Podcast appearances and mentions of Adrian Wooldridge

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comMichael is quite simply one of the best nonfiction writers out the planet: a real role model. He's been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine since 1987, and he's the bestselling author of many books, including How to Change Your Mind — which I reviewed in 2018 — and its sequel, This Is Your Mind on Plants, which we discussed on the Dishcast in 2021. This week we covered his new book, A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness.For two clips of our convo — on the magic of spontaneous thoughts, and the consciousness of kids — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: toasters and other things that don't have consciousness; Thomas Nagel's bat; panpsychism; Francis Crick trying to solve consciousness; the global neuronal workspace theory; how brains are not like computers; AI and consciousness; Proust; James Joyce; Wordsworth and the Romantics; William James and stream of consciousness; Lucy Ellmann's Ducks, Newburyport; words on the tip of your tongue; phenomenology; letting your mind wander; Addison's Walk at Oxford; how smartphones distract from thinking; Trump taking up our headspace; Oakeshott and “the deadliness of doing”; AI and UBI; Allison Gopnik's lantern vs spotlight consciousness; how a child's brain resembles an adult's on psychedelics; ego death; the default mode network; meditation; the flow state of deep reading; the benefits of boredom; habit and ritual; my 10-day silent meditation retreat; the sentience of plants; Buddhism and Matthieu Ricard; the soul; the film Into Great Silence; and the disenchantment of the Enlightenment.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Matt Goodwin on the earthquake in UK politics, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” Tom Junod on his memoir and masculinity, and Kathryn Paige Harden on the genetics of vice and virtue. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comSally is a journalist, columnist, TV commentator, author, wife to Ben Bradlee, and legendary DC hostess. Who better to talk to about the implosion of The Washington Post? She also founded the Post's religion website, “On Faith.” She's the author of six books, including the spiritual memoir Finding Magic, and We're Going to Make You a Star — about her time at “CBS Morning News.” Her latest novel is Silent Retreat, and she's now working on a memoir called Never Invite Sally Quinn. Her energy at 84 is, well, humbling. We had a blast.For two clips of our convo — on Sally's initial impression of Bezos, and the time Bill Clinton called her the b-word — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: born in Savannah, GA, and learning voodoo as a kid; moving as an Army brat; her general dad who captured Göring and helped create the CIA; at Smith College wanting to be an actress; rebelling against Vietnam and the wishes of her dad by marrying Bradlee; the Georgetown party circuit and how it's grown more partisan; throwing a pajama party for Goldwater; dating Hunter S. Thompson; Watergate and Woodstein; the Grahams; Tom Stoppard; Hitchens; Howell Raines; Newt's revolution; Bill's womanizing; Hillary defending her cheater; the Monica frenzy; Obama rising on merit; Barack the introvert; Jerry Brown; the catastrophe of Biden running in 2024; Dr. Jill's complicity and cruelty; Jon Meacham; Maureen Dowd; David Ignatius; Bradlee's dementia; declining trust in journalism; Bezos nixing the Harris endorsement; his life with Lauren Sanchez; sucking up to Trump; the Will Lewis debacle; Sally's spiritual life; silent retreats; Zen meditation; the humor in Buddhism; the denial of death; debating the the Golden Rule; children in Gaza; and the need more than ever for in-person gatherings.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Michael Pollan on consciousness, Derek Thompson on abundance, Matt Goodwin on the UK political earthquake, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” and Kathryn Paige Harden on the genetics of vice. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com. A listener writes:Thanks for all these good episodes. Is Vivek still planning to be a guest soon? I have been looking forward to that episode.He got cold feet. Too bad. On the other hand, I tend to avoid active politicians. Because they're rarely as candid as I'd like a guest to be. Oh well.A fan of last week's pod who lives near Atlanta writes, “The longtime Dishheads on the Mableton cul-de-sac definitely approve of your interview with homegrown talent Zaid Jilani”:I agree with his description of Mableton as a bit like the United Nations; I see that diversity in our grocery stores and local restaurants. He mentioned how he was often the only Pakistani and thus perceived as a nonthreatening minority. It makes me wonder how much the diversity mix affects how people perceive immigration? If a large group from one country arrives, does that seem more like an invasion? If a similar number arrives but from a wide range of locations, does that seem more like the normal American melting pot?After 30 years of living in Mableton, this may partly explain why I am not bothered by immigration in the way that you are, Andrew. I expect to see and hear all sorts of people wherever I go in my neighborhood. Today the teller at the bank spoke accented English. There are regular clerks at my grocery store who are immigrants. Our new HVAC was installed by immigrants. As an Atlanta suburb, there are many people descended from African slaves. European ancestry is merely one possibility off the long colorful menu around here.I