A former public high school teacher says ideological training in teacher colleges explains the rise of the DSA, and points to Florida’s new communism curriculum as a model to reverse it
SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 24, 2026) — The Heartland Institute’s editorial director and socialism research fellow Chris Talgo is available for interviews about his new commentary in RedState arguing that the American socialist movement’s slow “long march through the institutions” was a disastrous success, powered above all by the public education system.
Talgo, a former public high school social studies teacher in Illinois and South Carolina, draws on his own experience in teacher training and the classroom, describing a two-year teacher-college program that emphasized left-wing political and social ideology. He was instructed that “social and emotional learning” is more important than content mastery, and “academic equity” trumps academic excellence. This is a pattern Talgo says repeated itself in every school where he taught.
Talgo also points to polling showing socialism’s rising popularity, particularly among young Americans, and to the growing political footprint of the Democratic Socialists of America, which now has members in office nationwide and hundreds more on the ballot this November. He argues Florida’s 2024 law requiring instruction on the history of communism, and the state’s new classroom standards built on it, offer a model other states should follow to reverse the trend.
Talgo wrote: “Could this be the beginning of the end of the long march?”
On your program, Talgo can discuss:
• Why he believes the American socialist movement’s slow “long march through the institutions” has already succeeded, even without a revolution
• His firsthand account as a former public school teacher of how teacher colleges prioritize left-wing ideology and “social-emotional learning” over academic content mastery
• The political rise of the Democratic Socialists of America, which now holds elected offices nationwide with hundreds more candidates on the ballot this November
• Why Talgo, a self-described libertarian, believes the crisis in public education is severe enough to justify state mandates like Florida’s communism curriculum law
• What Florida’s new History of Communism standards teach, and why Talgo sees them as a template other states should adopt
Why Book Chris Talgo?
Chris Talgo is editorial director and a research fellow focused on socialism at The Heartland Institute. A former public high school social studies teacher, he brings firsthand classroom experience to his commentary on socialism’s resurgence in American politics and education and can speak to any audience about the real-world consequences of these policy debates.
To book Talgo on your program, reply to this email or contact EVP & Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] or call/text 312-731-9364.
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
Chris Talgo is the Editorial Director for The Heartland Institute and a fellow for Heartland’s Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center.
