How Are You Still Alive? | Interview: Ben Sasse

Ben Sasse, former senator and university president, shares his experience living with advanced pancreatic cancer while reflecting on the erosion of civic virtue and institutional integrity. Adulthood requires more than biological progression; it demands the cultivation of character through struggle, accountability, and the rejection of the instant gratification inherent in digital media. Modern institutions, including schools and government, have largely abandoned their "edit function"—the capacity for slow, deliberate, and fact-based reasoning—in favor of populist, fame-driven performance. To restore a functioning republic, society must move beyond the industrial factory model of education and prioritize the creation of new, community-based institutions. Structural reforms in Congress, such as banning fundraising during sessions and replacing permanent committees with temporary, problem-focused groups, are essential to incentivize genuine legislative deliberation over the current culture of tribalism and performative politics.