I've written a lot about the discourse getting dumber. Q, anti-vax, etc But on an optimistic note, more connectivity has also made the smartest people smarter. I discuss what this means for the future of the right, left, and human capital polarization. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-discou...

For those who haven't, check out my Reddit page. I'll be doing an AMA at some point. Make sure to become a member not to miss it, and join my community of Indians and other Elite Human Capital. www.reddit.com/r/Hanania/

Thoughts on pro-natalism, Japanese and Korean coffee shops, boomer communism, Democrats' odds in the midterms, Fukuyama-Tyler debate, the history of sex and Christianity. All that and more in the links and book reviews for January. www.richardhanania.com/p/moving-to-...

Started a book club chat for paid subscribers. The current book is Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chiang, about Chinese industrialization in the mid-aughts and the young women who made it happen. Join here. substack.com/chat/98102/p...

I was interviewed by Prediction News. Check it out, I forecast where the Republicans and Democrats are going, while talking about prediction markets more generally. youtu.be/fMiXTkqP7EU?...

The nocebo effect is when medical symptoms are created or become worse due to the power of suggestion. Does this explain why liberals report worse mental health? I conducted a study providing some evidence for this idea. www.richardhanania.com/p/does-thera...

Kind of insane how the real life equivalent of the villain from One Battle After Another is even more convincing than Sean Penn in playing the role of authoritarian sadist.

<VP starts to compose tweet> "Look Martha, he may have already been disarmed and they may have shot him in the back, and then kept firing, but as my mee-maw once told me..." <stops, slams the laptop down, shocked look across his face as he finally realizes what he's become>

Why do conservatives report more happiness and better mental health than liberals? I just conducted a survey and think I have part of the answer. The left embraces what I call therapy culture, which is tied to unhappiness. I explain here. www.richardhanania.com/p/does-thera...

"During negotiations on the homeland security bill, Republicans rejected a series of proposals by Democrats to rein in ICE, including barring funds from being used to to detain or deport U.S. citizens." That's concerning. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

I'm going back to my political science roots and conducting a survey on political opinions. It should take less than 5 minutes and you will help move science forward. www.surveymonkey.com/r/5C65B3T

People sometimes say that I don't care what people think. Not true! I care a lot what some people think. We all do. I explain how virtue can be defined by which kinds of people you are trying to impress, and on what basis you want to impress them. www.richardhanania.com/p/i-care-a-l...

Trump backing down on Greenland, like his backdown on tariffs, vindicates my case for democracy. People might be anti-capitalist in their opinions. But the market ultimately serves as a check on the designs of leaders. Peace and prosperity win. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-reacti...

It’s frightening to think that Trump has three more chances to win the Nobel Peace Prize as president and not enough self-awareness to realize it’ll never happen. His sycophants will keep telling him he deserves it, which could make him increasingly bitter and reckless.

Two reasons to be a pro-natalist: 1) Simple utilitarianism, more people is better; and 2) There are benefits to be had on average to population maxxing We should be in favor of more human beings across the board. www.richardhanania.com/p/i-am-a-pro...

Just met Mark. We talked about how liberals are becoming more patriotic and reclaiming the American flag. I asked him if he’d heard of Noah Smith or Armand, he said he hadn’t. More on the left are realizing that they must stand for American principles if they’re going to win.

The weird sexual lens through which rightists see Minnesota. By submitting to authority, they’re “masculine.” Women resisting masked agents ripping people off the streets have “toxic empathy”. It’s basic evolutionary psychology in the rightoid mind. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-white-...

Minnesota has few illegals. The Somalis are overwhelmingly there legally. So why is ICE there? You have to understand the rightoid mind. It works based on word association: Walz, uppity white women, Somali fraud, etc. Then it demands "masculine" action. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-white-...

Why do rightists seem to have so much hatred for the white women among protesters? As I explain, this is how bigotry has always worked. The narrative of sexually frustrated ugly women standing in the way of tough men was decided before Good was killed. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-white-...

We're having another George Floyd moment, but not in the way most think. Now, the right is the side of the lying, violent racists. In 2020, the Big Lie was cops shooting unarmed blacks. Today, it's that dangerous immigrants are hurting local communities. www.richardhanania.com/p/george-flo...

Really digging the new Liquid Glass iOS update.

Unsure what to think about Venezuela? I've got you covered. I debate Jeff Maurer on whether Trump was right to snatch Maduro. I say yes, and the world is better off for it. www.richardhanania.com/p/debate-wit...

With new polling showing Venezuelans supporting the Maduro raid, my view in the immediate aftermath that this was a good calculated risk has held up well. The "blowback" argument was supposed to be one of the main reasons to oppose what happened. www.richardhanania.com/p/regime-cha...

I've noticed that many rightists are emotionally invested in Nick Shirley. Despite his cognitive shortcomings and limited English vocabulary, he has been crowned a great journalist by figures such as Vance and Musk. Like Jackie Robinson for stupid people. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-unbear...

CNN reports that the government paid "eight figures" (!) for a device that they have been testing that may be responsible for Havana syndrome. Not from Russia, but it has "Russian components." Either Havana syndrome is real or this was an impressive scam. www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/p...