think pace and numbers matter. A slower pace and fewer — with no massive homogenous populations arriving at once. And a new emphasis on Americanization over “multiculturalism”.From a listener who wants to “Make Democrats Great Again”:Great conversation with Zaid Jilani last week. I am very concerned that hardly any Democrats are being at all introspective, trying to figure out where they went wrong and how to become a party that can actually win elections — maybe even hearts and minds. They are only defined as anti-Trump, and their only hope is for Trump to go down in flames — which he very well might, but all they aspire to is winning as the least-worst party.The policy directions for reclaiming sanity and moderate voters are obvious (to me, at least). Here are my top three issues:1. AffordabilityThe longest lever to affect affordability is housing. Democrats have been complete failures in this regard, with strongholds like California and NYC being the least affordable places. When they talk about “affordable housing,” they only mean housing that is forced below market rate for the few poor people lucky enough to get it. They offer no solutions for the middle class or young people.The solution is obvious: build more. Plough through the various restrictions that are preventing housing from being built. There is no reason housing can't be cheap, except for NIMBY politics. Scott Weiner in California has been doing great work on this.Health care is the second-longest affordability lever. Obamacare made some progress, but not nearly enough, especially in terms of keeping costs down. But I'm not sure we're ready for another push on this; I say focus on housing.2. ImmigrationObviously there should be some immigration, and obviously we have structured our economy such that many jobs are only done by immigrants. But the Democrats' policy of simply not enforcing immigration law is untenable, especially for a group asking to be put in charge of law enforcement. We need those migrant workers, so find a way for them be here legally. Not through amnesty, but through some sort of bureaucratic process: have the employers fill out a form; have the prospective worker fill out a form in some office in Mexico; have someone process the form; and give them a green card.This is simple stuff! And yes, it would be helpful to admit that open borders, sanctuary cities, and subverting the law were not good ideas.3. CultureEnd wokeness. America is not a country consumed by white supremacy, and the people who voted for Trump are not racists. There are hardly any racists! And drop the other insanities, like the trans stuff.The message needs to be, “We are the Democrats and we want to help anybody from any state who needs help.” Hard to convince struggling white people in the South that you're going to help them when you seem to despise them. Love your brother, for crying out loud. And naturally, today's woke Democrats would be much more accepting of this message if it came from a racial minority candidate.Another wanted to hear more:I wish you had asked Zaid about Josh Shapiro. Also, when Zaid talked about affordability, he never mentioned housing — which is why there are so many ex-Californians in his home state of Georgia and elsewhere. “Build Baby Build” should be the slogan of the Democratic Party, rather than gaslighting Americans into believing housing prices will come down because we are getting rid of immigrants (Vance).Here's a dissent:About 20:30 into your interview with Zaid Jilani, he said that the root of all the Abrahamic faiths is that the meek have rights. You replied that this applied more to Christianity and Islam than to Judaism. I say this neither rhetorically nor to admonish you, but how much do you know about Judaism? Your comment is completely mistaken. Just what do you think Judaism says about the meek?Another has examples:In Genesis, you find that all humans were created b'tzelem Elohim (in the image of God). Moreover, Jewish texts consistently frame care for the poor as a legal obligation and moral imperative, not mere charity. Every Jewish child learns that promoting economic justice is mandated. It is called tzedakah.This religious mandate has manifested itself in the real world. Jews have been disproportionately represented in social justice movements aimed at promoting human equality. It wasn't an accident that two of three civil rights movement activists murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan were Jewish.Points taken. Big generalizations in a chat can be dumb. My quarrel may be semantic: the meek is not merely the weak. It's about the quiet people, those easily trampled upon. Like many of Jesus' innovations, it takes a Jewish idea further.Another listener on the Zaid pod:I wonder if you ever play the game of “which time would you like to go back to”? I do! And only half-jokingly, I often say 1994 in DC. Something about, for example, Christopher Hitchens on CSPAN in a dreary suit jacket discussing such *trivial* aspects of politics in a serious way. How perfect! When I listened to your episode with Zaid Jilani about how the left can win, it seemed dated to about this period in the early ‘90s.Ah yes, the Nineties. They were heady times and I think we all kinda realized it at the time. The economy was booming, crime was plummeting, Annie Leibovitz took my picture, and we had the luxury of an impeachment over a b*****b. Good times.On another episode, a listener says I have a “rose-colored view of President Obama”:In your conversation with Jason Willick, you said that Obama was a stickler for proper procedure and doing things the right way. I might instance, on