An Evening with Author Jonathan Haidt

Can’t make it in person? Join us virtually on Thursday, December 5 at 6 p.m. and watch via livestream below.

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Join us for a conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of the acclaimed book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness; and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, education advocate, champion of phone-free schools, and mother of three. The talk will be moderated by Crystal Bridges Board Chair Olivia Walton.

A social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures.

The author’s goal is to help people understand each other, live and work near each other, and even learn from each other despite their moral differences.

Since 2018, Haidt has been studying the contributions of social media to the decline of teen mental health. His most recent book, The Anxious Generation, explores how in the early 2010s there were two major interlocking changes to childhood: the loss of the play-based childhood and rise of the phone-based childhood.

In May 2024, Governor Sanders sent a copy of The Anxious Generation to every Arkansas legislator and US governor to ignite a conversation and spur action to combat the youth mental health crisis. In July, she launched a phone-free schools initiative inspired by Haidt’s research.

This talk will outline what happened, what’s at risk with this anxious generation, and most importantly, what we can do to reverse these trends.

Tickets are $15 ($10 for members), reserve your spot online or with Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 today.

Interested in picking up a copy of The Anxious Generation? The Crystal Bridges Museum Store is now accepting pre-orders for the book that you can pick up at the event.

Then, stick around after the talk for a special book signing with author Johnathan Haidt. See you there!

Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt (pronounced “height”) is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and taught for 16 years in the department of psychology at the University of Virginia.

Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures—including the cultures of progressive, conservatives, and libertarians. His goal is to help people understand each other, live and work near each other, and even learn from each other despite their moral differences. Haidt has co-founded a variety of organizations and collaborations that apply moral and social psychology toward that end, including HeterodoxAcademy.org, The Constructive Dialogue Institute, and EthicalSystems.org.

Haidt is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, and of The New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (co-authored with Greg Lukianoff). He has written more than 100 academic articles, which have been cited nearly 100,000 times. In 2019 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was chosen by Prospect magazine as one of the world’s “Top 50 Thinkers.” He has given four TED talks.

Since 2018 he has been studying the contributions of social media to the decline of teen mental health and the rise of political dysfunction. His next book is The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. It was published by Penguin Press on March 26, 2024.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the 47th Governor of Arkansas. Inaugurated on January 10, 2023, she is the first woman to serve as governor of the state and currently is the youngest governor in the country. 

Since taking office, Sarah has enacted meaningful reforms to Arkansas’ education system. Those include Arkansas LEARNS, legislation that includes higher teacher pay and universal school choice. In July 2024, she launched a statewide phone-free schools and mental health pilot program.  

Sarah served as White House Press Secretary from 2017 to 2019, only the third woman – and the very first mom – to ever hold the job of White House Press Secretary. She has previously worked in leadership roles for U.S. Senators, Governors, and presidential campaigns, including in the Department of Education during President George W. Bush’s administration. 

Sarah grew up in Pine Bluff and Texarkana and is a proud graduate of Little Rock Central High and Ouachita Baptist University. She lives in Little Rock with her husband, Bryan, their children Scarlett, Huck, and George, and their golden retriever, Traveler.