In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

Jacob Savage’s recent essay in Compact about the “lost generation” of millennial white men struck many readers as a shocking revelation. It argues that around 2014, elite institutions underwent a fundamental shift. Affirmative action policies stopped being a gentle preference and increasingly became a guiding principle under initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. While 2014 marked the turn, George Floyd’s death was the accelerant. Discrimination against white men became overt, pervasive, and framed as an urgent moral duty.