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Come for the Debate, Stay for the Ideas
On nearly every college campus in America today, conservatives are the minority. Today’s colleges are known for their rigid conformity to radical progressive ideology—from administrators and professors to the students themselves. Pushing back on the prevailing views publicly takes courage and requires a willingness to risk social ostracism.
Despite this, recent Stanford graduate Julia Steinberg believes that the “real political energy” on college campuses is on the right. In an article [ [link removed] ] for The Atlantic, Steinberg shares her story of becoming a conservative during her time at Stanford. When she arrived on campus in 2021 as an eager progressive, she was struck by how unwilling her fellow students were to debate ideas. She found that the only students who were interested in intellectual disagreement were the conservatives. Steinberg began to attend meetings of ISI’s Collegiate Network student publication, The Stanford Review, because it was the only place she could find meaningful debate. Over time, she found herself persuaded by conservative thought.
Many of Steinberg’s friends at the Stanford Review followed a similar trajectory, seeking conservative spaces where real debate still happens. And there are signs that this phenomenon is happening at other elite universities as well.
Read Steinberg’s full article [ [link removed] ] to learn more about what this shift means for today’s college campuses.
Social Activism: The Ultimate Status Symbol?
America has never been an aristocracy, yet it has long maintained its own ways of signaling who belongs to the elite. Many of America’s elites signal their status through conspicuous consumption, using their Louis Vuitton handbags and Lamborghinis to show how much wealth they can spare.
In an article [ [link removed] ] for Palladium Magazine, Ben Landau-Taylor examines a lesser-known marker of today’s elite class: participation in social activism. Partly because conspicuous consumption has been stigmatized over the past 50 years, many of today’s elites instead engage in conspicuous leisure. They devote enormous amounts of time and money to activities that are out of reach for the working class. Landau-Taylor argues that today’s elite class engages in social activism and philanthropy to both display and justify their place in society.
The philanthropic activism of America’s ultrarich not only allows them to signal their elite status, but it also enables them to reshape society according to their own ideological visions. The funding networks created by megadonors will continue to wield significant influence on American culture long after their founders’ deaths.
Read the rest of Landau-Taylor’s article here [ [link removed] ].
Compendium
Every article we feature here is available to read for free. Articles from paywalled publications are available through gift links.
Matthew Mehan on the need for single-sex education [ [link removed] ] in American Mind.
Bo Winegard on David French’s critique of the “Great Feminization” [ [link removed] ] in Aporia Magazine.
Heather Penatzer on postliberal criticisms of international order [ [link removed] ] in Compact Magazine.
Bhaskar Sunkara on the consequences of sports betting [ [link removed] ] in UnHerd.
Harvard’s October 2025 report on academic rigor [ [link removed] ], and Steve McGuire’s analysis of this data [ [link removed] ] on X (thread is available with an X account).
Edward Feser on Catholic debates over immigration [ [link removed] ] in UnHerd.
Chris Griswold’s retelling of “I, Pencil” [ [link removed] ] in Commonplace, and Jonah Goldberg’s response [ [link removed] ] in The Dispatch.
Arctotherium on the different biases in our everyday AI models [ [link removed] ] in Not With a Bang.
Jesse Arm on the publicity of once-private interactions [ [link removed] ] in City Journal’s Substack.
Tim Harford on the case for reinventing systems of productivity [ [link removed] ] in Financial Times (available via gift link).
Upcoming ISI Events:
If you enjoy what you’re reading here, we invite you to engage with ISI at one of our upcoming in-person events.
An Evening with Ann Coulter [ [link removed] ] | November 8 | Wilmington, DE
Join ISI for a reception and dinner with best-selling author and nationally renowned columnist Ann Coulter. Coulter will deliver an unforgettable keynote address on the role of conservative media in shaping the national conversation, drawing on her illustrious media career.
Visit our events [ [link removed] ] page on our website to see all upcoming events.
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This week, from ISI’s Digital Media:
In this episode [ [link removed] ] of Modern Age, Dan McCarthy explores President Trump’s evolving strategy toward Latin America and how it illumines the new Cold War with China. From supporting Argentina’s Javier Milei to tightening pressure on Venezuela, Trump’s policies challenge conventional left and right critiques.
Subscribe to [ [link removed] ]Modern Age with Dan McCarthy [ [link removed] ] for more content like this.
This week, from the Collegiate Network:
ISI’s Collegiate Network [ [link removed] ] supports over 80 student-run publications across the country, empowering students to run independent college newspapers, magazines, and journals that report on important issues ignored by the mainstream media.
Harvard Dean Used Official Emails to Promote Sexual, Political, and Ideological Messages [ [link removed] ] via The Harvard Salient
Harvard Resident Dean Gregory Davis’s recent emails reveal how activism has replaced academics in the language of campus leadership.
The $38 Trillion Dollar Question: An Interview with Stanford Professor Hanno Lustig [ [link removed] ] via The Stanford Review
Stanford economist Hanno Lustig warns that U.S. Treasuries may be dangerously overvalued, and he argues that America’s “exorbitant privilege” as the world’s safe asset provider is eroding.
Former CIA Intelligence Director Mark Lowenthal Criticizes Mossad in Austin [ [link removed] ] via The Texas Horn
On former CIA luminary Mark Lowenthal’s speech in Austin that targeted Mossad, criticizing Israel’s famed intelligence agency for destabilizing the region.
Utah Policy Change Allows 15-Year Olds to Alter Birth Gender With Minimal Restrictions [ [link removed] ] via The Cougar Chronicle
Utah just lowered the bar: 15-year-olds can now petition to change the gender listed on their birth certificate with fewer hoops than ever.
The Vice of “Obligation” in the Modern University [ [link removed] ] via The Lemur
A claim that modern academia’s culture of obligation has turned professors into bureaucrats and students into consumers.
Visit our Student Journalism section [ [link removed] ] to read more from the Collegiate Network.
Resisting the Machine
Who runs your life? If Americans were to calculate the answer by tracking their hours, the answer would probably be technology. Our days are controlled by virtual calendars, vibrating phones and watches, and digitized assistants that speak to us about anything we need. The Machine is in charge.
In this week’s feature [ [link removed] ] from Modern Age, Craig F. Knoche reviews Paul Kingsnorth’s new book, Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity. Kingsnorth’s Machine goes beyond mere technology: it is an ideological force that seeks to rewire human existence to accomplish its own ends. The Machine elevates what Kingsnorth calls the “4 S’s”—Science, Self, Sex, and the Screen—above all else, obliterating any elements of human nature or tradition that stand in its way.
Both Knoche and Kingsnorth explore whether conservatism can offer an antidote to the ideology of the Machine. Conservatism resists the Machine by promoting “reverence for the past, people, place, and prayer.” But to Kingsnorth, conservatism is too committed to capitalistic ideals such as private property and individual sovereignty to effectively resist the march of the Machine.
What do you think? Read Knoche’s full review [ [link removed] ] on the Modern Age website to explore more.
Modern Age is ISI’s flagship publication. Visit modernagejournal.com [ [link removed] ] and subscribe for a free daily newsletter.
“We—at least if we are among the lucky ones—have every gadget and recipe and website and storefront and exotic holiday in the world available to us, but we are lacking two things that we seem to need, but grasp at nonetheless: meaning and roots.”
– Paul Kingsnorth, Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity

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