Podcast appearances and mentions of Samuel Moyn

On this, our 337th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss how Western society is treating its children. First, the good news: the Department of Justice, working with AGs in Texas and Ohio, have effectively shuttered two major “gender care” clinics, and extracted promises to create clinics to support people in detransitioning. It's about time. But: why is there a Trump banner on the DoJ? This is not typically how Americans do things, for good reason. Add the Trump branded passport, and $1 coin, and there's a definite Dear Leader vibe going on. Politics has taken over analytical thought—today, all you have to do is know who stands for a thing, and you know whether you do or do not agree. (See the protein panic currently taking blue-media outlets by storm.) Then: a Yale law professor says the insane part out loud. Finally, a guy caught taking out Flock cameras suddenly has a lot of friends, at least on-line.*****Our sponsors:Timeline: Accelerate the clearing of damaged mitochondria to improve strength and endurance: Go to http://www.timeline.com/darkhorse and use code darkhorse for 20% off your first order.ARMRA Colostrum is an ancient bioactive whole food that can strengthen your immune system. Go to http://www.tryarmra.com/DARKHORSE to get 30% off your first subscription order.Caraway: Non-toxic, highly functional & beautiful cookware and bakeware. Save up to $230 on their 12 piece cookware set, and visit http://Carawayhome.com/DarkHorse for an additional 10% off your next purchase. Add their minis duo, and save up to $350.*****Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.comHeather's newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.comOur book, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.orgMusic: "Marble Machine" by WintergatanThis track can be downloaded for free at www.wintergatan.netFree License to use this track in your video can be downloaded at www.wintergatan.net*****Mentioned in this episode:Press release from Texas AG: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-paxton-makes-history-securing-landmark-healthcare-fraud-settlement-creates-nationsThe Epoch Times on detransitioning: https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/clinics-to-begin-offering-restorative-care-for-detransitioners-6065754Trump $1 coin: https://www.usmint.gov/campaigns/donald-trump-coinTrump passport: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116818397307589675The Malones on the protein panic: https://www.malone.news/p/the-protein-panic-how-a-review-paperJillian Michaels on children's programming: https://x.com/jillianmichaels/status/2084783188715676079Yale law professor Samuel Moyn: https://x.com/aaronkheriatymd/status/2084832267713851654?s=46Wesley Jackson and the Flock cameras: https://x.com/mattvanswol/status/2085002106046492858Support the show

American leaders are staying in office past their prime. Boomers are reluctant to relinquish control — from political offices to corner offices — to the detriment of their juniors. In a society where the elderly hold so much power, should younger generations revolt?  My guest today is Samuel Moyn, a professor at Yale Law School, and he argues that American democracy is distorted by the power of the old. We discuss how seniors have hoarded wealth and influence and how Americans can renew an intergenerational compact. 0:00 The Tyranny of the Elderly 2:01 From Joe Biden to Mitch McConnell 4:19 Europe's Anti-Gerontocracy 5:15 Politicians are the ‘Tip of the Iceberg' 7:07 The Dark Side of Longevity 9:40 How Age Impacts Policy 15:10 The Age Wealth Gap 20:21 How About Millennials? 23:28 Age Limits and Youth Power 38:14 Care Hoarding and Family Burdens 44:54 The Assisted Suicide Debate 50:14 Personal Stakes (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Trump administration recently revoked the Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, removing their right to live and work in the United States. Haiti is plagued by violence and lawlessness with staggering levels of poverty, and Trump's own State Department advises Americans must not visit Haiti. Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré is well known to many Americans for his leadership after of Hurricane Katrina, as well as managing international relief operations in the Caribbean. He's an expert on disaster preparedness and has advised Haitian organizations, and he joins from Baton Rouge.  Also on today's show: Haaretz journalist Nir Hasson; author Samuel Moyn, "Gerontocracy in America”    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it. As Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026), the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. But it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it. As Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026), the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. But it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it. As Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026), the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. But it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it. As Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026), the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. But it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A leading social critic identifies our least-discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it. As Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026), the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. But it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Krystal and Saagar discuss Trump insists Iran war is popular, tech meltdown after AI hack, debate on old people power in US. Professor Marandi: https://x.com/s_m_marandi?s=20 Garrison Lovely: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682196305? ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&bestFormat=true Samuel Moyn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374607648?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.com Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Krystal and Saagar discuss oil rises to $100, Prof Marandi says negotiations are off, Hegseth demands billions for war. Professor Marandi: https://x.com/s_m_marandi?s=20 Garrison Lovely: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682196305? ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_BSQ72NWD042H06CYBAA0&bestFormat=true Samuel Moyn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374607648?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.com Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to the Vlog. Today, we are joined by acclaimed legal scholar and historian Dr. Samuel Moyn (Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University) to discuss his critical book, Gerontocracy in America.While the public focus on modern gerontocracy often centers on the visible, late-stage cognitive decline of celebrity politicians like Joe Biden or Donald Trump, Dr. Moyn argues that these figures are merely the tip of a much deeper, structural iceberg. The real-world data demonstrates that our entire legal, economic, and institutional architecture has been intentionally engineered since the 1970s to entrench an elder caste and restrict succession for the prime-age working class.In this interview, we break down the explicit mechanics of this generational system:The Inverted Demographic Pyramid: How changes in medicine and declining birth weights have historically squared the old population curves, concentrating absolute power within an aging, self-perpetuating class.Constitutional Architecture & Veto Points: How the framers explicitly engineered the U.S. Constitution to blunt majoritarian democracy—imposing strict age minimums that historically excluded 80% of the population, and cementing lifetime tenure for federal judges.The Housing & Tax Trap: How the destruction of the intergenerational home has led to acute, geographic age segregation. We analyze why elderly voters routinely assemble at town meetings to block new housing supply and pass local laws (like California's Prop 13) to permanently immunize real estate assets from funding the public education of younger generations.The "Grand Bargain" Solution: Dr. Moyn outlines his provocative, counterintuitive policy path forward: establishing mandatory retirement caps, re-regulating campaign finance, and providing total state-funded long-term care in exchange for a massive, structural taxation on aging wealth to fund youth opportunities.The Critique of Progressive Care: A macro-analysis of why the contemporary Left has abandoned its 19th-century commitment to creative dynamism and material freedom, retreating instead into a technocratic, namby-pamby moralism centered solely on managing a civilized decline.Dr. Samuel Moyn's book, Gerontocracy in America, is available now across all major bookstore divisions. Send us Fan Mail Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic,Julian, Drea, Free Beer 

