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Articles by Patrick Brown
For Parents, There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Childcare Solution
Illustration by Noah Hickey/The Dispatch (Photos via Getty Images/Unsplash). In our polarized era, there are fewer and fewer spaces where people who disagree can do so productively and in good faith. The Dispatch’s Debate Series aims to be an outlier: a regular feature where two writers with opposing views can hash out some of the thorniest political and cultural issues roiling the national conversation. If you have an idea for a future topic, please let us know at debates@thedispatch.com.
Marriage Got Better—So Why Is It Disappearing?
Published March 18, 2026 The Dispatch You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em,” Kermit the Frog sang in 1979’s The Muppet Movie, anothervoice in the age-old chorus of bemused frustration at the opposite sex that was once a staple of popular culture. A running joke in The Honeymooners featured Ralph Kramden half-kidding about wanting to send his wife, Alice, “to the moon.” Borscht Belt comedians like Henny Youngman got plenty of mileage out of “Take my wife … please!” bits.
Marriage Got Better—So Why Is It Disappearing?
“You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em,” Kermit the Frog sang in 1979’s The Muppet Movie, anothervoice in the age-old chorus of bemused frustration at the opposite sex that was once a staple of popular culture. A running joke in The Honeymooners featured Ralph Kramden half-kidding about wanting to send his wife, Alice, “to the moon.” Borscht Belt comedians like Henny Youngman got plenty of mileage out of “Take my wife … please!” bits.
Opinion: The political headwinds facing abortion opponents - and how to overcome them
Attendees gather for a March for Life event at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Politicians are good at counting votes; less good at leading crusades. Advocates who want to see politicians lead, rather than reflect, cultural change, are often disappointed. The drive to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples is a useful example; it wasn’t national politicians who helped change the polling.
The Logical End of ‘Reproductive Freedom’
Is a baby just like any other deliverable? Should gestation be treated like any other service rendered? Is labor just another form of, well, labor? For decades, America has taken a fairly light touch to questions of bioethics. It’s not just social conservatives who refer to the U.S. as the “Wild West” of assisted reproduction— progressive historians and feminist legal scholars do the same.
Wanted: Neoconservatives for the 21st Century
American progressivism has long understood itself as a project of political liberation. From liberalizing restrictions on pornography to legalizing drugs and prostitution to broader efforts to reconceptualize the family and religion as institutions of oppression and privilege, the left’s track record is one of favoring individual autonomy over older values of community, social norms, and civic order.
These Aren’t the Family Values I Remember Original
As a millennial mother and policy researcher, I’ve been waiting a long time for Republicans to take up the mantle of dependable pro-family policies.
A Glimmer of Hope in Gaza Original
Over the past week, Gaza has witnessed unprecedented protests against Hamas, with demonstrators demanding an end to the ongoing war and the group’s governance. In the northern city of Beit Lahia, crowds of Palestinians marched through devastated streets, chanting slogans such as “Hamas out!” and “Hamas are terrorists!” while waving white flags.
A Pro-Natalism for Normies | Opinion
As fertility rates continue to decline both globally and in the U.S., efforts to revive them face a headwind generated from within: Some of the loudest voices trying to boost birth rates are, well, just plain weird. Take Elon Musk, the world's richest and most prominent pro-natalist, who has personally addressed his concern about "mass extinction" by fathering at least 14 children with four different women.
Nuking the Overton Window on Gaza
Trump plan weighs annihilation fantasies against prosperity. By Published February 10, 2025 Dr. Einat Wilf, a former member of Israel’s Labor Party and co-author of The War of Return, joins Adaam James Levin-Areddy once again to discuss President Donald Trump’s supposed plan to encourage Palestinians to voluntarily self-deport from the Gaza Strip—and what it means for the future of the conflict. The Agenda: —Consequences for aggressors —Where does the money go?
The Future of Compassionate Conservatism
Will DOGE kill compassionate conservatism? Published February 9, 2025 Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, joins Michael Reneau to discuss the evolving landscape of compassionate conservatism within the context of the Trump administration. They explore the implications of government funding for faith-based organizations, the intersection of family policy and government roles, and the cultural shifts affecting social conservatism.
Something Spiritual This Way Comes Original
With the advent of the internet came the advent of discussion boards. And in the early 2000s, few subjects were as likely to end up locked by moderators as whether or not God was, in fact, dead. On one side were the self-styledrationalists—your PZ Myerses, your Bill Mahers—arguing that religion was not just illogical, but outright deleterious.
Celebrating The ‘Mental Load’ of Motherhood Original
Culture The ‘mental load’ that’s worth it. Published February 8, 2025 Millennial moms on social media—which is to say, basically all of us—see endless memes and complaints about the “mental load,” which, per one internet source, is “a discrete category of family work, which entails the planning, schedule and remembering of domestic chores and events.” Don’t get me wrong, I like a good meme, and if you can’t complain a little about motherhood, what’s the point of the internet?
Why the Abortion Issue Didn’t Save Democrats Original
A misreading of the 2022 midterm elections led some to believe abortion would propel Democrats to victory in 2024. Published November 8, 2024 In our collective political memory, the 2022 midterm elections are remembered as a historic underperformance by the Republican Party, while the 2024 presidential election will be remembered as a historic victory and realignment ushered in by Donald Trump.
The 47 Percent
Has Trump’s ceiling in the popular vote risen? Published October 11, 2024 The time has come in this election cycle for Kamala Harris’ supporters to wet the proverbial bed. It was always a matter of when, not if. Those on the left are (justifiably) terrified of what the other side’s victory in this race might mean for America. And if their candidate loses, liberals won’t have the fantasy of a massive vote-rigging conspiracy to console them.
Who’s the Bad Guy?
Hollywood could take some hints and give us some additional, true-to-life villains. Published October 11, 2024 Dear Reader (including the particularly flamboyant rodents), I think we need a remake of the movie Falling Down. Let me be clear: I’m not a huge fan of the original, starring Michael Douglas as William “D-Fens” Foster. But it’s a significant cultural document. It didn’t start the “national conversation” about “angry white males” in the 1990s, but it certainly helped it go mainstream.
The Deciders
Will anti-Trump conservatives swing the election? Published October 10, 2024 There are three approaches a Reagan Republican might take toward this election. I understand two of them. One is Liz Cheney’s. She’s set aside her policy differences with Democrats and endorsed Kamala Harris because she believes defeating a coup-plotter requires nothing less. By doing so, she’s forfeited whatever meager influence she might have wielded in a post-Trump GOP. I understand her rationale.
What Buc-ee’s Can Teach Us About the Port Strike
Job-ism is bad, actually. Published October 10, 2024 With the suspension of last week’s big U.S. port strike, Americans—especially Christmas shoppers but also farmers and manufacturers—can breathe a little easier, at least until January. At that time, another port strike could again loom large because, as has been widely reported, the recent settlement addressed only the lowest-hanging fruit—wages—while leaving the most contentious issues unresolved, namely automation.
Media Cringe
Media Mogul Supper Club Published October 10, 2024 • Updated October 9, 2024 Christine Rosen, Jonah’s American Enterprise Institute compatriot and Commentary magazine contributor, usurped today’s episode of The Remnantand invited Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon and former Politico White House correspondent, to discuss the fallout from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ CBS interview, Kamala Harris’ rocky 60 Minutes appearance, and the Harris campaign’s pick-and-choose approach to...
Hostage to Fortune
Everyone has their biases. One of mine is assuming that most politicians aren’t stupid. (I said “most.”) If a candidate for office answers a question in a way I wasn’t expecting, a moment’s thought usually reveals some intelligent, strategic reason for doing so.
The Decimated GOP Original
Here’s an interesting tidbit from the latest New York Times/Siena College poll: One in 10 Republicans say they plan to vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. That’s up from 1 in 20 in the last Times/Siena poll. Republicans today are also three times more likely to say they plan to vote for Harris (9 percent) than Democrats are to say they plan to vote for Trump (3 percent).
Slicing Up The South
The three Coopers of North Carolina. Published October 9, 2024 There’s turmoil in the People’s Republic of The Dispatch. Democratically elected President Jonah J. Goldberg was deposed in the early hours of the morning by dissident General Kevin D. Williamson, who has taken over The Remnant airwaves in an often-precedented coup d’état.
Republicans Could Learn From J.D. Vance’s Appeal to Compassion
Last week’s vice presidential debate will likely serve as the last chance for voters to compare the two presidential campaigns head-to-head. And the Republican ticket couldn’t have asked for a more polished and professional final word than it got from Sen. J.D. Vance. In many ways, he made the pitch for Trumpism to undecided voters more succinctly than anyone, including Trump himself, ever has.
What Would Trumpism Without Trump Look Like? Original
How a loss in November could reshape the Republican Party. Published October 9, 2024 If Donald Trump loses the election, to hear him and his campaign tell it, the fate of the Republican Party should be the least of our concerns: His defeat would spell the end of the nation itself and all that we hold dear. But let’s assume that Trump and company are exaggerating and that the country continues to exist. What would the GOP look like after he loses—again?
For a Better Fertility Debate, Consider the Possibilities Original
The Monday Essay Caring about the falling birth rate can be both pro-natalist and pro-woman. Published September 30, 2024 In early August, economist Michael A. Clemens published a paper highlighting the consequences of and potential policy responses to South Korea’s birth dearth.
The Unbearable Lightness of Choosing Children Original
Happy Sunday, happy September, and happy Labor Day weekend.Pronatalist arguments—that in order to be a well functioning society we need to be having more babies—are nothing new. But the resurfacing of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance’s 2021 “childless cat lady” remarks has added a new, overtly partisan dynamic to the conversation.
Will the Constitution Save Public Universities? Original
Keith Whittington’s ‘You Can’t Teach That’ explores the often-tense relationship between schools, expression, and the First Amendment. Published June 8, 2024 In the 1952 case Wieman v. Updegraff, the Supreme Court struck down an Oklahoma law requiring state employees to certify that they had not belonged to a “subversive organization” in the previous five years. That included college professors, then among the preferred punching bags of anti-Communist politicians.
Why Pope Francis Condemned Surrogacy
Few subjects are more emotional than procreation. The need to have a child is not just a personal desire, it’s often a primal instinct—the desire to see something of yourself left on the planet, carrying on your work and your legacy long after you’re gone. That is why baby-making—or the inability to make a baby—is such a fraught phenomenon, made, as many things are, more fraught by the cultural and political climate.
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Court Decision Invalidating California Board Diversity Law
On April 1, 2022, in Crest v. Padilla, California Superior Court Judge Terry Green granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs who had challenged AB 979, one of California’s two board diversity statutes, as violating the California Constitution. The complaint in Crest v. Padilla was filed in 2020 by three California taxpayers who sought to enjoin the California Secretary of State from using taxpayer funds in effectuating or ensuring compliance with AB 979.
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