family. This trend began prominently in the black community. In the 1960s, roughly 80% of black children lived in two-parent homes. Today, that figure is reversed with 77% of black children born to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/693212/77-black-births-to-single-moms-49-for-hispanic-immigrants/">single mothers</a>. The problem has since spread nationwide. Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/">data</a> show the United States has the highest rate of children living in single-parent households among developed nations — 23% of U.S. children under 18 live in fatherless homes, more than three times the global average.
Marriage rates have also hit historic lows, undermining the stable family structures historically linked to prosperity, child well-being, and social mobility. A prosperous country cannot long thrive without strong families as its foundation.
<h3>Academic Excellence Subverted into a Marxist Trojan Horse</h3>
Nowhere is the transformation more evident than in education. In public schools, social justice curricula emphasizing systemic racism, gender ideology, and equity have often displaced core academics. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores — the Nation’s Report Card — reveal reading and math proficiency at historic lows, with declines affecting students across demographic groups. Resources flow into DEI initiatives and “restorative justice” programs that prioritize emotional outcomes over measurable skills.
The human cost is profound: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/most-us-would-fail-u-s-citizenship-test-survey-finds-n918961">surveys indicate</a> only about 19% of Americans under age 45 can pass the U.S. Citizenship Test, with many unable to name the three branches of government or explain the Bill of Rights. Older Americans pass at much higher rates (around 74% in some studies), underscoring that this reflects educational shifts rather than inherent generational differences. 
Teachers’ unions have sometimes embraced ideological language. During the 2022 Minneapolis strike, a union leader framed the effort as a fight against “the patriarchy” and “capitalism.”
Universities, once centers of free inquiry, now exhibit stark ideological imbalance. Faculty ratios have shifted dramatically, with liberal-to-conservative balances moving from roughly 2:1 in the mid-1990s to far wider margins today — often 10:1 or higher in many studies, with even greater disparities in humanities and education departments. In the national survey, Departments of Education faculty self-identify as Radical, Activist, Socialist or Marxist. This is especially concerning because they instruct the next generation of public-school teachers.
<h3>Propaganda Masquerading as Journalism and Advocacy</h3>
This academic capture influences media, law, and advocacy. Organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) have faced scrutiny, including allegations in legal contexts of questionable practices while labeling mainstream groups. Media outlets often amplify such frameworks, shaping narratives through selective coverage. In politics, socialist ideas have moved from the fringes to mainstream Democratic platforms.
In November 2025, New York City elected Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, as mayor — the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of America’s largest city. His administration prioritizes expansive government and redistribution. Similar dynamics appear in Minnesota: Minneapolis City Council includes self-declared Democratic Socialists of America members advancing related priorities amid ongoing challenges with crime and services. The 2020 unrest in Minneapolis, involving organized elements, accelerated “defund the police” experiments rooted in these ideologies.
<h3>Undermining Service to Citizens</h3>
Elected officials advancing such agendas can weaken state capacity and national cohesion. When civic education falters, informed citizenship declines — an outcome aligned with views that see the Constitution as an outdated instrument of oppression.
Religious institutions have also been affected. Some mainline Protestant and Catholic circles have incorporated critiques of “systemic sin,” shifting emphasis toward social justice over personal redemption. Sermons increasingly echo academic and media talking points on privilege and reparations.
<h3>Pattern Recognition and the Path Forward</h3>
This is not paranoia but observable pattern recognition. Socialist and Marxist influences advanced not through overt revolution but via tenure committees, HR departments, grants, and activist networks. They reframed compassion-based concepts like diversity, inclusion, and equity into tools against dissent.
Evidence surrounds us: politicized campuses stifling debate, advocacy groups facing credibility questions, socialist elected officials, schools prioritizing socialist ideology, unions opposing capitalism, coordinated protests and riots, and churches emphasizing liberal politics.
Americans must awaken to this reality. The adversary lectures from podiums, edits content, drafts laws, grades papers, and serves on councils — seldom wearing foreign uniforms. Reclaiming institutions require vigilance: restoring academic excellence and viewpoint diversity in universities, demanding transparency from nonprofits and unions, electing leaders focused on merit and results, and ensuring schools prioritize fundamentals — reading, writing, history, and civics — over grievance.
The republic was not lost overnight but inch by inch. The time to push back is now. Our children’s future and the nation’s character depend on it.
* * *
Kendall Qualls is an Army veteran, business leader, and the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. TakeCharge is a national nonprofit organization led by Kendall and Sheila Qualls focused on restoring strong families as the foundation for opportunity, dignity, and upward mobility.

Former President Obama Joins NYC Mayor Mamdani On A Visit To Child Care Center

The Quiet Campaign Weaponizing America’s Youth

DW Opinion

Education

Family Values

Gen Z

Leftists

Legacy Media

Minnesota

Propaganda

Teenagers

A new poll finds that a plurality of Gen Z would hop in a time machine and leave their life behind as many young people grow disillusioned with modern technology and increasingly pessimistic about their economic futures.
If given the option, nearly half (47%) of 18-29-year-olds said they&#8217;d choose to live in the past, according to an <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059030-genz-nbc-news-decision-desk-poll-march-2026-topline/">NBC News Decision Desk Poll</a>. One in three surveyed said they’d pick a time period less than 50 years ago, while another 14% would choose more than 50 years in the past. Only 38% of young people said they’d prefer to live in the present.
Members of this generation, born in 1997 or later, yearn for an era “right before social media and computers mediated life,” Clay Routledge, a nostalgia researcher and existential psychologist, said in an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/discomfort-modern-technology-gen-z-desire-live-past-poll-rcna340897">interview with NBC News</a>.
Ben Isaacs, a 20-year-old Colorado student, said he’d choose to live in the 1990s, arguing smartphones are eroding young people’s ability to connect face-to-face and live beyond “the realm of the phone,” according to NBC.
The survey captures Gen Z’s deepening dissatisfaction with the country’s trajectory, social cohesion, and their financial futures.
A whopping 80% of Gen Z—more than any other generation—said the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the NBC poll, and 62% expect their lives will be worse than those of previous generations.
Plus, a majority rated the economy—especially inflation and the cost of living—as their top political concerns.
Artificial intelligence, which is transforming the higher education landscape and entry-level job market, is adding to the uncertainty and economic anxiety. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/704087/college-students-weigh-impact-majors-careers.aspx">One in six college students</a> has changed their major because of AI, and 48% of Gen Z workers now say its negatives outweigh its benefits—an 11-point increase from 2025, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Unemployment among recent college graduates has risen since the pandemic, reaching 5.6% at the end of 2025 and extending well beyond the humanities, according to the <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:explore:unemployment">Federal Reserve Bank of New York.</a> Computer engineering now has one of the <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:explore:unemployment">highest unemployment rates</a> among college majors at 7.8%, a sharp reversal from 2021, when it ranked among the lowest at 3.2%.
Economic, cultural, and political turbulence is helping drive a cultural shift among some young people, especially men. Another Gallup poll released this month indicates that young men have become more religious in recent years.
<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/young-men-religious-young-women.aspx">The survey</a>, released April 16, finds that 42% of men ages 18–29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, up sharply from 28% in 2022–2023. Monthly religious attendance among young men also rose to 40% from 33%, the highest level in more than a decade, surpassing women for the first time.
&#8220;When there’s a lot of disruptions — political divisiveness, or, you know, worries about AI or other kinds of societal, technological or social, cultural changes — people tend to become more nostalgic for the past to help them with the things that they’re worried about,” <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/discomfort-modern-technology-gen-z-desire-live-past-poll-rcna340897">Routledge told NBC</a>.