Lindsey Graham's death last week at 71 was as remarkable for the senator's relative "youth" as its possible political and electoral consequences, so much so that it actually prompted conspiracy theories about the precise nature of his passing. Meanwhile, 84-year old Mitch McConnell's status as among the living remains shrouded in mystery, and former president 83-year old former president Joe Biden announced that his memoir would be published in November via his cadaver-esque presence in a promotional video. In short, everywhere we look the signs of our decline into a sclerotic gerontocracy are present, and perhaps no one has approached this problem as comprehensively as Samuel Moyn in his new book, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It. In this episode we talk with Sam about the historical precedents for our gerontocracy; the nature, extent, and causes of it; why his book is not an attack on the elderly; and possibilities for creatively rewriting our society's intergenerational contract; and more. Sources: Samuel Moyn, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (2026) Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, Sept 6, 1789 James Madison, Federalist 49, Feb 5, 1788 James Ceaser, "The Constitution: Sweet as Honey," First Things, Sept 20, 2009 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835) ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

We're living through the greatest transfer of wealth in history. Trillions of dollars are slowly passing from one generation to the next. Yet for all the money that's changing hands, something far more important isn't: Power.Our guest on this WhoWhatWhy podcast, Yale historian Samuel Moyn, believes America has quietly become something few of us have recognized: an aging society where the balance between generations has fundamentally shifted.The cohort of people making the biggest political decisions, controlling the most valuable assets, dominating elections, and shaping the country's future are getting older, not younger.We've spent years arguing over whether this politician or that president is too old. But what if those debates have distracted us from a much larger story? Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe

Anders talks to Yale professor Samuel Moyn about his new book "Gerontocracy: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It" But first, we discuss the passing of evil and (probably) gay Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham. Samuel's book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374607647/gerontocracyinamerica/ Paid Protest Thursday: https://qedastoria.com/products/paid-protest?event=2026-07-16T21:00:00 Jake's show w/Ron Placone: https://www.ronplacone.com/shows-1/2026/7/25/higystc9b3g64ar8hdyxqtwnvx90ll Sub to our bonus feed: Patreon.com/poddamnamerica

In Gerontocracy in America, Yale legal historian Samuel Moyn makes the case that older generations have systematically hoarded wealth and power, leaving younger Americans with fewer opportunities and a shrinking share of the future. On the second half of the episode, historian James Chappel shares ideas from his book Golden Years, tracing how Americans have invented and reinvented what it even means to grow old.

