Opinion | The Woke Burnout Is Real — and Politics Is Catching Up

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Classrooms have been a key battleground in the so-called woke wars for years now. But could the debate over how schools teach history, race, gender and sexuality be coming to an end?

This week on “Matter of Opinion,” the hosts look at signs that these wedge issues are no longer dividing us, ask whether we have reached “peak woke” and disagree on whether it’s even worth fighting about wokeness at all.

(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)

Mentioned in this episode:

• “Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus,” by Rick Perlstein

• Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series, by Nathan Hale

• The Adventures of Tintin comic series, by Hergé

• The American Bicentennial Series, by John Jakes

• “The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels,” by Jon Meacham

Thoughts? Email us at [email protected].

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Michelle Cottle (@mcottle), Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT), Carlos Lozada (@CarlosNYT) and Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen).

“Matter of Opinion” was produced this week by Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Phoebe Lett and Derek Arthur. It was edited by Stephanie Joyce and Annie-Rose Strasser. Mixing by Sonia Herrero and Pat McCusker. Original music by Isaac Jones, Pat McCusker, Carole Sabouraud and Efim Shapiro. Our fact-checking team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. Our executive producer is Annie-Rose Strasser.