Opinion: The right is panicking over critical race theory

The moral panic around critical race theory, an academic legal framework for analyzing structural racism, reached a new level on Glenn Beck’s radio show on Monday. Beck, who specializes in dreaming up bogeymen intent on destroying the United States, warned his audience that critical race theory was coming for everything that defines American culture. “Baseball: unwatchable because of critical race,” he said, before teasing an upcoming segment on its attacks on another American institution: “Wait until you hear the critical race theory on apple pie that has just come out — it’s unbelievable.”