Central Air Every Centrist's Favorite Socialist (feat. Tyler Austin Harper)
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Mar 25, 2026 Tyler Austin Harper, Atlantic staff writer and former environmental science professor, blends academic grit with on-the-ground reporting. He unpacks how big philanthropy reshapes humanities priorities. He visits Maine politics and the odd dynamics of a Senate primary. He traces extinction themes in literature and weighs cultural shifts around polyamory memoirs.
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Mellon Funding Makes 'Revolutionary' Ideas Safe
- The Mellon Foundation funds progressive humanities projects while its board is full of hedge fund managers.
- Tyler Austin Harper argues this shows elite philanthropy often co-opts radical rhetoric because it poses no real threat to the status quo.
Wokeness As Cost Free Moral Cover For Universities
- Universities adopted social justice as moral cover after the 2008 financial backlash, because it cost less than changing tuition or business models.
- Harper links the Great Recession, Occupy, and free college politics to the timing of the 'wokeification' shift.
Cluster Hires Centralize Woke Hiring Priorities
- Cluster hires shift hiring power from departments to central administration and fund 'woke' areas like Black studies.
- Harper explains deans use such initiatives to diversify quickly by prioritizing provost-driven lines over departmental needs.