the other side:* Evading the constitutional requirements on treaties in pursuit of the Iran deal (an evasion that the Republicans were stupid enough to go along with)* Encouraging the regulatory gambit of “sue and settle”* The “Dear Colleague” letter* “I've got a pen and a phone”Points taken. Especially the DACA move. But compared to Biden and Trump? Much better. One more listener email:I've been following you for years, but more recently I became a subscriber, and it's a decision I don't regret! I usually listen to the Dishcast over the weekend, and I always find it extremely stimulating, but there is also something relaxing about the length and scope of your conversations.I want to respond to something you said in your Claire Berlinski episode on the subject of Ukraine. Although I appreciate your position in defence of international law, you implied that Russia's claim to Ukrainian land is somehow “historically legitimate.” This is not only problematic from a logical standpoint (does Sweden have a historically legitimate claim to Finland and Norway, or does the UK have a claim to the Republic of Ireland, the US, and all its former colonies?), but also not based on historical reality.Unfortunately, this is not the first time your comments on Ukraine seem come through the prism of a Russian lens. I am sure it's not intentional; perhaps that's not a subject you have invested much time in, which is legitimate. However, I find it a bit surprising that, as we approach the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion, you still don't seem to have had the curiosity to explore this and invite any specialist on Ukraine. If Timothy Snyder is too political these days, I would recommend Serhii Plokhy — possibly the most eminent historian of Ukraine — or Yaroslav Hrytsak. They would each be a very interesting conversation.The Dishcast has featured many guests with expertise on the Ukraine war, including Anne Applebaum (twice), John Mearsheimer, Samuel Ramani (twice), Edward Luttwak, Fiona Hill (twice), Robert Wright, Robert Kaplan, Fareed Zakaria, Douglas Murray, Edward Luce, and Niall Ferguson.A reader responds to last week's column, “The President Of The 0.00001 Percent”:Like you, I'm not against people getting rich. A lot of good is done by a few people who have enough money to seed research and the arts, and pursue things that ordinary worker bees would never have the margin of time or resources to pursue. Good so far.But all strong forces need regulation and/or protective barriers, whether it's the weather, sex, patriotism, or capitalism. What's going on now is obscene. Progressive taxation is a social good: it doesn't stop anyone from getting richer and richer; it doesn't remove the positive motivators for success; it just means that the farther they get, the higher their proportionate contribution to the system that lets them get there. There are various ways to tweak the dials, but there is nothing philosophically wrong with tweaking them in a way the sets some outer limit. Let it be very high, but let it not be infinite.Here's a familiar dissent:You were right to torch the nihilism of the .00001 class. You were right to call out moral evasions. But when you referred to “the IDF's massacre of children in Gaza,” you collapsed a morally and legally distinct reality into a slogan. Words matter. “Massacre” implies intent. It suggests that the deliberate killing of children is policy rather than tragic consequence. That is a serious charge, and it deserves serious evidence.The governing reality in Gaza is not that Israel woke up one morning and decided to target children.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comZaid is a young center-left journalist (after the young center-right journo we had on last week, Jason Willick). Zaid worked as a reporter for The Intercept and as a reporter-blogger for ThinkProgress, United Republic, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Alternet. He's now on Substack at “The American Saga” — subscribe!For two clips of our convo — on what the Dems should do on immigration, and whether Ossoff and Buttigieg could be strong contenders for the presidency — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: his parents immigrating from Pakistan; born and raised outside Atlanta in Newt Gingrich country; growing up Muslim in the South; tithing and agape; starting a student magazine at UGA; Mamdani and affordability; higher taxes on the rich; universal childcare; Ossoff and “the Epstein class”; the Dems' denialism over Kamala; identity politics killing the party; how Dems should respond to AI; data centers hiking energy bills; Waymo; Trump's success at closing the border; asylum reform; the left crying wolf over racism; Stephen Miller the wolf; Eric Kaufmann's Whiteshift; pushing left-racism on a racially tolerant public; Jasmine Crockett; Dem leaders cowed by activists; transqueer ideology; Bad Bunny; Israel and the Dems; foreign aid; Tom Massie; Ro Khanna; gerontocracy; Obama's success in red states; rumors of Stacey Abrams being closeted; AOC; Warnock; Newsom's left-wing baggage; the silo of Bluesky; Renee Good; and the indoctrination of kids on gender.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Sally Quinn on the WaPo and silent retreats, Michael Pollan on consciousness, Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Matt Goodwin on the UK political earthquake, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” Tiffany Jenkins on privacy, and Kathryn Paige Harden on the genetics of vice. An abundance of riches! And a lot of reading for yours truly! As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

