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Conor Friedersdorf

Conor Friedersdorf

The Atlantic

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Abolish DEI Statements

Assessing a debate about a controversial hiring practice This month, Professor Randall L. Kennedy, an eminent scholar of race and civil rights,...

yesterday 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Utah’s Promising New Anti-DEI Law

How should public institutions in a diverse society treat identity? Roughly a decade after the movement for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI,...

31.03.2024 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What ‘Luxury Beliefs’ Reveal About the Ruling Class

An orphan’s unlikely journey from foster care to Yale, and its lessons for the upper crust The writer Rob Henderson recalls a classmate at Yale,...

02.03.2024 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Case for Nikki Haley

Trump brings out the worst in Americans. Haley wouldn’t. If Donald Trump beats Nikki Haley on Saturday in her home state of South Carolina, where he...

22.02.2024 7

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

You Really Do Need to Pay Attention to Politics

If reasonable people disengage, the zealots win. “Divisive,” “corrupt,” and “messy.” That’s how Americans described the state of our...

11.02.2024 9

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

A Farewell to Up for Debate

This newsletter is coming to an end, but my inbox stays open to all of you. Question of the Week If I were to visit you on a journalistic...

07.02.2024 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Readers Share the State of Their Local Journalism

“It is painful to watch as our once-proud newspaper has become a shell nearly devoid of meaningful content,” one reader says. Welcome to Up for...

01.02.2024 20

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

‘A Constant Drumbeat’ of Racial Essentialism

A lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in Penn State’s approach to DEI can go to trial, and could shape the future of diversity programs on...

29.01.2024 40

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Why the Media Shouldn’t Write Nikki Haley Off

Plus: A revisionist history of Beavis and Butt-Head Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and...

27.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Readers on the Morality of Pornography

“I regard pornography as the fast food of sex: A little bit here and there won’t hurt anyone, but it’s not something to consume regularly,”...

23.01.2024 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Is Pornography Immoral?

Plus: Malaise among Americans Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses...

19.01.2024 6

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Readers Share Their Most Misunderstood Views

Voting age, atheism, abortion, language education, and more Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations...

18.01.2024 3

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Don’t Fire People for Making Pornography in Their Free Time

The counterintuitive case for ignoring a university chancellor’s X-rated flicks. Eight years ago, a middle-aged husband and wife in Wisconsin...

13.01.2024 3

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What Conversations About DEI Are Missing

Plus: Is declining fertility a failure of capitalism? Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and...

13.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Readers’ Toughest Questions for University Presidents

Contending with higher education in America Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits...

11.01.2024 7

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Debate That Claudine Gay Is Evading

Plus: An argument for life after death Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader...

05.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

How October 7 Changed America’s Free-Speech Culture

The identitarian left cannot go on as it did before the attacks. America’s free-speech culture is in sudden flux and some peril. Since October 7,...

04.01.2024 40

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

How Teens Spend Their Free Time

“I’ll take my kid playing PlayStation all night over getting drunk and driving around, that’s for sure,” one reader says. Welcome to Up for...

22.12.2023 7

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Reader Views on Gender-Divided Social Spaces

“Gender defined every generation until Gen X,” one reader argues. “It has been both challenging and wonderful to see those barriers become more...

19.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Role of Gender Divides in Social Spaces

Plus: A theory of the baby bust ​​​​​​W elcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and...

15.12.2023 5

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Math Professor Who Sees Parallels Between U.S. Academia and the U.S.S.R.

What happens when the noble goal of social justice is invoked in ways that corrupt rather than improve? Before immigrating to America from Russia as a...

13.12.2023 20

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Where Teens Used to Hang Out

Readers share stories of social life before technology took over. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely...

13.12.2023 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Decline of Teen Hangouts

Plus: The case for making walls stone again Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits...

07.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Readers on the Foreign-Policy Issues That Matter to Them

Countering “dangerous movements at home might be the most productive thing we can do to maintain a convincing voice abroad,” one reader argues. ...

22.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Debate Over What Happens Next in the Middle East

Plus: What foreign-policy matters are most important to you and why? Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely...

18.11.2023 8

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Has Alcohol Left Humanity Better or Worse Off?

“At this point in my life, the pros outweigh the cons,” one reader argued. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up...

15.11.2023 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What Has Alcohol’s Existence Done to Humans?

Plus: extremism on both the left and the right Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits...

10.11.2023 3

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

An Unusually Tricky Campus Free-Speech Fight

Florida’s shutdown of pro-Palestinian student groups was wrong. But was it illegal? Late last month, the chancellor of Florida’s university...

09.11.2023 1

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

How to Talk About the Middle East

“Rather than weakening us, doubt can provide strength and resilience,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf...

07.11.2023 3

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

There’s No Third Rail Like the Middle East

How should citizens outside the region handle their differences of opinion? Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely...

03.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Two Diverging Approaches to Social Justice

“The problem with this dilemma you pose is that it takes a great deal of ‘wisdom’ to know when to apply either approach,” one reader argues. ...

01.11.2023 9

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Israel-War Email That College Presidents Should’ve Sent

Plus: When should people try to better the world through their job? Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely...

27.10.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What Israel Can Learn From America’s 9/11 Response

“I hope Israel looks hard at what the U.S. does when provoked and does better,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor...

25.10.2023 3

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

A Collection of Narratives on the Israel-Hamas War

19.10.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Moral Failure of Campus Hamas Apologists

By excusing murder and kidnapping, activist groups have already changed campus politics in America.   Campus politics in America irrevocably changed...

14.10.2023 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

The Worst DEI Policy in Higher Education

At stake: the First Amendment rights and academic freedom of 61,000 professors who teach 1.9 million students Attacks on faculty rights are frequent...

13.10.2023 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What America Could Look Like in 2050

“I feel like it is a race, and I do not have the crystal ball to see the outcome,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor...

12.10.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

What Will America Be Like in 2050?

Plus: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on why freedom of expression is crucial to writers Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up...

06.10.2023 5

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Why Biden’s Age Is An Unavoidable Conversation

“Human history is littered with good leaders who stayed too long,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf...

04.10.2023 5

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Should Democrats Stick With Biden?

Plus: controversy over a talk about racial color-blindness Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and...

29.09.2023 5

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Why Driverless Cars Are a Tough Sell

“Our century-long love affair with all things automotive dooms the driverless concept to a niche market,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for...

27.09.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Are Driverless Cars the Future?

Plus: The strongest case against Hasan Minhaj’s “emotional truths” Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely...

22.09.2023 1

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

15 Readers on Trust in American Institutions

“My trust is more fragile than 10 years ago,” one reader writes, “because I can see very easily how our institutions could be completely...

21.09.2023 2

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Tracing the Decline of Trust in America

Plus: A case for a new veep Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to...

14.09.2023 10

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

Is Racial ‘Color-Blindness’ Possible?

“True color-blindness isn’t easy. It takes familiarity and practice,” one reader argues. Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor...

12.09.2023 5

The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf

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