Institutionalized

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Charles Fain Lehman & Aaron Sibarium are two friends and reporters who spend a lot of time wondering: are our institutions failing? This podcast is their effort to have these discussions in public, with some of the smartest people they know. Using their experience as DC-based journalists, this podcast discusses how our problems come down to how our institutions—our colleges, our businesses, our government, our media—function, or don’t.

Nebulous Media


    • May 3, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 56m AVG DURATION
    • 54 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Institutionalized

    Artificial Intelligence with David Rozado

    Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 54:12


    Charles and Aaron sit down with David Rozado to discuss the political perils and biases of artificial intelligence. Recommendations: WarGames (Film) ChatGPT and Me **Private I** by Jill Fain Lehman, Paul Pangaro, Ashlei E Watson Ex Machina (Film)

    Disinformation with Jacob Siegel

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2023 59:49


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Jason Siegel to discuss disinformation and the intelligence community. Recommendations: How the Deep State Took Down Nixon by Nathan Pinkoski G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century John PSmith on Substack A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century by Jacob Siegel Invasion of the Fact-Checkers by Jacob Siegel Not without Honor by Richard Gid Powers

    Accreditation with George Leef

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 56:40


    Charles and Aaron sit down with to discuss higher education accreditation with George Leef. Recommendations: The Awakening of Jennifer Van Arsdale: A Political Fable For Our Time by George Leef When Discipline-Specific Accreditors Go Woke by John Sailer Lucky Hank Questions? Comments? Email us at Institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Animal Welfare with Ozy Brennan

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2023 50:54


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Ozy Brennan to discuss the ethics of how we treat animals. Recommendations: Do Elephants Have Souls? by Caitrin Keiper A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Tyler Kord Compassion, by the Pound: The Economics of Farm Animal Welfare Do Fish Feel Pain? by Victoria Braithwaite

    Criminal Justice System with Rafael Mangual

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2023 66:20


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Rafael Mangual to discuss the recent increase of serious violent crimes in the United States. Recommendations: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Tucker Carlson Criminal (In)Justice: What the Push for Decarceration and Depolicing Gets Wrong and Who It Hurts Most by Rafael Mangual We're Underfunding the Police By Reihan Salam and Charles Fain Lehman

    Academic Freedom with Josh Rauh

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2023 56:28


    Aaron and Charles sit down with Josh Rauh to discuss Florida's higher education reforms. Recommendations: The End of the English Major by Nathan Heller God and Man at Yale by William Buckley Woke, Inc. by Vivek Ramaswamy

    Same Sex Marriage with Sasha Issenberg

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2023 65:21


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Sasha Issenberg to discuss same-sex marriage and the complex political landscape surrounding it. Recommendations: The Minority Rights Revolution by John D. Skrentny The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage by Sasha Issenberg The Girl From the Red River Shore by Bob Dylan

    Debt with Brian Reidl

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2023 51:37


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Brian Reidl to discuss the politics of debt and deficit. Recommendations: Margaritaville (South Park) The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control by David Musto Grey Dawn (South Park)

    Implicit Bias with Lee Jussim

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2023 66:00


    Aaron and Charles sit down with Lee Jussim to discuss the implicit association test and the replication crisis. Recommendations: The Coronavirus and the Right's Scientific Counterrevolution by Ari Schulman Scientific Regress by William Wilson Unsafe Science Substack by Lee Jussim

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    Healthcare with Chris Pope

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2023 51:14


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Chris Pope to discuss the pros and cons of America's healthcare system. Recommendations: The Last of Us on HBO Losing Ground by Charles Murray The Logic of Collective Action by Manicure Olson

    Media with Susannah Luthi

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2023 55:00


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Susannah Luthi to discuss the trials and tribulations of legacy media Recommendations: Why the Media is Honest and Good by Richard Hanania And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, 20th-Anniversary Edition by Randy Shilts **Munk Debate - Mainstream Media ft. Douglas Murray, Matt Taibbi, Malcolm Gladwell, Michelle Goldberg

