Feb 20, 2024
Rob Henderson — Troubled (EP. 203)
Friend-of-the-show Rob Henderson returns to discuss his powerful, moving and important debut book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (published TODAY). We discuss Rob’s experience of the American foster care and adoption system, the life-changing impact of the military, the rise of Luxury Beliefs, the benefits of standardized testing, and MUCH more.
Important Links:
* Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (Amazon)
* The SAT is a pathway to more college diversity, not less; by Rob Henderson (The Boston Globe)
* Rob Henderson: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way; by Rob Henderson (The Free Press)
* Rob’s Substack
* Rob’s Twitter
Show Notes:
* Foster Care, Adoption & Social Mobility
* Structural Origins of the Foster System
* Why Early-Life Stability is Underrated
* How Ideas Can Change Outcomes
* The Life-Changing Impact of the Military
* Young Male Syndrome
* The Role of Intelligence in Governing Outcomes
* The Benefits of Standardized Testing
* Yale, Luxury Beliefs & the Rise of Identity Politics
* Are Luxury Beliefs a Political or Class Phenomenon?
* Trickle-Down Meritocracy
* Technology, Assortive Mating & Social Mobility
* Is the Overton Window Shifting on Campus?
* Rob as Emperor of the World
Books and Articles Mentioned:
* Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class; by Rob Henderson
* The SAT is a pathway to more college diversity, not less; by Rob Henderson (The Boston Globe)
* Rob Henderson: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way; by Rob Henderson (The Free Press)
* Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society; by Nicholas A. Christakis
* Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010; by Charles Murray
* Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World, by Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross
* A Suitable Boy; by Vikram Seth
* The Son Also Rises; by Gregory Clark