Teens in circle holding smart mobile phones – Multicultural young people using cellphones outside – Teenagers addicted to new technology concept

Why Gen Z Wishes They Could Time Travel

Economy

Polls

Social Media

U.S.

If you&#8217;re a liberal Gen Z commentator, the last person you want to see on the other end of the debate stage is Isabel Brown.
And yet that&#8217;s exactly the position influencer Harry Sisson found himself in at the University of Virginia, when he joined The Daily Wire host for the latest installment on CBS News and <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/watch-the-gen-z-debate-with-harry">The Free Press&#8217;s</a> &#8220;Things That Matter&#8221; debate series. Brown and Sisson sparred on culture, economics, and the direction of Gen Z politics, with Brown pressing an argument rooted in culture and faith and Sisson leaning on conventional liberal talking points.
Brown opened by framing the debate at a civilizational level, rejecting the idea that current political and economic frustrations can be pinned solely on former President Donald Trump.
“It may be flashy and easy to say it’s all Donald Trump’s fault,” she said, “but in reality where we have arrived at today is because of the systematic removal of God from our society.” She returned to that theme repeatedly, arguing, “We lack the common shared humanity that bound us all together — that is, God.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/harryjsisson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@harryjsisson</a> and his leftist counterparts like to chase clicks by blaming all of Gen Z&#8217;s problems on President Trump.
But <a href="https://twitter.com/theisabelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@theisabelb</a> identifies the root of the crisis facing Gen Z: the systematic removal of God from our society. <a href="https://t.co/LJBlDv1tlQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/LJBlDv1tlQ</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2047284604017492384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Sisson, by contrast, focused on attacking Trump&#8217;s rhetoric, claiming “Trump said Kamala Harris is going to import a million, gazillion people … and he said I’m focused on affordability … and none of that has happened.”
The debate sharpened when it turned to foreign policy. Sisson asked, “What war did Joe Biden get into?” Brown fired back: “Joe Biden directly propped up and funded foreign wars around the world … we sent money to the Iranian regime — we sent $200 billion to the war in Ukraine.”
While the exact figures are debated, it is well-documented that the U.S. committed over $180 billion in aid to Ukraine since 2022, according to a Defense Department<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Mar/10/2003663371/-1/-1/1/OAR_Q1_DEC2024_FINAL_508.PDF#page=28&amp;zoom=70,-372,685" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> inspector general report</a> from 2024, alongside controversial financial transfers tied to Iran and the aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal — making Sisson’s implication of non-involvement difficult to sustain.
On domestic economics, Sisson claimed, “We now have less workers than jobs open right now,” echoing a common labor shortage argument. Brown immediately countered: “So why are 10 million Gen Zers unemployed?” As youth unemployment has remained persistently higher than the national average, and labor force participation among younger workers has lagged, complicating the simplistic “more jobs than workers” narrative.
“Immigrants in virtually every piece of economic data makes our country better, they make our culture better, they make us better as people,” Sisson claimed, drawing a sharp contrast with Brown’s argument that mass immigration can suppress wages in certain sectors, a concern supported in part by labor market research showing localized wage pressure in low-skill industries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/harryjsisson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@harryjsisson</a> DENIES that mass migration hurts Gen Z <a href="https://twitter.com/theisabelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@theisabelb</a>: &#8220;It is a system that has been consistently selling out the opportunities of our generation for everyone else around the world.&#8221;
HS: &#8220;The idea that immigrants are coming in and stealing jobs is just NOT TRUE.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/HeXoo8Kvow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/HeXoo8Kvow</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2047307000313225667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Brown then shifted the conversation to culture and social stability, noting that “Young people, especially young men are looking for unafraid, on offense conservatism,” she said, outlining a platform of limited government, reduced foreign intervention, and education reform against “woke slop.”
Throughout the exchange, Sisson often defaulted to dismissiveness, responding, “I don’t even know what woke slop means.” Brown tied her argument on education reform to a deeper argument about meaning and social cohesion, warning against what she described as a drift toward “radical Marxism.”
As The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/education-dept-slashes-600-million-in-grants-promoting-divisive-ideologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frequently</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-doj-spent-over-100-million-pushing-dei-restorative-justice-in-classrooms-report-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, the Biden administration spent millions promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in public schools, efforts the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-privilege-not-a-right-trump-admin-gives-k-12-schools-ultimatum-on-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-takes-sledgehammer-to-dei-in-latest-round-of-executive-orders-targeting-education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roll back.</a>
She also leaned on <a href="https://ifstudies.org/in-the-news/conservative-women-are-happier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> from scholars like the Institute for Family Studies’ Brad Wilcox, noting that “married moms are three times happier than unmarried childless women,” and arguing that declining family formation correlates with rising mental health struggles among young people — a claim that aligns with broader data showing higher reported happiness and stability among married populations.
Sisson’s arguments, by contrast, reflect a more familiar institutional liberalism that often assumes its premises rather than defending them. Claims like immigration universally improving outcomes or dismissing concerns about foreign entanglements land differently with a generation that has grown up through economic instability, pandemic disruption, and now renewed geopolitical tension.
The Trump administration, while still dominant within Republican politics, is navigating a complicated stretch, particularly on foreign policy as tensions with Iran continue to hang over the national conversation. For younger voters, especially those wary of prolonged overseas entanglements, that creates an opening and a risk. There’s a clear demand for a version of conservatism that is assertive at home but restrained abroad, something Brown explicitly nods to with her emphasis on “no foreign intervention” and keeping “American tax dollars at home.”

Isabel_Final-1

Isabel Brown Schools Liberal Harry Sisson In Free Press Debate

CBS News

Donald Trump

Free Press

Illegal Immigration

Isabel Brown

Marriage

Up-and-coming singer D4vd, known for his viral R&amp;B pop hits, is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a 14-year-old girl — months after a decomposed and dismembered body was found in the trunk of his Tesla on September 8, 2025.
D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez — with additional charges of sexual abuse, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old, and mutilation of human remains — the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Rivas Hernandez was last seen by her family in 2024, when she was only 13. She was described Monday by officials as a &#8220;runaway&#8221; and was 14 when she was allegedly killed by the 21-year-old singer. During Monday&#8217;s press conference, prosecutors alleged D4vd killed Rivas using a sharp object on or around April 23, 2025, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/d4vd-charges-celeste-rivas-hernandez-a5ae08c1dda921dad1750d3ceda16c47">Associated Press</a>.  She went to the singer&#8217;s house in the Hollywood Hills on that date and was never heard from again. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman alleged that D4vd mutilated her body about two weeks later. Months later, on September 8, her body was found decomposed and dismembered in two bags in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd.
&#8220;The condition of her remains delayed the medical examiner&#8217;s ability to be able to determine cause of death,&#8221; Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Monday at the press conference. &#8220;Despite these obstacles and despite intense public pressure, our robbery homicide division detectives remained steadfast in their duties. They recovered and analyzed a substantial amount of digital and forensic evidence. They stayed focused, disciplined, and committed to uncovering the truth.&#8221;
Hochman said during the news conference that the murder charges included special circumstances, which he explained were lying in wait, committing a crime for financial gain, and murdering the witness in an investigation — charges that could result in the death penalty.
&#8220;These charges include the most serious charges that a DA’s Office can bring, first-degree murder with special circumstances,&#8221; Hochman said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rapper-arrested-months-after-dismembered-teen-found-in-his-tesla?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rapper+Arrested+Months+After+Dismembered+Teen+Found+In+His+Tesla">RELATED: Rapper Arrested Months After Dismembered Teen Found In His Tesla</a>
Hochman said evidence will show in court that the financial gain in this case is D4vd&#8217;s lucrative music career, and because Rivas Hernandez was a &#8220;witness&#8221; to something, killing her eliminated the risk that she could talk. Hochman said that D4vd was under investigation for the lewd and lascivious sexual acts, and Rivas was the witness to this. Per <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/20/d4vd-prosecutors-expected-to-announce-charges-in-celeste-rivas-hernandez-case/">TMZ</a>, the DA suggested that Rivas Hernandez had threatened to go to police or go public regarding their sexual relationship, so he invited her over and then killed her — which led to the &#8220;lying in wait&#8221; charge.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a parent of three children, and a parent&#8217;s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,&#8221; Hochman said.
An attorney for the singer told <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/20/d4vds-family-speaks-out-after-murder-charges-in-celeste-rivas-hernandez-case/?adid=social-tw">TMZ</a>, &#8220;We are disappointed but not surprised that the District Attorney made this decision. David&#8217;s family stands behind him 100%.&#8221;
D4vd was arrested last week at his Hollywood Hills home after lying low for months. He canceled the remainder of his &#8220;Withered World Tour&#8221; after Rivas Hernandez&#8217;s remains were found.
It&#8217;s not clear yet whether the DA&#8217;s office will seek the death penalty, and Hochman said that would be decided at a later date. The coroner&#8217;s report is expected to be made public as well.
D4vd pleaded not guilty hours after the charges were filed, and demanded an immediate preliminary hearing, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/20/d4vd-pleads-not-guilty-celeste-rivas-murder/">TMZ reported</a> on Monday.

Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella

TikTok Singer Racks Up Disturbing Charges In Murder And Dismemberment Of 14-Year-Old Girl

Entertainment

News

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.
***
Increased rates of sexlessness have been documented around the world, among all age cohorts, regardless of marital status. But what’s most astounding is that this trend is particularly pronounced among younger generations, including millennials (born from 1980 to 1994) and Gen Z (born from 1995 to 2012), with roughly one in three men and one in five women saying they haven’t had sex in the past year.
From research I’ve conducted, it seems the sex recession is the culmination of <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sextinction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sextinction/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Igdoodn9vaNNolHcsa_QH">a number of factors</a>, including social media and dating apps, new cultural norms post-#MeToo, and technological advancements in romantic surrogates such as AI companions, sex robots, and platforms like OnlyFans, to name a few.
Although all ages risk falling prey to these artificial replacements for sex, members of Gen Z are particularly vulnerable because they grew up enmeshed in this technology before experiencing the real thing. While social conservatives may celebrate the recent celibacy of young singles, the reasons they are abstaining from sex should be concerning.
Interventions that have the capacity to modify our biology, mating psychology, and mental health are driving these trends. For example, two common types of pharmaceutical drugs — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, a class of antidepressants) and the birth control pill — are known to decrease libido as a side effect.
Although these interventions have the potential to aid many, we must ask what their influence has been on young people. Many begin their usage in childhood, and this has the potential to affect them profoundly.
<a href="https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw03jrcZTkqiZaM6Y-hz6nY9">More than a third</a> of Gen Z report taking prescription medication for a mental health condition. If an individual is uncomfortable in social situations or when required to have face-to-face interactions, they will be less inclined to want to meet new people in the context of dating. Sexual intimacy requires being comfortable in your body, being present in your head, and being willing to put yourself in a position of possibly being judged or rejected by someone else.
Rumination, negative self-perception, and self-consciousness, which are hallmark symptoms of depression and anxiety, can additionally convince a person (erroneously) to prefer online avenues as a sexual outlet because they exist behind the safety of a screen.
So, it is a positive thing that young people are seeking help to improve their situation. If a person is not emotionally healthy, even if she does desire companionship, it will be challenging to vet a partner properly and find the right person for herself.
We know little, however, about the long-term effects of SSRIs on adolescents’ sexual development. This is concerning, considering SSRIs have been approved for use in children as young as <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/teen-depression/in-depth/antidepressants/art-20047502" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/teen-depression/in-depth/antidepressants/art-20047502&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0BjwRTOhps2BhfIzUxTVLd">6-years-old</a>, and <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/psychotropic-medication-among-children-adolescents">nearly 4%</a> of children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 in the United States take them.
One recent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40063219/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40063219/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3fo61QtqB1bYSBRUf-DMVU">study</a> using a rodent model showed that exposure to an SSRI was associated with changes to a part of the brain that is involved in emotion regulation and stress management.
There are also data emerging about a condition called post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, which describes sexual side effects from SSRIs (and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) that persist after a person has ceased taking the medication. This can include a loss of sexual desire and arousal, numbness in one’s sexual anatomy, and sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction and difficulty reaching orgasm.
In some cases, individuals who began these medications during their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/magazine/antidepressants-ssris-teen-sexual-side-effects.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/magazine/antidepressants-ssris-teen-sexual-side-effects.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2mHVmEHsQZ_rQlhXE0V7oQ">teenage years</a> report a blunting of emotions and an inability to feel crushes, foreclosing their desire in adulthood to be sexually active.
The birth control pill may be contributing to the use of SSRIs because taking the pill is associated with an increase in mood disorders like <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9218393/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9218393/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12xICqKrlZ7A6G7dsyy_lA">depression</a>.
In the U.S., more than <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/contraceptive.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/contraceptive.htm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2dRuVxMZQXIj14TPCRqGoh">one in 10 females</a> aged 15 to 49 are taking the pill. Many young girls will initially start for non-contraceptive reasons, such as regulating their menstrual cycle or alleviating associated cramps. Although these teenage girls may not be sexually active, their mating psychology is nevertheless being affected.
If an individual’s emotions and personality are biologically altered during their formative years, this can lead to long-lasting changes. Similar to SSRIs, little is known about how the pill affects adolescent brain development. It has been hypothesized that taking the pill may affect the process by which girls’ brains become feminized and the way they <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41245982/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41245982/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07kPYy_n9jOS_n00oYWGDQ">process information</a>.
Because the pill halts ovulation and thereby a woman’s ability to become pregnant, it can dampen not only her interest in sex and interacting with men but also the sexual signals she sends out to the men she does encounter. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22245227/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22245227/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1KJjqtWiLrkYy_fz28dT0k">Men can tell</a> when a woman is ovulating, and if she is, they are more likely to pursue her.
This is not to blame women on the pill for the sexual inactivity plaguing young people, or to suggest that women should not take hormonal birth control. Instead, I would argue that women and girls deserve access to factual, unbiased information about the potential consequences associated with taking this medical technology, especially during critical developmental windows.
Those who eschew pharmaceuticals may still be unintentionally consuming these drugs through the water supply. Studies in fish have shown that synthetic estrogen in birth control pills can induce <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1874176/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1874176/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1uYMYFslD9xC6EzL-UeFcq">intersex conditions</a>, and early-life exposure to antidepressants, including SSRIs, can alter the programming of the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9245512/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9245512/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1gnYContk5nRNOLeUEDHim">endocrine system</a>.
Although more research needs to be done to know whether the same disturbing effects apply to humans, I wonder to what extent this exposure is contributing to men’s declining testosterone levels. To bring things back full circle, low testosterone is commonly associated with depression and reduced sex drive.
Until we address the true causes of the mental health epidemic flourishing today, no amount of technological distraction will cure this issue or alleviate our sexlessness. The purported technological solutions for our social and sexual disconnection will only make us sicker.
Physical activity, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/experts-say-ditch-screens-before-bed-i-tried-these-six-tricks-instead">adequate sleep</a>, effective psychotherapy, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-tried-the-one-thing-big-tech-hopes-you-never-do">minimal use</a> of social media, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-you-may-be-in-a-toxic-relationship-with-your-leggings-and-what-to-do-about-it">endocrine-disrupting products</a>, and ultraprocessed foods are relevant places to start. Those of us who were blessed to grow up in an era predating smartphones and internet toxicity must support younger generations in finding a path back to normalcy.
***
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist and the author of “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sextinction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sextinction/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Igdoodn9vaNNolHcsa_QH">Sextinction: The Decline of Sex and the Future of Intimacy</a>.” She was featured in Matt Walsh’s film “What is a Woman?” Visit her at <a href="https://www.drdebrasoh.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drdebrasoh.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776257052842000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0DRbi58bw_pNgY_OO8jaRx">DrDebraSoh.com</a>.

