Please join us for a cocktail reception and conversation in NYC this fall. We are pleased to have best-selling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt as our featured speaker, discussing his new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

The Anxious Generation has spent 11 weeks on Amazon’s bestseller list and has been featured by major media outlets and programs, including Oprah, The Today Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, and The Daily Show. In his book, Haidt confronts the fact that, after more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. What caused this? Social media? Isolation? Parenting? Haidt explores these possibilities and proposes four simple rules that might end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.

What role does public policy play? Is this issue best left to civil society? Emily Ekins, Cato vice president and director of polling, has previously collaborated with Haidt and will join him to discuss his theories and the long-term consequences for civil society and politics. Ekins will also cover themes from Haidt’s past work, including The Coddling of the American Mind and The Righteous Mind, to assess issues like political polarization, the culture wars, and viewpoint diversity on college campuses.

In addition, Cato president and CEO Peter Goettler will provide an overview of Cato’s priorities, our commitment to keeping liberty alive for future generations, and the investments we are making to advance our vision of a free and open society in which liberty allows every individual to pursue a life of prosperity and meaning in peace.

For more information, please contact Josh Ferencik at jferencik@​cato.​org or 202–216‑1465.