Here we go again ....

The sheer brutality of the Iranian regime cannot be exaggerated: blinding women who dare to express political opposition. thefp.com/p/women-blinded-by…

What role do social networks – and the precise nature and structure of social interactions – play in the production of public goods and in human welfare? What about social contagion? A thread on #HNL experiments with many thousands of participants from 2010 to the present. 1/

Harvard Friends: You won't want to miss this one. What a high powered line up! Tuesday, September 29, 6:00 pm. Sever 113.

Huge news in the academic world. My superstar former student Sherif Girgis has been appointed to a tenured full professorship at Harvard Law School. Sherif, who is currently a professor at the excellent Notre Dame Law School, is the lead co-author (with Ryan T. Anderson and me) of *What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense*. He is a powerful defender of the sanctity of human life in all stages and conditions, and a critic of gender ideology. Sherif was graduated summa cum laude from Princeton, where he received prizes for the best thesis in ethics and the best thesis in philosophy. He also received the International Dante Prize. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford where he completed the BPhil in philosophy. He received a JD degree from Yale Law School where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, then clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit for Judge Tom Griffith and on the Supreme Court of the United States for Justice Samuel Alito. He returned to Princeton where he earned his PhD in philosophy. Congratulations to Harvard (and its distinguished Dean, John Goldberg--another former student of mine) for snagging a truly extraordinary young scholar and teacher. And congratulations to Sherif!

Best wishes to the Jewish community and all my Jewish family members and dear friends for a deeply meaningful observance of the Day of Atonement. Gmar tov.

Elizabeth Grace Mathew on the legacy of Gloria Steinem: "This is the lie that Steinem and her acolytes sold to women: There is nothing sweeter than perfect freedom defined as a lack of responsibility to others. " lawliberty.org/the-tangled-l…

A beautiful--moving--tribute to Dovie Eisner by Sohrab Ahmari. (Paywall) unherd.com/2026/09/the-faith…

Many people, including my superstar former student Ramesh Ponnuru, had no idea until Dovie Eisner died how many people loved Dovie and found him a blessing in their lives. They are stunned by the tributes and the extraordinary outpouring of affection. It is sad to think that we live in a culture in which many people would have regarded Dovie as "defective" because of his severe congenital illness. Many people like him are killed in utero or "allowed to die" in infancy. Dovie's family loved him and cared for him. As a result, the lives of countless people--I am one--were enriched by his friendship.

An invitation from Dr. Bradford Wilson, 12th Archivist of the United States.

The death of Dovie Eisner takes from many of us a dearly beloved friend. Although a congenital illness confined him to a wheelchair and bound him to a breathing apparatus, Dovie led an active life--socially, intellectually, and spiritually. Politically, too: He wrote powerful essays against euthanasia and assisted suicide. Dovie loved thinking and talking about big questions. In our many exchanges, whether in person or in writing, he always had interesting things to say--and questions to ask--about the great issues of politics, philosophy, and religion. Although he never sat in my classroom, he honored me by referring to himself as my student. I will miss him, as will many, many others. My deepest condolences to his parents, his brother Moshe, and his sisters.

As social media commentary confirms every day, the delinquencies and iniquities of the other political party blind many people these days to the delinquencies and iniquities of their own party. Fear and loathing of the other party make people apologists for the sins of their own.

My thoughts on reforming and revitalizing American higher education. There is a lot that donors can do, but they need to be careful and strategic in their giving. piped.video/watch?v=bB1ShpZS…

So, an oligarch who controls major Russian gambling and automotive assets paid a six figure sum for a post-wedding party in the Bahamas as a gift to the son and daughter-in-law of the President of the United States. Do I have that right? If so, do the President and his family not see how bad this looks? Republicans (I'm one) would be up in arms if a gift like this were accepted by the immediate family of a Democrat serving as President of the United States. Even if we were to accept for the sake of argument the unlikely proposition that Umar Krelev is not buying influence, the appearance of impropriety is glaring. Is there no one in or near the President's family who will say, "no, this kind of thing is not appropriate--we'll pay for our own post-wedding party"?

"... the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect."

Peter Berkowitz on why higher education must abandon its comforting delusions and embark on real reform: realclearpolitics.com/articl…

As the Days of Awe on the Jewish calendar approach, I recall my beloved friend Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. How I miss him, and how much we could benefit today from his wisdom and witness. I'm reposting a tribute to him I published shortly after his death. aei.org/commentary/a-moral-v…

The ghoulish effort to introduce assisted suicide to Britain has been repulsed ... narrowly (and for now). An important victory, to be sure. But the struggle to restore and secure Hippocratic medicine and moral sanity goes on.