GettyImages-1793678138

The ‘Sex Recession’ Hitting Gen Z And What’s Quietly Killing Their Drive

Mental Health

Upstream

America’s age of unaccountability was supposed to free its inhabitants of the shackles of stress, sorrow, and self-loathing. Instead, it has tightened them.
A survey of 2,000 young men between the ages of 18 and 29 conducted by the Institute for Family Studies (ISF) found that 42% of young men say, “All in all, I am inclined to think that I am a failure.” Just 32% outright reject this unflattering characterization of themselves.
Attitudes differ based on age (46% of those between the age of 18 and 23 feel like a failure, while just 38% of those between 24 and 29 do), employment status (33% for full time workers, 43% for part time ones, and 56% for the unemployed), and living situation (26% for those married with kids, 46% for those who are married without kids, 49% for those who are unmarried with kids, and 43% for those who unmarried without kids).
The obvious conclusion here is the right one. Productive men with intact families who are better established in their adult lives have a healthier self-conception than unproductive ones without families at an earlier, uncertain point. This observation, when accounted for alongside declining marriage and fertility rates, as well as women’s ever-increasing share of the job market and outstripping of their male peers in education, bodes dismally for America’s men and their sense of self-worth.
As the Institute for Family Studies&#8217; Joseph E. Davis, Michael Toscano, and Ken Burchfiel <a href="https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/americas-demoralized-men-part-1">note</a>, men now account for only 41% of earned college degrees, and they have proven more susceptible to all manner of pitfalls.
<blockquote>Young men have higher rates of conditions such as ADHD and autism and have more problems with drugs, gambling, pornography, and the law. Many young men today have lower earnings and career prospects compared to earlier cohorts &#8230; They have fewer friends, socialize less, and are less civically engaged. Fewer are making a timely transition to adulthood by meeting such milestones as having a full-time job, being financially independent, living away from their parents’ home, and getting married and having children.</blockquote>
The question is: why?
To be sure, there are structural culprits for these trends. Davis, Toscano, and Burchfiel point the finger at society’s “deemphasis on role transitions.”
<blockquote>After all, from a young age, they have heard a cultural message of emancipation from the old constraints of social roles and forms of life. Now, their future is open, and they can be whatever they want to be and live however they choose. There is seemingly no stigma attached to delaying family formation or choosing to remain unmarried and not have children.</blockquote>
And by all accounts, men crave — and know that they desperately need — the structure of family life and the old benchmarks of adulthood to achieve self-satisfaction. Fifty-nine percent of young men are single, but 74% of that cohort are open to dating. Sixty-eight percent of unmarried men hope to be married, and 62% of those without a child want to be a parent. Eighty-nine percent recognize strength, responsibility, and leadership as qualities associated with manhood, and 85% say it “requires a willingness to sacrifice for others.” They say they want good jobs with which they can live independently and eventually provide for a family.
Young men are not apathetic about their future. Considering all that has been stacked against them – The New York Times and its peer publications’ monthly odes to polygamy, the emergence of the toxic, far-right manosphere, and a whole-of-society effort to convince young people that spouses and children are burdens rather than blessings — that is no small thing. They want that which is meaningful and can make them happy. That is a necessary condition for an improvement of their lot. It is not sufficient.
Keyser Söze observed that “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn&#8217;t exist.” His second greatest trick was convincing those who are aware of him that he works only through others. There is no shortage of boogeymen Americans can choose to blame for their own shortcomings. The Right offers up feminism, the sexual revolution, DEI, affirmative action, and the media. The Left suggests toxic masculinity, religion, big business, white privilege, and a panoply of isms. Both profit off the idea — which of course comes with a grain of truth — that individuals lack agency; that in order for their lives to improve, it’s society, not themselves that must change.
It’s true that men face a current pushing them downriver of the good, true, and beautiful. But many, despite their recognition of the desirability of swimming against it, have let themselves be swept up.
Pornography, gambling, drugs, slothfulness, dependence: these aren’t ills that force themselves upon men, they’re temptations that they give in to. The world may offer them the tools with which to ruin themselves, but still, it’s they that must use them. And use them, they are.
It’s they who waste money on parlays, their own time on idle pursuits, their parents’ on continuing to provide for them, and their brains on narcotics. Nobody else makes the bet, smokes the joint, sleeps in, skips class, or mails-it-in for them.
Men understand this as intuitively as they long for the families they’re not forming. They might publicly join in the popular political blame game, or even convince themselves that they believe in it. Deep down, though, they know they are the authors of their own destiny, and they resent themselves for not making more of it.
As well as the society that’s made an industry out of the lie responsible for their misery.
* * *
Isaac Schorr is a staff writer at Mediaite and a 2023–2024 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow at the Fund for American Studies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Sad young man looking through the window

