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What we’re reading, watching and listening to this week.

The Rise of the Not-Left, with William Deresiewicz

Prohuman Foundation advisor Bill Deresiewicz joined Scott Jones on the Give and Take podcast to discuss his provocative article—earlier featured in these pages—from Salmagundi magazine. They explore the growing disillusionment with the modern left among intellectuals, artists, and long-time supporters, delving into the rise of what Deresiewicz calls the “Not-Left” and its impact on politics, culture, class, and independent thinking.

DERESIEWICZ: A lot of people just want to be able to think things through on their own merits. That, to me, is the definition of heterodox—what the Not-Left used to be called. A heterodox person, to me, is just somebody who thinks every issue through on its own merits and therefore whose opinions are not predictable based on their opinions about other things.

The Price of Anti-Social Media

Prohuman Foundation advisor Michael Wade, in a brief post on his own Substack, critiques the anonymity and lack of accountability on social media, arguing that it erodes communication and soft skills that were once nurtured through face-to-face interactions, like porch chats and club meetings. He calls for a return to genuine, unhurried forms of connection, such as handwritten notes, to restore courtesy and meaningful human exchange.

Once upon a time, social skills were acquired and honed during front porch conversations with neighbors, Little League games, bowling tournaments, poker or bridge nights, board games, and club meetings.

Those weren’t just meetings and events. They were training sessions in the soft skills that often are missing in the modern workplace. In those old-fashioned exchanges, we learned how to read one another, how to listen and tell jokes and stories along with how to deliver or receive sensitive news. Those are skills that require practice, often involving more than a few fumbles, and are rarely completely mastered.

Erec Smith testifies before Senate: Opening Statement

Prohuman Foundation advisor Erec Smith testified before the Senate Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing titled "Sacrificing Excellence for Ideology: The Real Cost of DEI," where he critiqued DEI programs based in critical social justice and postmodern thought. He argued that these initiatives undermine academic merit and stifle open dialogue, citing his own absurd encounter with being called a ‘white supremacist’ for questioning their efficacy.

SMITH:
These [critical social justice and postmodern thought-based DEI] programs promote the idea that all disparities result from systemic oppression and that institutions must be re-engineered along lines of race, gender, and identity. This framework rejects principles like merit and equal treatment and instead replaces them with a primacy of identity and identity-based power dynamics.

Thus, when most critics go after DEI, they are not going after racial equality and inclusion in principle, they are going after their opposites disguised as justice.

‘Rising fragility’: Therapy culture is fueling America’s unrest

Writing for The Hill, psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, argues that America’s unrest, exemplified by protests like those in Los Angeles, stems from a therapy culture that cultivates fragility by pathologizing discomfort and rewarding victimhood. Drawing on robust mental health data, he critiques the shift from resilience-building to enabling dependency, and calls for a return to teaching coping skills, grit, and accountability to strengthen social harmony.

Another patient was told that setting “healthy boundaries” meant cutting off her entire family. No conversation, no healing — just isolation framed as progress.

This is not therapy. It is enabling.

This mindset goes well beyond the therapy room. It spills into classrooms, workplaces, media and now the streets. When people are conditioned to see themselves as perpetual victims and feel aggrieved, that inner turmoil eventually erupts into public unrest.

Opinions expressed in selected articles do not necessarily reflect those of the Prohuman Foundation. We value diverse perspectives that enrich our understanding of topics close to our mission: to promote the foundational truth that we are all unique individuals, united by our shared humanity.