Aidan Grogan Went Undercover at Socialism 2026

Aidan Grogan is a researcher at the Manhattan Institute. He went undercover at Socialism 2026 — the annual conference sponsored by Haymarket Books, held in Chicago over Labor Day weekend — and sat in on panels that weren't being livestreamed to see what they were saying behind closed doors. In some cases, they were saying considerably more radical things than what made it onto the stream. We talked about: how he got in (registered as Aidan G. with a burner email, wore Marxist pins, didn't iron his shirt, gave up on the disguise by day four); masks required at all times, COVID still surging, it felt like 2020 all over again; the family abolition session — two Yale-affiliated researchers sitting in a circle with Crayola markers on the table, advocating to dismantle the family as an oppressive capitalist institution; Sophie Lewis, Oxford graduate, family abolitionist, currently married; the audience describing the "most culturally celebrated family" as white people, private property, and heteronormativity; the fat genocide panel and the presenter who was herself relatively fit; Sophie Lewis denying any biological basis to sex; the mismatch between revolutionary rhetoric and people with too much anxiety to fire a gun; the old macho Marxists vs. today's conference-goers; Bill Ayers and the career path of a left-wing terrorist (hint: it ends in a tenured professorship); Robert Nisbet's The Quest for Community and why radical politics is a substitute religion for the socially alienated; and the DSA platform calling for abolishing the Senate, the Electoral College, and the checks and balances of the American constitutional order. Read Aidan's coverage → City Journal: cityjournal.org Follow Aidan → Manhattan Institute: manhattan-institute.org Watch full episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJ Listen on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lou-perez-podcast/id1535032081 Listen on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2KAtC7eFS3NHWMZp2UgMVU 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-econ/id1863476697 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: https://amzn.to/3VhFa1r 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/?sca_ref=7113152.ifIMaKpCG3ZfUHH4 🌐 TheLouPerez.com | 📧 [email protected] ✉️ Newsletter: https://substack.com/@louperez 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: https://redcoraluniverse.com/title/the-lou-perez-comedy-68501a2fd369683d0f2a2a88?loopData=true&ccId=675bc891f78f658f73eaa46d TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Aidan Grogan, Manhattan Institute and City Journal 0:43 — What is Socialism 2026? Haymarket Books, Labor Day, Chicago 1:27 — Going undercover — livestreams vs. behind closed doors 3:51 — The viral clip: pronouns, jazz hands, anxiety about clapping 4:11 — Armed revolution calls — "I have too much anxiety to use a gun" 5:35 — How he got in: Aidan G, burner email, Marxist pins, bad clothes 7:20 — Day one vs. day four — what happens when you dress normally 8:20 — Masks required the entire time — felt like 2020 all over again 10:00 — His cover story: "I'm new to socialist ideas and just exploring" 10:54 — The family abolition session — Crayola markers, Yale researchers 12:29 — What does abolishing the family actually mean? 14:17 — The audience answers: white people, private property, heteronormative 16:41 — Sophie Lewis: family abolitionist, Oxford graduate, currently married 17:49 — Do they ever actually live by the ideas they preach? 18:49 — "It takes a village" — and why they mean the government 21:09 — The data: two married biological parents produce the best outcomes for children 23:45 — Low birth rates — opportunity cost, not money cost 26:06 — At war with biology — the left's rejection of reality 27:24 — Queer theory, family abolition, and the roots of the movement 28:27 — Sophie Lewis denies any biological or natural basis to sex 31:38 — The fat genocide panel — presenter was relatively fit 33:29 — The old macho Marxists vs. today's conference-goers 34:15 — Luigi the musical, political violence, and LARPing revolutionaries 36:48 — Champagne socialism — why these people won't actually risk anything 38:48 — Robert Nisbet and radical politics as substitute religion 39:01 — People who want communes nobody would want to be on 43:05 — Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground, and the career path of a left-wing terrorist 45:18 — Should we be worried? Lone wolves vs. organized violence 46:52 — DSA platform: abolish the Senate, Electoral College, and checks and balances 47:50 — Mayor Mamdani and the low bar for praising elected officials 49:59 — American institutions are more robust than the radicals think