The Lie Making Young Men Miserable

adolescents

Opinion

young men

Large American Family Group Gathering

Why Kicking Your Kids Out At 18 Is Actually Insane

Children

family

Matt Walsh

Parenting

Gen Z is having a moment — not in the “It Girl” kind of way, deserving the paparazzi spotlight because it has particular talents, looks, or other … assets. Quite the opposite. Gen Z, the generational group born from 1997 to the early aughts of the 21st century, is emotionally marred by its technological umbilical cord, ADHD, and COVID-induced psychological distress.
This Gen Z moment is more akin to a mid-midlife crisis. And what better cure than a longing for the halcyon days of yore: the 1990s. If your generation is defined by a lack of rebelliousness, social isolation, and emotional cope, then why not live out your fantasies indulging in the wildly innocent and spontaneous authenticity of a world unsoiled by social media, doomscrolling, and the precarious teetering on the edge of ecological, political, and economic collapse that your Boomer grandparents have heaped on your conscience? Of course, relief would only be found in longing for the days of mix tapes, Must See TV, and meeting friends at the mall arcade (IRL!).
Gen Z’s ’90s infatuation is a reminder of what we had and what we lost. A culture grounded in an analogue world, a freedom untethered from 24/7 hyperattentive neuroses based on social media antisocialism, and a freewheeling, spontaneous in-the-moment reality where politics and culture and entertainment still had defined boundaries, and America was, for the most part, an outward-looking, optimistic culture obsessed with collective cohesion, not division.
We’ve seen this coming. It makes perfect sense that kids who never owned a physical thing, let alone burn CDs, copy movies from television onto VHS, or take a date out to the local Blockbuster Video (Netflix and chill has nothing on the suggestive power of “Basic Instinct” or “Wild Things”), would now have extensive vinyl record collections, buy Criterion Collection film DVDs or be snapping up back issues of magazines on eBay.
“Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City,” the Vogue aesthetic, and NYC glamour have newfound cachet. Hell, with the rise of GLP-1 inhibitors, heroin-skinny chic is even back with a fervor (just ask Demi Moore). So it’s only natural that the &#8220;It Couple of America’s&#8221; style capital — John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy — have found a resurrection among this generation. From Bessette’s <a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/carolyn-bessette-kennedy-cbk-headband-co-bigelow-love-story.html?_gl=1*93lvyj*_gcl_au*MTA5MjQ1MTU4Mi4xNzcwMjQxMzU2*FPAU*MjA4ODkwMzQ1MC4xNzY3OTA3NTEz*_ga*NzM5MzQ4NjMxLjE3Njc5MDc1MTM.*_ga_DNE38RK1HX*czE3NzM1MzU2OTkkbzIwJGcxJHQxNzczNTM1NzIxJGozOCRsMCRoODQxNTkwNjQ2*_fplc*Tmd1VUUzV3ZCdlZCJTJCU2hCNUVBOVhsOUpxMFMlMkJjc3ZaZThjd1E0ZnN0ZyUyRkNUd2lIRE9sJTJCR01LM2YlMkJxJTJGU1R3NEIyT2lhd2RlekElMkZxNGVPQWpIWkRRWWJaZXAlMkJDQnNDRUFjNUd4dE9tTkRDS0xmSjFvJTJGUGwlMkJQbWdXQW1JOVElM0QlM0Q.">killer headbands</a> and Calvin Klein fashion to a Washington Square Park JFK, Jr. <a href="https://instinctmagazine.com/jfk-jr-lookalikes-nyc/">lookalike contest</a>, this <a href="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/love-story">Love Story</a> is the perfect form of escapism. The tabloid favs predated Bennifer and Brangelina and offered relationship drama that Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt only dreamed of.
<div id="attachment_1060545" style="width: 837px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1060545" class="size-large wp-image-1060545" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1264317423-827x576.jpg" alt="John Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy stroll together near their TriBeCa loft today. They had lunch at Bubby's after they bought a paper at Hudson News. In this photo, they head back to their apartment. (Photo by Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty Images)" width="827" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1264317423-827x576.jpg 827w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1264317423-300x209.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1264317423-768x535.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1264317423.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 827px) 100vw, 827px" />Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty Images</div>
But if there are takeaways from Gen Z’s emotional support decade, it’s that we can’t go back in time, but we can try to recapture the idealism of our past, even if it’s a pieced-together, imperfect idealism, akin to what JFK, Jr. embodied in his own life with the launch of his George magazine in 1995. It was a hope found in a nation of possibilities rather than one of victims or grievances, and “not just politics as usual,” as its tagline pronounced.
George had it all: celebrity cachet to chaperone the political party, think “<a href="https://whca.press/news/annual-dinner/">Nerd Prom</a>” well before Ana Marie Cox stole the moniker from San Diego’s Comic-Con, and with a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek cheekiness completely absent in today’s self-important political spheres. This was vibes before vibe-maxxing was a thing; TMZ a decade before its celeb-skewering snark; politics merging with entertainment before The Donald came down the golden escalator.
In a way, JFK, Jr. and George were prophetic but also too good to appreciate in their own time, and too romantic and authentic for today. It would be unthinkable now for the son of President John F. Kennedy to put a too-cute Drew Barrymore evoking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ7E1fzQzd8">Marilyn Monroe</a>, the sexy starlet who famously crooned for and canoodled with the 35th president, in that dress on the cover of his magazine. It was a figurative nesting doll of iconographic Americana. Kennedy explained the choice on an “Oprah Winfrey Show” <a href="https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/john-f-kennedy-jrs-life-in-the-spotlight">appearance</a> in 1996: “Bill Clinton turned 50 two days after we went on sale, as an editor, that is a colossal opportunity that you can’t let pass.” Gen Z would lap that up faster than a collagen smoothie.
But in the 1990s, that was the atmosphere proving Andrew Breitbart’s leitmotif that politics is downstream from culture. But George did it in a noncombative, approachable way. Supermodels, sports stars, screen legends, and gossip mingled with serious interviews with George Wallace and profiles of politicos such as Newt Gingrich, poking holes in the pious and self-important world of politics. It certainly defies today’s carefully curated, protect-the-brand-at-all-costs ethos.
Why so serious, Gen Z? Laugh a little! JFK, Jr. and George showed that nothing should be so precious, even your own legendary family. It’s doubtful that Hunter Biden would allow his father’s name, image, or likeness to appear anywhere near an ad — or mock ad — for dementia care, or even Baskin-Robbins. 
Gen Z missed out on real comedy and genuine, innocent fun. The 1990s were a time when late-night talk shows were actually funny and reflected collective cultural entertainment, not just vehicles for applause harvesting and woke scolds. Hollywood was still interested in making movies people wanted to see, and New York City was the center of the universe and a destination for dreamers and tourists; it was possible to meet your future spouse at a bar (when young people went to bars), ride the subway without fear of being pushed onto the tracks, or exist as a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/28/us-news/stranger-pummels-rabbi-after-sneering-f-k-jews-in-hate-fueled-nyc-attack/">Jew</a>. Instead, NYC has a mayor who seems hellbent on rolling the city back to the gritty urban decay of the 1970s — think “Taxi Driver” and “Mean Streets” — albeit with a touch of antisemitism and domestic terror attacks. Charming! Those films should be cautionary tales, not #Goals.
It’s no wonder Gen Z is looking back. When you’re promised the world and instead you get an IOU, you look for happier times where you can find them — even in the pages of long-lost magazines and People’s <a href="https://people.com/john-f-kennedy-jr-sexiest-man-alive-1988-people-magazine-cover-11916170">Sexiest Man Alive</a> when he was…still alive.
* * *
Jenna Stocker is editor and publisher of American Experiment’s quarterly magazine. A former Marine Corps officer, Stocker also contributes to The Federalist and National Review.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

John F. Kennedy Jr. And Wife Carolyn Remembered Four Years After Death

Gen Z Is Looking Back At The 1990s And Realizing What America Lost

Gen Z Is Looking Back To The Future, 1990s Style

Culture

John F. Kennedy Jr.