在这一期，我会分享这本书中的主要洞察，以及我阅读时的一些想法：《The birth of plenty》，中文翻译过来应该叫做财富的诞生，也有中文的译本，作者是威廉·伯恩斯坦。这本财富的诞生核心的观点只有一个，就是一个团体或者国家财富的增长主要由4个因素组成：基于普通法的财产权、科学理性主义、先进的资本市场，以及运输和通信的巨大进步。这是非常具有洞察力的发现，而整本书，用了大量的事实来对这个观点进行验证，这些事实是具有帮助的，并且对个人的日常生活决策也很有借鉴意义，我想逐个地来进行分享。参考文献 William J. Bernstein. The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World Was Created. McGraw-Hill, 2004. （中文版：《财富的诞生》） 张笑宇. 文明三部曲（商贸与文明、技术与文明、产业与文明）. 中信出版社 Friedrich A. Hayek. The Road to Serfdom. University of Chicago Press, 1944. （中文版：《通往奴役之路》） Ronald H. Coase. The Firm, the Market, and the Law. University of Chicago Press, 1988. （相关产权经济学理论） Francis Bacon. Novum Organum (The New Organon). 1620. （中文版：《新工具》） Marc Levinson. The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. Princeton University Press, 2006. （中文版：《集装箱改变世界》） John Micklethwait & Adrian Wooldridge. The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea. Modern Library, 2003. （中文版：《公司，一个革命性概念的历史》） Tom Nicholas. VC: An American History. Harvard University Press, 2019. （相关讨论风险投资史） 配乐：Orange Peel. Kikagaku Moyo

