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Our editors compiled six stories about elite schools and the issues they face. Today’s reading list examines how the Ivy League broke America, the problem with college admissions, and more.

Private Schools Have Become Truly Obscene

Elite schools breed entitlement, entrench inequality—and then pretend to be engines of social change.

By Caitlin Flanagan

How the Ivy League Broke America

The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.

By David Brooks

How Life Became an Endless, Terrible Competition

Meritocracy prizes achievement above all else, making everyone—even the rich—miserable. Maybe there’s a way out.

By Daniel Markovits

Why I’m a Public-School Teacher but a Private-School Parent

It’s not selling out; it’s buying in.

By Michael Godsey

Why You Have to Care About These 12 Colleges

Change them, and you change America.

By Annie Lowrey

The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books

To read a book in college, it helps to have read a book in high school.

By Rose Horowitch

The Week Ahead

1. Love Hurts, an action movie starring Ke Huy Quan as a realtor who is forced to confront his past life as a hit man (in theaters Friday)
2. The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by the comedian Trevor Noah (streaming on Paramount+ tonight)
3. Pure Innocent Fun, an essay collection by Ira Madison III that combines memoir and pop-culture analysis (out Tuesday)

Essay

Is This How Reddit Ends?

By Matteo Wong

The internet is growing more hostile to humans. Google results are stuffed with search-optimized spam, unhelpful advertisements, and AI slop. Amazon has become littered with undifferentiated junk. The state of social media, meanwhile—fractured, disorienting, and prone to boosting all manner of misinformation—can be succinctly described as a cesspool.

It’s with some irony, then, that Reddit has become a reservoir of humanity.

Read the full article.

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Photo Album

Take a look at these photos of the week, featuring scenes from the Australian Open, Lunar New Year celebrations, and more.

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