I wrote about the meaning of Clavicular's quietism. It may be a harbinger of what is to come in the post-Trump era. Influencers stop caring about politics because Vance is too boring and instead focus on hitting themselves in the head with hammers. www.richardhanania.com/p/clavicular...

“Who do you think are the three most benevolent billionaires? Nick Shirley: “What do you mean by the word bellevolent?” This is literally their favorite journalist. 😂😂😂

A good debate on the wisdom of the Venezuelan operation, which I favor and Jeff Maurer opposes. www.imightbewrong.org/p/imbw-audio...

Once again, Minnesota is at the center of our national politics due to a big lie about violence in America. This time, though, it is the right who are the liars and threats to public safety. May the memory of Renee Good inspire us to defeat them. www.richardhanania.com/p/george-flo...

I wrote about Nick Shirley and how not knowing things is no barrier to success in right wing media. In a sane world, he'd be selling surfboards. It's a sign of how extreme the human capital deficit on the right is that he's treated as a real journalist. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-unbear...

I wrote about Nick Shirley, the right’s idea of an investigative journalist, for UnHerd. Many of his claims were immediately disproved and he seems to struggle with basic concepts like a medical plaza. The right is in such bad intellectual shape. unherd.com/2026/01/nick...

Check out my discussion with Chris Nicholson on Season 1 of Pluribus. This conversation made me realize that I haven't been demanding enough as a viewer. We get answers about how it all works, but nothing on the "whys." We explain in the video. www.richardhanania.com/p/vince-gill...

Populism is not only bad because it leads to bad policies. It makes humanity more disgusting by elevating in importance the worst thing about most people, which is their political opinions. Ideally, fewer people would have ideas about politics. www.richardhanania.com/p/populism-m...

Some say Trump shouldn't have seized Maduro. Others think that he shouldn't have left the VP in power. Here's why both are wrong and Trump was right to both remove Maduro and avoid chaos. Leaders matter a lot. Rodríguez may be the Deng of Venezuela. www.richardhanania.com/p/trump-find...

My review of Pluribus with Rob Henderson is up. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-righte...

On Trump as having a "high variance" presidency. He does great things no one else will do like take out a socialist dictator. He'll also do unusually bad things like attack vaccines. I've chosen to live with the contradictions. www.richardhanania.com/p/regime-cha...

I wrote about what's wrong with the kids these days. We've seen a strange phenomenon where masturbation is more encouraged than ever while there has been a war on sex. The common link here is the triumph of safetyism in nearly all areas of life. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-rise-o...

Maduro’s ouster is just another sign of the continuing triumph of Fukuyama. There’s nothing but liberal democracy. As much as people might be unsatisfied, you don’t have other options. Other systems either fail or have successes without appeal. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-year-o...

People shouldn’t act certain about what’s going to happen in Venezuela. It’s all about probability and risk. Maduro is an unusually bad leader with no real allies. So you remove him and hope the next thing is better. www.richardhanania.com/p/regime-cha...

I discuss previous successful US military operations in Grenada and Panama with Daniel Di Martino. No one remembers, because they're addicted to fear and pessimism. We can't acknowledge the US can do good in the world. So we obsess over Iraq. More here: www.richardhanania.com/p/maduro-in-...

Ten years ago, Daniel Di Martino left Venezuela to come to America. Today, he's overjoyed at what just happened in his home country. He joined me on the stream to talk about the history of Venezuela and what comes next. Watch here. www.richardhanania.com/p/maduro-in-...

The people who are categorically against regime change have no answer to the question of how you get rid of dictators. Their view is you should submit forever to authoritarians because it’ll make Putin behave nicely or something. It’s simply ridiculous. www.richardhanania.com/p/regime-cha...

The blanket argument against regime change is dictators should rule forever because you're worried about unintended consequences. That is a terrible principle. And also cowardly. Here's why Trump was right to act in Venezuela. www.richardhanania.com/p/regime-cha...

I wrote about the impact Nietzsche has had on my life, and the culture more generally. As a political program, Nietzschism will always end in disaster. But the basic message to not be a self-pitying and resentful loser has continuing relevance today. www.richardhanania.com/p/how-nietzs...

“Many worriers about AI don’t seem to understand that these two scenarios are almost identical: 1) What if AI replaces all jobs? 2) What if America becomes so rich that we can all live as billionaires?” open.substack.com/pub/scottsum...

My reflections on 2025. It will forever be the year I finally left the MAGA plantation once and for all. www.richardhanania.com/p/new-book-f...

There are still a few hours left to avoid the shame of going into 2026 not being a Richard Hanania subscriber. This year was the best ever and I predict next year will be even better. Don’t miss out! www.richardhanania.com

Heartbreaking report on Indians in America feeling less welcome. Has there ever been a more successful story of assimilation? Rarely has something so clearly benefited a nation. Those opposing Indian immigration have disgraced the nation. I’m sorry. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/o...

What I learned from listening to Charlie Kirk's (sort of) successor at TPUSA on Ross Douthat's podcast: the organization has no strong beliefs on anything except stopping immigration. It's completely indifferent to every other policy or moral principle. www.richardhanania.com/p/the-feats-...

My long awaited review of Ken Burns' The American Revolution. People complaining that it was too "woke" simply don't want to face the fact that it's actually interesting that the American Founders were the pro-slavery side. That's true and important! www.richardhanania.com/p/the-feats-...