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:   3/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1871 LA COMMUNE, PARIS

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:   8/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1938 PM CHAMBERLAIN DECLARING PEACE IN EUROPE

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:   7/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:   6/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1920 FRANCE

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:  4/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1912 HAROLD CLARK MACDONNELL

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:  5/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1908 GRAND PRIX

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:  2/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1813 ALEXANDER I OF RUSSIA

BEFORE DEI, AFTER DEI:   1/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1796 JOSEPHINE

Preview: Adrian Wooldridge Explores How Meritocratic Elites Historically Distrusted Both Popular Democracy and Hereditary Aristocracy, Favoring Rule by the Most Talented. More Later.    1845 

Preview: Adrian Wooldridge, Author of "The Aristocracy of Talent," on the Rise of Modern Meritocratic Elites. More Later. 1963 Joseph Kennedy's son, JFK, and Winston Churchill's son, Randolph Churchill.

Preview: Conversation with Adrian Wooldridge, Author of "The Aristocracy of Talent," on the Historic Struggle to Identify Merit Over Inherited Privilege Through the Centuries. More Later. 1944 Stork Club NYC

Adrian Wooldridge profiles Philippa Fawcett, the first female Senior Wrangler at Cambridge University and a trailblazer for women's achievement in a nascent meritocratic society. Read by Sebastian Brown. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. Image: 1890 engraving of Philippa Fawcett, the first female Senior Wrangler. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Ben Page, chief executive of market research company Ipsos, joins Voternomics this week to outline what he's discovered about voters and what they think about their politicians, governments and economies. He tells Stephanie Flanders and Allegra Stratton that trust in politics is the “lowest we've ever measured.” Also on this episode, Flanders, Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge ask Bloomberg Opinion columnist John Authers whether—given the question of when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates between now and the election—the central bank can remain above the political fray.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobel laureate and economics professor Joseph Stiglitz joins Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge to explain why he feels the political right has warped the true meaning of freedom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Ward, J.P. Morgan Asset Management's chief market strategist for EMEA, joins this week to explain why politicians are being punished for the sins of central banks. Ward, a former Bank of England economist and adviser to both UK Chancellors Philip Hammond and Jeremy Hunt, tells Stephanie Flanders, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge about the damage done as a result of missteps when it comes to inflation. Plus, Bloomberg News editor Craig Trudell unpacks how Elon Musk is driving on both sides of the US-China relationship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first episode of Voternomics. On this podcast, Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg's head of government and economics coverage, Allegra Stratton, author of Bloomberg's The Readout newsletter and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge discuss how voters have the opportunity to affect markets, countries and economies like never before. Historian Niall Ferguson and Bloomberg Washington reporter Nancy Cook join our hosts to give their take on this unique moment in time. Ferguson explains why he believes the 2024 US presidential election isn't about foreign policy, why Donald Trump is using his 2016 campaign strategy and why the second Cold War is escalating faster than the first. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 4/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1960 The Bronx

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 1/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1948 New York Public Library

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 2/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1832 Manhattan

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 3/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1967 New York Public Library

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 5/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1936 Radio Row NYC

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 7/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1918 The American Museum of Natural History

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 8/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1917 American Museum of Natural History

CHALLENGING THE DEI SCHOOL : 6/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1913 May Day NYC

PREVIEW: TALENT: #GENTRY: Excerpt from a conversation with author Adrian Wooldridge re his new book, THE ARISTOCRACY OF TALENT, how the 19th century moved from venerating landed gentry to venerating intellectual power -- and the challenging and fraught search for intellect in schooling and testing.  More of this later. The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 1909 Oxford

PREVIEW: Clintons: Excerpt from a conversation with author Adrian Wooldridge re his new book, THE ARISTOCRACY OF TALENT, re how the elite authority of the 1990s, exemplified in the Clinton Administration led the way to discard the traditional valuesof the US -- patriotism, religion, family -- and replace the familiar with the anything goes thinking that moves toward  the disordered values of 2024. More later. The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 1918 Princeton graduation

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 7/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1916 Stanford departing for the French Ambulance Corps

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 5/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1918 Harvard graduation

PREVIEW: From a much longer conversation, author Adrian Wooldridge describes how the extremely well-educated of the university institutions came to assume rule over the great numbers of citizens and even over the few vastly wealthy commercial men.  The alarm in the Ivy Leagues just now --faculty and administrators-- is in part the realization that the voters and the billionaires are pushing back. 1/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 1910 

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 8/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1910

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 6/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1917 Yale: French artillery

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 4/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. June 1918, Princeton graduation

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 3/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1920 Harvard Yard

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 2/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1959 College Bowl: Princeton vs Georgetown 

ALARM IN THE IVIES: 1/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. 1910

Photo: 1900. No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 8/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: 1900 Amelia: Royal yacht. No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 1/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 2/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS.3/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 4/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 5/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 6/8  The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

Photo: 1900. No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow ENGLAND EXPECTS. 7/8: The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, by Adrian Wooldridge  Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent-Meritocracy-Modern-World/dp/1510768610/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1658009977&refinements=p_27%3AAdrian+Wooldridge&s=books&sr=1-2 The Times (UK) book of the year! Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, the esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system.