    Capital Punishment with Charles Lane

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2023 60:46


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Charles Lane to discuss the political and moral implications of the death penalty Recommendations: Dead Man Walking Movie The Death Penalty an American History by Stuart Banner Stay of Execution: Saving the Death Penalty from Itself by Charles Lane Among the Lowest of the Dead: The Culture of Capital Punishment (Law, Meaning, And Violence) by David Von Drehle Questions? Comments? Email us at Institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Deinstitutionalization with John Hirschauer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2023 63:49


    Charles and Aaron sit down with John Hirschauer to discuss the history of mental institutions and the implications of deinstitutionalization. Recommendations: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault The Insanity Offense: How America's Failure to Treat the Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens by E. Fuller Torrey Questions? Comments? Email us at institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Sports with Ethan Strauss

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2023 66:47


    Charles and Aaron sit down with Ethan Strauss to discuss wokeness in professional sports. Recommendations: The Decline and Fall of NASCAR by Wells King Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis Ethan Strauss on Substack Questions? Comments? Email us at institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Long Covid with Peter Robinson

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2023 57:54


    On today's episode we are sitting down with Peter Robinson to discuss Long Covid and the internet's role in spreading it. Recommendations: Better Call Saul  Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche by Ethan Watters  Hystories by Elaine Showalter 

    covid-19 long covid peter robinson american psyche elaine showalter
    Men with Richard Reeves

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2023 66:31


    This week we sit down with Richard Reeves to discuss how American institutions have been rigged against men. Recommendations: The Sopranos Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis by Nicholas Eberstadt Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It by Richard Reeves SAS Rogue Heros The Tenuous Attachments of Working-Class Men by Kathryn Edin, Timothy Nelson, Andrew Cherlin and Robert Francis Questions? Comments? Email us at Institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Euthanasia with Alexander Raikin

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2022 72:39


    This week we sit down with freelance journalist Alexander Raikin to discuss Canada's controversial Medical Assistance in Dying program. Recommendations: Deep Places by Ross Douthat Dehumanization Triumphant by Leon Kass By Trust Betrayed: Patients, Physicians, and the License to Kill in the Third Reich by Hugh Gallagher

    Democracy with Shadi Hamid

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2022 71:48


    Shadi Hamid joins us this week to discuss to discuss the tension between liberalism and democracy. Recommendations: Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World by Shadi Hamid Ross Douthat: What medically assisted suicide has done to Canada Shadi Hamid on Substack Zelots at the Gate Podcast The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought by Andrew March

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    Cryptocurrency with David Yermack

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2022 56:23


    David Yermack joins us this week to talk about the uses and abuses of cryptocurrency. Recommendations: Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself by Kelsey Piper Money Stuff Newsletter by Matt Levine Questions? Comments? Email us at Institutionalized@NebulousPodcasts.com

    The California Exodus with Joe Lonsdale

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2022 52:07


    This week, we talk to Joe Lonsdale about what is driving the mass exodus of businesses and residents from the Golden State. Recommendations: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo California Legoland

    Immigration with Garett Jones

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2022 54:12


    On this episode we sit down with Garett Jones to discuss to discuss the dark sides of immigration. Recommendations: The Godfather Movie Disneyland with the Death Penalty by William Gibson Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration by Bryan Caplan From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like the Ones They Left by Garett Jones

    Energy with Josiah Neeley

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2022 51:46


    On this episode we sit down with Josiah Neeley to discuss the politics and production of energy. Recommendations: Do Elephants Have Souls by Caitrin Keiper The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like the Ones They Left by Garett Jones Time to Think Small: How Nimble Environmental Technologies Can Solve the Planet's Biggest Problems by Todd Myers Questions? Comments? Email us at institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Marijuana Legalization with Kevin Sabet

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2022 54:21


    This week, Kevin Sabet joins us to talk about the legalization of marijuana and whether it is inevitable. Recommendations: The Age of Addiction by David Courtwright The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control by David Musto Smokescreen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

    Nuclear Weapons with Matt Kroenig

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2022 51:36


    This week we are joined by Matt Kroenig to discuss nuclear weapons, the likeliness of nuclear war and how we can avert it. Recommendations: 24 (TV show) Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: Why Strategic Superiority Matters by Matt Kroenig Arms and Influence by Thomas C. Schelling Questions? Comments? Email us at Institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Pennsylvania with Charles McElwee

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2022 55:20


    On this episode we sit down with Charles McElwee to discuss why Pennsylvania is a bellwether for national political trends.

    Teachers Unions with Michael Hartney

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2022 53:30


    This week we sit down with Michael Hartney to discuss one of America's biggest unions, Teachers unions. We dive into their genesis, political power, and secret to resiliency. Recommendations: Revitalizing Local Democracy: The Case for On-Cycle Local Elections by Michael Hartney The Irishman Locally Elected School Boards Are Failing by Vladimir Kogan Questions? Comments? Ideas? Contact us at Institutionalized@nebulouspodcasts.com

    Effective Altruism with Kelsey Piper

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2022 62:59


    This week we are joined by Kelsey Piper to discuss effective altruism, its popularity, and if it succeeds or fails as an institution. Recommendations: Reasons and Persons by Daron Parfit In Shifra's Arms The Precipice by Toby Ord

    The Shareholder Solution to Corporate Race Discrimination with Dan Morenoff

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 53:41


    This week we are joined by Dan Morenoff to discuss how shareholders can use corporate and civil rights law to fight back against woke capital. Recommendations: The Conservative Case for Critical Theory in Compact Magazine by Lisa Nelson Reservation Dogs on Hulu Rings of Power on Amazon

    Family Policy with Patrick Brown

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 62:30


    This week we are joined by Patrick Brown to discuss the role family policy and its future within American society. Recommendations: Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids by Bryan Caplan Family Out Of Favor by Michael Novak

    Prediction Markets with Stephen Grugett

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2022 52:12


    This week we are joined by Stephen Grugett to discuss prediction markets and their future applications. Recommendations: Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides Expert Political Judgment by Philip E. Tetlock Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough Astral Codex Ten Substack Forecasting Substack https://manifold.markets

    Covid Regulations with Geoff Shullenburger

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2022 49:39


    This week we are joined by Geoff Shullenburger to discuss the persistence of covid regulations and the sociology behind them. Recommendations: The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis The Americans Television Series Outsider Theory Podcast Historiansplaining Podcast

    Title IX with Shep Melnick

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2022 58:49


    This week we are joined by Shep Melnick to discuss Title IX's origin and how it's interpretation has transformed over time. Recommendations: Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters by Deborah Stone On Thinking Institutionally (On Politics) by Hugh Heclo Sexual Assault on Campus: Defending Due Process by Tamara Rice Lave Terri Schiavo case

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    Transgender Issues and the Civil Rights State with Leor Sapir

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2022 60:26


    This week we are joined by Leor Sapir to discuss how civil rights regulations affect how schools and other institutions are required to treat gender and sex. Recommendations: F*ck, That's Delicious Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ The Transformation of Title IX: Regulating Gender Equality in Education

    The Democratic Party with Ruy Teixeira

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2022 64:21


    This week we are joined by Ruy Teixeira to discuss the Democrats' structural inability to abandon wokeness. Recommendations: The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry Beyond the Melting Pot by Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan The Democrats' Woes With Hispanic Voters by Ruy Teixeira Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities: A Study of Fifty Democracies, 1948–2020

    Talent with Tyler Cowen

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2022 53:28


    This week we are joined by Tyler Cowen to discuss the trials and tribulations of the search for talent Recommendations: Byron York's What Bennie Thompson did on Jan. 6 2005 Tyler Cowen's An Economist Gets Lunch Borgen Series