magazine

Technology

At The Daily Wire, we strive to provide our audience not just with accurate reporting and insightful commentary, but with the tools they need to parse the issues of our time. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with our friends at Manhattan Institute to bring you exclusive commentary and research from their world-class team of scholars.
Each week, Manhattan Institute scholars will bring their analysis right here to The Daily Wire — from insights into politics and hot-button cultural issues to original research on everything from education and race to public safety and the economy.
You’ll hear from Manhattan Institute scholars you know and love, like Christopher Rufo and Heather Mac Donald, as well as scholars you’ve not encountered before. But no matter the scholar or the subject, these pieces will be as engaging as they are informative. They’ll also highlight what Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/ben-shapiro-city-journal-award-remarks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Manhattan Institute’s “unwavering optimism about America.”
We’re excited to launch this series with a piece from Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam. In it, Reihan looks past the 2026 midterms to the 2028 presidential election and offers a roadmap for how Republicans might win in their first-ever post-Trump race. We hope you enjoy. – The Editors
***
Since he came down the golden escalator in 2015, President Donald Trump has been at the center of American public life. It’s strange, therefore, to realize that the Trump era is slowly but inexorably drawing to a close.
Republicans <a href="https://kalshi.com/markets/controlh/house-winner/controlh-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kalshi.com/markets/controlh/house-winner/controlh-2026&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3i1aLo6xywbQb9qJXblVaN">look likely</a> to lose the House of Representatives in November, which will almost certainly bog down the rest of Trump’s administration in interminable impeachment hearings. And the president is increasingly sustaining attacks from within his own party, whether that be from the <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-rebel-humiliates-trump-white-house-with-brutal-new-nickname/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-rebel-humiliates-trump-white-house-with-brutal-new-nickname/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OBjzgfHnIcK1MekNIkR7s">Epstein-obsessed fringe</a> or from <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/06/tim-scott-trump-obama-ape-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.axios.com/2026/02/06/tim-scott-trump-obama-ape-video&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0KmNWdRSf_oZaz5th4kTiZ">those unhappy with</a> his social media presence.
All of this raises the question that has for years felt unthinkable: what comes after Trump? To an increasingly loud faction on the online right, the answer is a noxious blend of extreme ideologies. But that would be a mistake. Keeping the Trump Train going means embracing Trump’s 2024 strategy: playing to the majority of Americans on issues on which the right can win.
For the past decade, Trump has been the glue that binds together an otherwise fractious — or perhaps incoherent — GOP. What, besides Trump, does the party stand for? Free enterprise or organized labor? Isolationism or peace through strength? Controlling illegal immigration or prohibiting all immigration? Trump kept these divisions suppressed through his charisma, but they are likely to spring to the fore when he is gone.
One group has a vision for what comes next — the online Right, also sometimes called the “woke Right” or, as Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro recently <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/ben-shapiro-city-journal-award-remarks" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.city-journal.org/article/ben-shapiro-city-journal-award-remarks&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2pm3ebJXqsJnidS2nZweuX">labeled them</a>, the “horseshoe Right.” This loose collection of podcasters, posters, and fringe politicians are mobilized around a clear policy platform: skepticism of business and earned wealth; opposition to all immigration; a preference for isolationism and sometimes even open kowtowing to Russia and China; and in general, a politics powered by resentment.
The online right has a clear thesis. To them, Trump’s success was based on his willingness to break taboos and — by implication — to move toward their preferred policy positions. If the GOP wants to hold on to the Trump magic, they argue, then it needs to veer even more towards their particular brand of rightism.
As Trump’s era ends, this argument seems increasingly appealing to his would-be inheritors. In Florida, former debate coach and<a href="https://freebeacon.com/america/florida-gubernatorial-candidate-accused-of-grooming-minor-may-not-even-be-eligible-for-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://freebeacon.com/america/florida-gubernatorial-candidate-accused-of-grooming-minor-may-not-even-be-eligible-for-election/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1XUZ5lpLWhy2aDba3BopTg"> Washington, D.C., resident</a> James Fishback is running a <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/florida-governor-race-james-fishback-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.city-journal.org/article/florida-governor-race-james-fishback-trump&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2s2BWbwK-Z9yz3GAsv2uK_">very online campaign</a> for the governorship. Republican dissenters like Rep. Thomas Massie (KY) and former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have embraced the online right’s love of conspiracy and its skepticism towards an assertive foreign policy. Even Vice President JD Vance, perhaps anxious about keeping Trump’s coalition intact, seems wary of provoking the online right.
<h3 dir="ltr"><a href="https://manhattan.institute/subscribe?utm_source=DailyWire&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=reihan">Click here for more Manhattan Institute content.</a></h3>
It is easy to be seduced by loud voices on X, especially between elections. But the online right’s theory of the electorate doesn’t match up with reality. Nearly 80% of Americans <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2XSEFKKy_xUKU3boGFckLU">believe</a> immigration is a “good thing” for America. They don’t back open borders, but they’re also not in favor of halting immigration outright. Americans are nearly <a href="https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/53429-isolationism-is-minority-opinion-in-united-states-america-foreign-policy-november-15-17-2025-economist-yougov-poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/53429-isolationism-is-minority-opinion-in-united-states-america-foreign-policy-november-15-17-2025-economist-yougov-poll&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1uVsesFrU2M1zTU_49zDHq">twice as likely</a> to say America should take an “active part” in world affairs as they are to say it should “stay out.” It really is possible to oppose forever wars while supporting the judicious use of force to defend American interests. And while economic nihilism is trending online, a majority of Americans <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/694835/image-capitalism-slips.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://news.gallup.com/poll/694835/image-capitalism-slips.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3r2Gm7EpYG4YZDfu5WmUe1">view free enterprise positively</a>, even in the face of relentless doom-mongering.
Nor does the online right’s theory of coalition-building make much sense. To state the obvious, the goal of a campaign is to attract more voters than you repel, not to boost social media engagement. Yet in the online right’s model, Republicans shouldn’t be fighting to consolidate the “normie” majority — the tens of millions of non-ideological voters who care about safe streets, good jobs, decent schools, low taxes, affordable homes, cheap groceries, and other unglamorous essentials. That would be too straightforward. Rather, the online right wants Republicans to lean into strident rhetoric on Wall Street, Israel, and other fixations of the campus Left. The goal is to pick up “populist” voters currently enchanted with the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Is the idea that there are more Mamdani voters who would cross over to the GOP if the party were truly committed to siding with Hamas over Israel than there are, say, suburban swing voters who will support Republicans if they’re less likely to tank the economy than are the Democrats? Or is it that there are millions of Gen Z socialists clamoring for mass deportations? Let’s just say the political logic here isn’t airtight.
There’s an eerie similarity between the arguments advanced by the online right, in fact, and those preferred by portions of the radical activist left. Both insist that mobilizing the base — always composed of true believers — is more important than persuading marginal voters. Both enforce coalitional discipline through ideology, policing out anyone who disagrees with them. Both <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/democratic-party-transgender-ideology-gavin-newsom" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.city-journal.org/article/democratic-party-transgender-ideology-gavin-newsom&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3yOYYR8z7F5qh-EC44WK1a">exercise outsized power</a> despite their small share of the coalition. Both care more about the emotional satisfaction they derive from believing themselves to be edgy or interesting than they do about accomplishing real things in the real world. If Democrats lost in 2024 because they listened too closely to transgender activists, Republicans risk doing the same if they listen too closely to the online right.
What’s the better way forward? Simple: replicate Trump’s winning playbook from 2024.
Donald Trump secured an Electoral College landslide and popular-vote plurality in 2024 by pivoting toward the center, not away from it. He took advantage of Democrats’ unpopular positions on the border, gender, and runaway inflation, aligning himself with the median voter fed up with the status quo. That strategy dramatically widened the coalition, which is why he <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/behind-trumps-2024-victory-a-more-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-voter-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/behind-trumps-2024-victory-a-more-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-voter-coalition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1NhJJnrCTqzLYyI8-3HGhU">overperformed</a> with the black and Latino voters Democrats have long thought of as “theirs.”
These voters didn’t vote for Trump to be radical; they voted for Trump because they were against radicalism. They support law and order, meritocracy, and the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/04/trump-tariffs-supporters/682370/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/04/trump-tariffs-supporters/682370/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0BmzPmv_djpotvVAVf93Nm">opportunity to lead a decent middle-class life</a>. And while many of them are <a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773343420068000&amp;usg=AOvVaw14EOFauurFkelPa4HHLvCv">dissatisfied</a> with the direction the administration has gone, they’ve evinced a willingness to vote for these values again, especially as the left seems poised to run on an even more extreme platform than they did in 2024.
One of the open questions, of course, is who — if anyone — will champion this “popularist” lane in the 2028 primary. Whoever does will clearly have the winning strategy for the general: unite conservatives and moderates against the hard left. Just as importantly, he or she will be doing the most important thing for the next nominee: picking up Trump’s torch.
***
Reihan Salam is the president of the Manhattan Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design – 2026-03-11T213557.364

How (Not) To Win In 2028

2026 Midterms

2028 presidential election

Ben Shapiro

JD Vance

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.
***
When Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged travelers to return to more respectful attire, he was met with vicious backlash. People called his PSA racist, classist, and prudish despite him asking for what would have been considered the bare minimum just decades ago. Similarly, when the Tampa International Airport banned pajamas, outraged fliers vowed to never visit Tampa again. These measures aren’t just a push for aesthetic decorum but are active efforts to help mitigate the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fear-of-flying-faith-salie-on-secretary-duffy-and-the-pajama-resistance/">400%</a> increase of “in-flight outbursts” Duffy cited.
People can cling to their right to pajamas all they want, but the way people dress is one of the best indicators of social respect. As a recent college graduate, I&#8217;ve seen firsthand how dressing well can transform an academic experience.
When I was four, the greatest dread in my life was getting ready for school in the morning. I attended a classical Christian academy, whose strict dress code applied even to the preschool students. The boys were expected to wear crisp white shirts and black trousers, while we girls wore red tartan dresses. Over the years, I grew accustomed to wearing a uniform. They were old-fashioned, but they ensured a standard of neatness and modesty throughout the student body. Most of the students complained about wanting to wear more casual clothing, but complaints were quickly dismissed as we redirected our attention on learning Latin or reading great books. 
My first day at a public high school was shocking for several reasons. I was stunned to see kids vaping, cursing, and shoving one another around. After years attending private schools, it intrigued my rebellious teenage attitude. Still, nothing could have prepared me for the way people were dressed: Some boys wore pajama pants and crude t-shirts, some girls donned crop tops and mini shorts that wouldn’t be appropriate at any age, and a majority wore nothing but sweatpants and sweatshirts. The student body’s appearance fit the school system’s low expectations. 
After four years of public high school, I thought that a Christian college would have a higher standard for personal grooming. The day before my classes began, I picked out a cute dress to wear. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone was wearing athletic shirts, sweatpants, and sweatshirts. The students walked around the hallways with headphones on and their eyes glazed over. During class periods, they fiddled with their laptops, didn’t take notes, and often kept at least one of their AirPods in. Their clothing matched their attitude. The students were late to class, rarely finished assignments on time, and hardly ever engaged in thoughtful conversations. Even in a Christian, collegiate setting, there was a total lack of respect for social order. 
I quickly realized that I needed to find an institution where intellectual growth was the actual priority. Transferring schools was my only hope. When I toured Hillsdale College, I felt like I stepped back in time. Every corner of the campus looked like a Norman Rockwell painting brought to life. Professors sat underneath statues in three-piece suits. The young men surrounding them dressed the same as they smoked pipes and talked philosophy. Young women wearing sundresses would set up picnic blankets in the sun to read Homer. Even the athletes and artists had time to change out of soiled clothes and into something fresh and neat for seminars. There is no official dress code, but the young people at Hillsdale were anxious to learn. Their passion was reflected in their appearance. 
Our culture often tries to disconnect people from their physical bodies. This is why movements like transgenderism have been able to take hold of the culture: the belief that your body and your personhood will not necessarily align. However, our bodies and our personal grooming habits are often good representations of our souls. Although there can be exceptions, the way we look can be a reliable measure of how we feel about both ourselves and the world around us. 
Dressing for comfort is convenient. In the age of social media, DoorDash, and Netflix, convenience often becomes our priority. We want things fast and easy; we want to throw on a hoodie and joggers and avoid making eye contact with anyone at the risk of engaging in small talk. This is not the behavior of a healthy society, but of a utilitarian regime. Frank Sinatra, who had a strict standard of rules for style, used to instruct people, “If black tie is optional, wear it.”
Dressing well requires both time and intention. It is something that we don’t do for ourselves, but out of respect for those around us. It is a way to express our gratitude for the social order. In return, good attire gives its wearers esteem and confidence. When students wore suits and skirts to class, as opposed to athleisure, their demeanor changed. They walked, talked, and thought confidently. They had deeper relationships with their fellow students, their professors, and even the custodial staff. They were not simply trying to get a degree but were deeply invested in growing into fully fleshed-out individuals.
Researchers often refer to this as &#8220;enclothed cognition,&#8221; which shows how one’s clothing directly affects their psychological processes. In a <a href="https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/introducing-enclothed-cognition-how-what-we-wear-affects-how-we-think">test</a>, researchers split 58 science students into two groups. One of the groups performed a series of tests while wearing white lab coats, which are typically associated with intelligence and status. The other group was allowed to wear their own clothes. The group wearing lab coats did significantly better, making “half as many errors.&#8221;
We can see the effects of poor dressing in all areas of society, from businesses to churches to public parks. The way we dress corresponds to the way we behave. If we want to restore this country’s virtues, there needs to be a polite group effort that begins among Gen Z. Encouraging official or unofficial dress codes in schools may help heal the damage of social slovenliness. To love America is to dress the part. It’s time we teach kids that both are important.
***
Brooke Brandtjen is a writer and journalist from Wisconsin who focuses primarily on culture, politics, and religion. She is a senior contributor at New Guard Press, a publication she joined while attending Hillsdale College.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