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the final midterm sprint; the latest British Prime Minister; and Trump's legal troubles.  Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg: “Rishi Sunak Is a New and Old-Fashioned Tory” Barton Gellman for The Atlantic: “The Impeachment of Joe Biden” The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump Nathaniel Rakich for FiveThirtyEight: “The Most Important Elections Of 2022 Could Be In State Legislatures” Brittany Bernstein for The National Review: “Why Some Trump-Country Pennsylvanians Still Aren't Sold on Dr. Oz” Anna Bower for Lawfare: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Georgia Special Purpose Grand Juries But Were Afraid to Ask” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?” The Prison Letters Project Here are this week's chatters: John: States United Democracy Center; Third Way Paul Revere Project Emily: Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Garland Formally Bars Justice Dept. From Seizing Reporters' Records” David: Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired: “Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer”; Ben Collins' Twitter thread collecting favorite tweets. Listener chatter from Brian DeGeer: Theresa Vargas for The Washington Post: “Fiona Apple Uses Her Voice To Call Out Prince George's Justice System” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily discusses The Prison Letters Project with John J. Lennon and Reginald Dwayne Betts.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Adrian Wooldridge is a political editor at The Economist and author of the new book ‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World.' In this episode, Dr. Wooldridge and I discuss how his new book has been received, the history of meritocracy, how IQ testing shaped educational policy, group-based judgement, and the importance of defending liberal individualism.  —Links— Follow Dr. Wooldridge on Twitter: ​​https://twitter.com/adwooldridge ‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World:' https://amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent... More books by Dr. Wooldridge: https://amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/... —Chapters— [0:00] Intro [1:06] Reviews of ‘The Aristocracy of Talent' [3:47] Measuring the Mind, History of IQ Testing, & British Education [7:22] 11+ System vs. the Modern Prolonged Educational System [10:22] Workplace Selection Tests  [11:58] IQ Literature & IQ Testing for the US Military [14:55] Michael Young's ‘The Rise of the Meritocracy' [16:58] Pareto Distribution, Matthew Principle, & Creative Achievement Tests [18:22] History of Meritocracy  [22:43] Conflating Moral Worth with Intellectual Ability [24:25] Conceptual Inadequacy & “Bell Curve Liberals” [29:45] Blank Slate Argument & Ethnic Differences in IQ Testing [34:59] White Working Class in England  [37:45] Perception of Meritocracy in the UK vs. US [42:21] Judging People as Group Members    [48:17] Distinction Between Affirmative Action & Diversity [51:36] Idea of Meritocracy as Propaganda for the Elite [54:00] Openness of Competition of Examinations [56:10] Foucault & the Complexity of Perception [59:55] Social Justice, Economic Efficiency & Growth Rates [1:05:35] Challenges to Western Dominance [1:10:59] European Ladder of Opportunity & Plutocracy  [1:14:32] Ethics: Levels of Analysis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Adrian Wooldridge is a political editor at The Economist and author of the new book ‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World.'In this episode, Dr. Wooldridge and I discuss how his new book has been received, the history of meritocracy, how IQ testing shaped educational policy, group-based judgement, and the importance of defending liberal individualism. —Links—Follow Dr. Wooldridge on Twitter: ​​https://twitter.com/adwooldridge‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World:' https://amazon.com/Aristocracy-Talent...More books by Dr. Wooldridge: https://amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/...—Chapters—[0:00] Intro[1:06] Reviews of ‘The Aristocracy of Talent'[3:47] Measuring the Mind, History of IQ Testing, & British Education[7:22] 11+ System vs. the Modern Prolonged Educational System[10:22] Workplace Selection Tests [11:58] IQ Literature & IQ Testing for the US Military[14:55] Michael Young's ‘The Rise of the Meritocracy'[16:58] Pareto Distribution, Matthew Principle, & Creative Achievement Tests[18:22] History of Meritocracy [22:43] Conflating Moral Worth with Intellectual Ability[24:25] Conceptual Inadequacy & “Bell Curve Liberals”[29:45] Blank Slate Argument & Ethnic Differences in IQ Testing[34:59] White Working Class in England [37:45] Perception of Meritocracy in the UK vs. US[42:21] Judging People as Group Members   [48:17] Distinction Between Affirmative Action & Diversity[51:36] Idea of Meritocracy as Propaganda for the Elite[54:00] Openness of Competition of Examinations[56:10] Foucault & the Complexity of Perception[59:55] Social Justice, Economic Efficiency & Growth Rates[1:05:35] Challenges to Western Dominance[1:10:59] European Ladder of Opportunity & Plutocracy [1:14:32] Ethics: Levels of Analysis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices