Madeleine Baker

Madeleine Baker is a senior editor at The Drift and the author of Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America.

Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his first encyclical at the Synod Hall on May 25, 2026, in Vatican City.

Pope Leo’s First Encyclical Is a Game Changer Pope Leo’s First Encyclical Is a Game Changer

Yes, it’s a warning about the dangers of AI. But that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Jun 10, 2026 / Madeleine Baker

A Social Democratic leaflet against capitalism, 1905.

How Capitalism Survives How Capitalism Survives

According to John Cassidy’s century-spanning history Capitalism and Its Critics, the system lives on because of its antagonists.

Sep 24, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Madeleine Baker

David Lynch at the filming of “Wild at Heart.”

The Unsettling Genius of David Lynch The Unsettling Genius of David Lynch

In his films, his TV shows, and his paintings, Lynch reminded us that all art gestures toward a world beyond the familiar and comforting.

Jan 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Madeleine Baker

The Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University, 1965.

The Education Factory The Education Factory

By looking at the labor history of academia, you can see the roots of a crisis in higher education that has been decades in the making.

Apr 22, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Madeleine Baker

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