Furious Minds

The Making of the MAGA New Right

De: Laura K. Field

Narrado por: Laura K. Field

This audiobook narrated by Laura Field tells the story of the radical conservative intellectual movement shaping Donald Trump's agenda—and how it threatens American freedoms, values, and democracy

Donald Trump is not a big thinker, but his 2016 presidential victory presented a grand opportunity for people who are, and it set off a radicalization and reconfiguration of the American conservative intellectual world. In Furious Minds, Laura Field, who spent close to a decade in conservative academic circles, chronicles the rise of the New Right—the network of academics, public intellectuals, and influencers who provide ideological fuel to Trumpism. This movement includes figures such as Patrick Deneen, Christopher Rufo, Peter Thiel, and JD Vance. Their agenda is built to last, and it has dire long-term implications for liberal democracy.

The New Right has precedents in American history, but it is distinct for its youthfulness, misogyny, and extraordinary successes—most notably the elevation of Vance to the vice presidency. The movement—which draws together associates of the right-wing Claremont Institute, National Conservatives, Postliberals, and the Hard Right—advocates nationalist economics, tight borders, isolationism, and reactionary social values. It helped to strategize January 6th and created Project 2025. But above all, the New Right is engaged in a vast culture war against modern liberal pluralism. It is determined to harness state power and use it in new, illiberal ways, from college campuses to the international scene—all driven by the fantasy of restoring a pure America.

Incisive and urgent, Furious Minds tells the story of the thinkers of the New Right—and their powerful assault on American freedoms, values, and ideals.

©2025 Laura K. Field (P)2025 Princeton University Press

Fascinating

The wealth of research, contextual knowledge, and background of new right leaders is vast! The only thing is the narrator (author) spoke quickly so I took the speed down to .90 and .95 to catch all the details and vocabulary. A very good book. I highly recommend it.

Fascinating take on the new right

Incredibly well researched and insightful. It’s actually a great argument for preserving the liberal arts and critical thinking in schools so that one side can’t use it to dominate over another.

Detail of her presentation

Too many fancy words that you had to think about the meaning when listening to the information

Brilliant incisive insightful…a must read

Field takes apart MAGA revealing its frightening adolescent boy club factions’ intersecting ideologies united by misogyny and contempt for democracy, reason, and the liberal ideals at the foundation of the United States of America.

Fan fiction

The author will certainly make money and perhaps restart her academic career with this book. Although it presents as a serious engagement with new generation of conservative thinkers, it is, in reality, a form of fan service for leftists. The conservative intellectuals she ‘treats’ are uniformly bad scholars, misinformed, and, of course, racists. Fields tells us that she is an academic with some fancy degrees, but precious of that training is on display. Instead of grappling with ideas, she opts for personal attacks, mostly … racism. A good book will be written on the subject of Furious Minds, but this is not it. If you wish to be confirmed in uninformed hatred of conservatives, you’ll enjoy this book. If, however, you are looking for an informative guide through this important aspect of our political life, avoid.