    British Politics with Mary Harrington

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2022 39:05


    This week we are joined by Mary Harrington to discuss the differences between British and American political cultures. Recommendations: Silence of the Animals by John Gray Liberated Enough: Feminism, Liberalism, and Conservatism by Mary Harrington Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington Fall Out: A year of Political Mayhem by Tim Shipman

    Genetics with Razib Kahn

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2022 54:30


    This week we are joined by Razib Kahn to discuss the pros and cons of genome sequencing, and how it will reshape the way we live. Recommendations: Pandoro Neal Stephenson's Anathem David Reich's Who We Are and How We Got Here Razib Kahn's Substack

    Racial Classifications with David Bernstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2022 64:09


    This week we are joined by David Bernstein to discuss the US's racial classification system and where it goes wrong. Recommendations: David Bernstein's Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America David Bernstein's The Modern American Law of Race Hugh Davis Graham's Collision Course John Skretny's The Ironies of Affirmative Action: Politics, Culture, and Justice in America

    Transgenderism with Michael Biggs

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2022 53:35


    This week we talk to Michael Briggs about the UK prison system and how it was overtaken by gender ideology. Recommendation: Ricky Gervais's newest special Transgender Confusions by Leo Sapir Professing Feminism by Daphne Patai & Noretta Koertge Michael's work: Queer Theory and the Transition from Sex to Gender in English Prisons How Feminism Paved the Way for Transgenderism Michael's website (edited)

    The Elites with Nils Gilman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2022 66:51


    This week we are joined by Nils Gilman to discuss elite accountability and state capacity. Recommendations: Francis Fukuyama's Liberalism and Its Discontents Robert Caro's Power Breaker: Robert Moses & The Fall of New York The Technological Fix & Wicked Problems

    LGBT Identity with Eric Kaufmann

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2022 54:54


    This week we are joined by Eric Kaufmann to discuss how younger generations' identifications are evolving and how we are measuring these changes. Recommendations: Dave Chappelle: The Closer Maggie Gallagher's Enemies of Eros Francis Fukuyama's Liberalism and Its Discontents

    The Supreme Court with Jason Willick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 51:07


    This week we are joined by Jason Willick, Washington Post Columnist, to discuss the public perception of the Supreme Court and whether or not it has a legitimacy crisis. Recommendations: Kieth Whittington's Political foundations of Judicial Supremacy  Evan Mandery's Wild Ride: Death and Ressurection Capital Punishment in America Steven Tele's The Rise of the Conservative Movement

    Homelessness with Stephen Eide

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2022 52:18


    This week we are joined by Stephen Eide to discuss the history of homelessness in the U.S. and how it has been shaped by our government.  Recommendations: Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest David Healey's Anti-Depressant Era Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed

    homelessness one flew over why liberalism failed stephen eide
    The Arts and Classics with Heather Mac Donald

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 42:41


    This week we are joined by Heather Mac Donald to discuss how wokeness has infiltrated the arts and how the future for classics may be doomed. Recommendations: Avenue Q Chopin Nocturnes City Journal Wolfgang Mozart

    Higher Education Admissions with Peter Arcidiacono

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 56:50


    This week we are joined by Peter Arcidiacono to discuss the Harvard admissions case and the future of affirmative action. Recommendations: Title VII Disparate Impact Liability Makes Almost Everything Presumptively Illegal by Gail Heriot Raw (2016 film) Incentives and the Supply of Effective Charter Schools by John Singleton  Why The Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid by Jonathan Haidt

    Prison Order with David Skarbek

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2022 58:55


    This week we are joined by David Skarbek on how prison communities are organized and governed as well as their impact on social reform. Recommendations: Puzzle of Prison Order by David Skarbek Anarchy, State, and Utopia Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business Halfway Home

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    The Crisis of COVID Science with Philippe Lemoine

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 60:24


    This week we are joined by Philippe Lemoine to discuss the failures and fake science of COVID epidemiology. Recommendations: Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince Anatomy of a Pandemic by Robert Whitaker CSPI by Philippe Lemoine The Effect by Nick Huntington-Klein Causal Inference: The Mixtape by Scott Cunningham

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