GettyImages-107421493

The Old-School Rule That Might Fix More Than Just How Kids Dress

Clothes

Today’s young adults, on average, now spend more than a decade navigating the ambiguous space between sexual maturity and marriage. What was once a short transitional chapter has now become an extended, and often confusing act in a person’s life.
William Shakespeare captured the drama of human development in these famous lines from “As You Like It,” penned around 1599:
<blockquote>All the world&#8217;s a stage, 
And all the men and women merely players; 
They have their exits and their entrances; 
And one man in his time plays many parts…</blockquote>
Centuries later, the theme still resonates: We all progress through life from infancy and childhood to adulthood and, if we&#8217;re lucky, old age.
But one act of that lifelong drama — what Shakespeare called the season of the “lover” — has grown significantly longer. A majority of young people today now date for over a decade before saying, “I do.”
For most of history, “sexual debut” (or losing one’s virginity) and marriage were either concurrent or chronologically very close. In the 1950s, the <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/marital.html">window between these events</a> was just a few short years for the average American.
Not so today. Sexual debut occurs, on average, at <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/nsfg-2022-2023-puf.htm#female">17.4 years for women and 17.6 years for men</a>, statistics that have held relatively steady over time. But the average age for first marriage is now much later: <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/families-and-living-arrangements.html?utm_campaign=20251202pio&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">28.4 years for women and 30.8 years for men</a>.
Often billed as a fun season of life, the pre-marriage single years today are marked by loneliness, confusion, and poor mental health. 
Shakespeare had it right when he described the lover:
<blockquote>Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad 
Made to his mistress&#8217; eyebrow.</blockquote>
Young adults today are indeed woeful.
Gen Z has struggled with <a href="https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/generation-z-and-the-transformation-of-american-adolescence-how-gen-zs-formative-experiences-shape-its-politics-priorities-and-future/">feelings of loneliness</a> more than any other generation: their <a href="https://glocalities.com/reports/trend-report-polarization">despair and disillusionment</a> are growing.
At least some of this disillusionment may find its root in a confusing dating culture. To extend Shakespeare’s metaphor, one might say that we have lost the script for life. Just a few decades ago, young people knew they were expected to look for a spouse, marry, and then start a family and build a future together. Now that’s not so clear.
So, what can be done? Do we write a new script? Dig up the old one?
In an age where freedom and self-determination are highly valued, any script may seem overly prescriptive. Of course, men and women should be free to make their own choices. No two love stories are the same. And there will always be some people who choose intentional lifelong singlehood. But the absence of norms and expectations appears to create its own problems.
The overwhelming majority of today’s young adults still want to get married and have kids. In a new <a href="https://www.independentwomen.com/2026/02/17/two-truths-and-a-lie-dating/">national poll</a>, fully 80.5% of respondents (aged 18-29) were either married (18.5%) or said they hoped to get married one day (62%), and 70% said they either had kids already (24.5%) or hoped to have them (45.4%). Will they achieve these dreams?
We may not be able to replace the old script for family formation, but we can help the young adults — the lovers — who are stuck on stage, calling for a line. Changing our culture is hard, but possible.
For starters, we can be more honest about what choices and behaviors make people happiest.
More time spent single before marriage means more opportunity to gain pre-marriage sexual experience, but this isn’t a good thing. Our culture tells young adults that pornography, casual sex, and cohabitation are no big deal. Social science, however, suggests otherwise. These choices are associated with <a href="https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1142&amp;context=dignity">worse health</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7871523/">worse mental health</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19203165/">lower marriage satisfaction</a>. Sexual inexperience is actually linked to <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/does-sexual-history-affect-marital-happiness">stronger, happier marriages</a>.
Pornography poses particular problems for Gen Z. We’re not talking about your dad’s Playboy magazine anymore; we’re talking about a lethal cocktail of social media, artificial intelligence, and ubiquitous internet connection. And it’s not just the guys: Young women are increasingly reading and listening to erotic literature.
A solo sex life is a cheap but easy replacement for relationships with real-life human beings. After all, fellow humans come with smelly socks, emotional baggage, and for many in Gen Z, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/young-men-women-are-taking-poll-gender-gap-staggering-new-levels-rcna202672">divergent political views</a>.
The widening political divide between young women and men both reflects — and reinforces — today’s strained dating culture. Time spent online only <a href="https://bhr.stern.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NYUCBHRFuelingTheFire_FINALONLINEREVISEDSep7.pdf">deepens political animosity</a>.
And yet, young, single people are <a href="https://pro.morningconsult.com/instant-intel/gen-z-social-media-usage">very online</a>, sometimes using the internet to look for love. Technology has made connections easier, but relationships harder. Many married couples <a href="https://www.theknot.com/content/online-dating-most-popular-way-to-meet-spouse">first met on dating apps</a>. But online dating offers a literal world of possibilities when it comes to potential “matches.” Youth of yesteryear were often constrained to high school sweethearts or college coed counterparts. This “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/valley-girl-brain/201802/why-dating-is-such-challenge">paradox of choice</a>” that overwhelms today’s dating men and women also undermines their satisfaction even after they commit to one another.
The influence of technology on relationships goes even deeper: Young people today are spending a lot of time on <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11284647/">social media</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/upshot/video-games-boys-young-men.html">video games</a>, and less time on <a href="https://www.americansurveycenter.org/newsletter/how-social-media-made-us-less-social/">in-person social interactions</a>, where real-life relationship skills develop. The COVID pandemic accelerated this trend, but it was <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8478850/#cdev13652-sec-0036">underway before</a> (and <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/kids-screen-time-rose-during-the-pandemic-and-stayed-high-thats-a-problem/2023/02">continues after</a>).
Underdeveloped social skills are likely contributing to &#8220;approach anxiety” in today’s young men, who say they <a href="https://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4726/1/BSC-ThesisS4637917Approach-anxietyFinal-B.pdf">don’t want to come off as “creepy</a>” when asking a girl out in real life. The #MeToo movement has also played a factor. While the effort to raise awareness about sexual misconduct has had some positive effects, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/me-too-backlash-getting-worse_n_5cddd96de4b00e035b8ce786">it chilled many male-female interactions</a>.
Most (54.3%) young adults agree that #MeToo has made men fearful of false accusations and, therefore, less interested in dating. Gen Z still expects the man to make the first move, but mixed messages on masculinity are contributing to men’s anxiety in approaching women.
Many young people of both sexes are anxious about parenthood. Among young adults who say they don’t want kids, the most commonly-cited reason is, “I don’t think I’ll be a good parent,” outranking cost, career impact, and societal concerns. In the 18-24 age range, nearly one in three (32.3%) respondents who didn’t want kids cited this as their primary reason.
This points to something cultural — not economic or policy-oriented — about parenthood hesitancy. Perhaps our social expectations of parents have gotten unrealistically high. Perhaps our cultural messages on what makes a “good parent” or even a “good life” have become less clear.
Whatever it is that has deteriorated the confidence of young adults, it won’t be easily fixed by a new government program or subsidy. More and more pundits and institutions are <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4424068/heritage-foundation-right-american-family-needs-saving/">joining the bandwagon for a big-government pro-family agenda,</a> but this is ill-advised. Decisions about family formation aren’t like other consumer decisions that are more easily influenced by government intervention. They relate deeply to our conceptions of identity, morality, and meaning. They can totally change the direction of our life’s story.
“All the world’s a stage” comes from the play “As You Like It” and like most Shakespearean comedies, the final scene is — you guessed it — a wedding. Young adults today can still find their happy ending, too. But they would benefit from a culture that puts less emphasis on shallow, short-term satisfaction and more emphasis on becoming people who can build a future.
* * *
Hadley Heath Manning is a senior fellow with Independent Women and author of the new report “The Dating Decade: Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Swiping Right.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Making a grand entrance into marriage

A Decade Between First Date And ‘I Do’ — What Changed?

A Decade Between First Date And 'I Do' — What Changed?

Apps

Dating

Relationships

Shakespeare

Women

While more and more <a href="https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/09/03/gen-z-millenials-faith-church-attendance/">young people</a> are searching for God, Catholic advocacy group CatholicVote is stepping up to meet the moment with the launch of its new platform, <a href="https://zeale.co/">Zeale</a>.
Zeale aims to put out high-quality, entertaining Catholic content – including news, podcasts, documentaries, and other special programming – while also building community and prayer life. And, most importantly, it promises to do so while never sacrificing depth or truth.
Surveys show folks in Gen Z are increasingly drawing closer to Christ, and churchgoers in this ever-online generation are actually more inclined to show up to service than other generations. Moreover, Catholic affiliation, in particular, is on the rise with young people.
CatholicVote hopes to guide and support those in this search. As the organization’s president and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt put it, Zeale is designed to “inspire every American to live out the truth through the lens of beauty and goodness.”
“Zeale engages people in the political and cultural discussions of our time through the heart and imagination,” Reinhardt said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. The platform, she added, “helps you ‘live Catholic’ with confidence and enthusiasm.”
The new platform is accessible on mobile devices, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.zeale.app&amp;hl=en_US">available</a> to download on the App Store and Google Play, meeting Gen Z in their own space. The platform is also <a href="https://zeale.co/">available</a> on desktop.
<div id="attachment_1033907" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1033907" class="wp-image-1033907 size-large" src="https://drwordpress.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-384x576.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot.jpg 837w" sizes=" (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />Kelsey Reinhardt, Courtesy of CatholicVote</div>
Zeale will feature CatholicVote’s new Morning LOOPcast, which is a video roundup of the day’s most compelling headlines, in addition to the organization’s beloved daily news roundup, The Loop.
Users will also have access to a growing library of podcasts, documentaries, and special programming — covering everything from fashion and food, to sports and travel, prayers and spirituality, human-interest stories, cultural issues, and even games.
Prayer, unsurprisingly, is also a huge focus of Zeale. The platform allows users to access daily Mass readings and connect with fellow Catholics. Notably, you can pray with and for others, submit prayer intentions, and join the Zeale community when urgent news calls for collective prayer.
“Zeale is the hub for Catholics who want to stay informed and respond together, thoughtfully, collectively and prayerfully when crises arise,” Reinhardt said.

Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 8.23.37 PM

‘Gen Z Is Searching For God’: CatholicVote Meets The Moment, Launches New Faith Platform

Catholic Church

Religion

Menu