Year Zero $7 / month

Year Zero explores the ideological shifts and debates within American society during the Trump era, focusing on issues like the impact of universal daycare, the dynamics within the LGBTQIA+ community, gender identity, and the influence of ideologies on institutions and public life.

Child Development and Daycare Gender Identity and Sexuality Free Speech and Legal Implications Media and Narrative Bias Science and Research Integrity Parental Rights and Education Policies Societal Norms and Institutional Influence Transgender Issues and Medical Practices LGBTQIA+ Movement Dynamics Race and Discrimination Impact of Ideology on Policy

The hottest Substack posts of Year Zero

And their main takeaways

Universal Early Childhood Daycare Has Been Proven to Damage the Children Who Have Been Through It

93 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Childcare Mental health Parenting Development Psychology
  1. Child mental health has significantly worsened over the past few decades, with a rise in serious mental illnesses among young children.
  2. The introduction of universal early childhood daycare in the mid-1980s may have contributed to the ongoing child mental health crisis.
  3. Research suggests that full-time center-based daycare for infants under 1 year old may lead to long-lasting negative impacts on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills.

The LGB and the T

21 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Activism Identity Equality History Social movements
  1. The LGBTQIA+ movement has evolved to focus on trans issues after initially advocating for gay marriage.
  2. There is debate within the LGBTQIA+ community regarding expanding the LGB acronym to include new categories like transgender individuals.
  3. Strategic and rhetorical tactics used in the gay rights movement have influenced the approaches of the transgender movement, particularly in areas like suicide, personal desires, and the decentering of biological sex.

Psychologists are not legally required to affirm the gender identities of their patients

23 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychotherapy Gender identity Legislation Youth Mental Health
  1. Psychologists are not legally required to affirm the gender identities of their patients.
  2. Therapists in California can provide non-affirming therapy for gender dysphoric youth without risking their license.
  3. APA guidelines caution against immediate affirmation and recommend a thoughtful, explorative approach when working with transgender individuals.
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Rigging the Science

30 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Children Psychology Research Therapy Ideology
  1. Be cautious of scientific studies on gender affirming care as some may be methodologically flawed or fraudulent.
  2. Demand evidence in the form of studies when evaluating the benefits of certain medical procedures.
  3. Understand the importance of critically analyzing survey items and being aware of biased or invalid research in the field.

What is Chris Thinking?

27 implied HN points • 03 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Gender identity Medical treatments Mental health
  1. The author questions why mainstream media outlets, like MSNBC, do not report on the potential harms of medical treatments for trans-identifying children.
  2. There is a growing concern about pediatric gender medicine having harmful effects on children, but some media figures may not be covering the full story.
  3. Parents and whistleblowers are challenging the narrative around transgender treatments, highlighting the need for more balanced reporting to expose potential risks.

The Legal Megalomania of Intersectionality

13 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🚌 Education Legal analysis
  1. Intersectionality, once niche, has spread widely in policy discussions, even into hard sciences and medicine.
  2. Challenges the assumption that discrimination claims solely fall within single-axis frameworks, highlighting legal cases that refute this.
  3. Asserts that broad claims about intersectionality's implications for discrimination and oppression lack empirical evidence and nuanced discussion.

"If I was a trans woman, I would not be pushing for rapists to be in women’s prisons. That is the worst thing we could do. Also going after very young children."

16 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
  1. Being a trans woman and advocating for dangerous individuals like rapists to be housed in women's prisons could have negative consequences.
  2. Careful consideration and research are necessary when implementing policies related to gender identity, as poor decisions can have far-reaching effects.
  3. The importance of maintaining accurate and unbiased data collection methods to avoid contamination and ensure the integrity of statistics in governance and decision-making.

"I got on the case. I saw the documents. I saw the internal Harvard reports where it shows that they knew they were discriminating against Asians from the get go. “

13 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Higher education Affirmative Action Discrimination Legal Cases
  1. Harvard University knew they were discriminating against Asians from the start.
  2. Adam Mortara was approached to lead a case against Harvard.
  3. Internal Harvard reports revealed discrimination against Asians in college admissions.

Year Zero Book Club Commencing Soon

7 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
📚 Literature Book Club Discussion History
  1. Year Zero Book Club by Wesley Yang will be starting soon.
  2. The club will involve reading classic works of history and narrative nonfiction together.
  3. The first book to read is 'Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families' by J. Anthony Lukas.