Hvorfor ble det slik at innvendingene mot krig handlet mer om måtene den utkjempes på, heller enn at den utkjempes i det hele tatt? Det er tema for boken Humane av den velkjente og kontroversielle historikeren Samuel Moyn. Han sporer ideen om human krigføring fra forfatteren Lev Tolstoj på midten av 1800-tallet til Obamas dronekriger. I Ubehaget i kulturen i sommer inviterer kulturredaktør Bernhard Ellefsen gode kollegaer i Morgenbladet til å diskutere vanskelige spørsmål med utgangspunkt i en bok de mener byr på et svar. I denne ukens samtale har han fått med seg kommentator Snorre Valen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the real crisis isn't aging leaders, but an aging democracy where power never seems to change hands?My guest on this recentWhoWhatWhy podcast, Yale historian Samuel Moyn, believes America has quietly become something few of us have recognized: an aging society where the balance between generations has fundamentally shifted.The cohort of people making the biggest political decisions, controlling the most valuable assets, dominating elections, and shaping the country's future are getting older, not younger.We've spent years arguing over whether this politician or that president is too old. But what if those debates have distracted us from a much larger story? Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe

Historian and legal scholar Samuel Moyn joins us to discuss his latest book from Macmillan, "Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It": https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374607647/gerontocracyinamerica/ "Rotten History" from Renaldo Migaldi and "The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen both follow the interview. Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell Please rate and review This Is Hell! wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps the show ascend the algorithm to reach new listeners.

The aging of the population has created societal challenges regarding the distribution of wealth and power. On this episode, Dr. Samuel Moyn discussed his book, Gerontocracy.

“His descent is in a sense our descent.” — Peter Wehner on Trump at 80 Donald Trump turned 80 two weeks ago. But Peter Wehner's timely Atlantic piece, “The Apotheosis of Donald Trump,” isn't much of a birthday present. Wehner even suggests that for all Trump's madness, mayhem and malevolence, the orange octogenarian eludes Shakespearean tragedy. So no historic hall of infamy for Donald. He's too sad for that. Trump is a man, Wehner says, of borderless corruption — malicious, totally corrupt, without any visible redeeming qualities. But he isn't King Lear. Trump lacks Lear's complexity, Wehner says. Lear was a figure with whom you could have some empathy. Trump is not. He is, as Wehner notes, “a flatter figure in that sense” — but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. For the DC-based Wehner, what makes Trump more dangerous, as an octogenarian, is his decomposition. The signs are everywhere: the disinhibition intensifying, the impulsivity more easily triggered, the volatility producing a foreign policy that no ally can track or trust. His descent, Wehner warns, might be our descent. Peak Trump. The apotheosis of a pathetically malevolent madman. Just in time for the semiquincentennial, which Wehner will “celebrate” at Monticello. Five Takeaways •       Trump at 80: The Apotheosis and the Decomposition: Wehner's Atlantic piece, written to mark Trump's 80th birthday, argues that what we are seeing is not just the decline of an old man but a visible decomposition in his mental and physical capacities that is making him more, not less, dangerous. The disinhibition is more intense. The impulsivity is more easily triggered. The volatility is producing a foreign policy that no ally can track or trust. Trump 2.0 is more dangerous than Trump 1.0 — and Trump 1.0 was not a walk in the park. The question is not whether this ends well. The question is how badly it ends. •       Not King Lear: A Man of Borderless Corruption: Wehner uses a King Lear allusion in his Atlantic essay but hesitates to lean on it. Lear was a complicated figure — someone you could have empathy with, who saw things at the end he hadn't seen earlier. Trump is not like that. He is, as best Wehner can tell, a man of borderless corruption, malicious from head to toe, with no visible redeeming qualities — a flatter figure in the Shakespearean sense. That flatness makes the Lear parallel partial. But it does not diminish the danger. His descent is in a sense our descent. •       European Mystification: When It Happens Twice, That Breaks Trust: Andrew has just returned from Europe, where every prominent journalist and historian he met was mystified by Trump. Wehner agrees: Trump is sui generis, unlike any leader the post-war world has produced. What he says is particularly disturbing is the second election. If it had happened once, Europe could have told itself it was a parenthesis. When it happens twice, that breaks trust. Even if the next president is sane and rational, there is no guarantee the following one will be. That uncertainty, Wehner says, is a real inflection point in the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world. •       The Crack-Up of MAGA World: The cult-like grip Trump had on the Republican Party and the MAGA base is no longer there. His approval among Republicans has dropped from the nineties to the seventies — still high, but significant. And the fissures in MAGA world are, in Wehner's word, extraordinary: Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly and Candace Owens have broken from the movement or turned on its leadership. Marjorie Taylor Greene too. The crack-up has begun. Whether it is fast enough or decisive enough to matter remains to be seen. But the movement that once seemed invincible is showing its first serious cracks. •       Monticello for the 250th: Welcoming New Immigrants: Wehner and his wife are considering spending July 4 at Monticello — Thomas Jefferson's house in Charlottesville, Virginia — where a friend has invited them to an event welcoming new American citizens and immigrants. It is, he says, going to be a birthday that is not untainted by sadness even as there will also be hope of what can still happen. Six days from the 250th, Andrew asks what Jefferson would think of Trump. Wehner: probably not terribly favourable. Probably true of most of the founders. About the Guest Peter Wehner is a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He served as a senior policy adviser in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times. His Atlantic piece “The Apotheosis of Donald Trump” was published June 14, 2026. References: •       Peter Wehner, “The Apotheosis of Donald Trump,” The Atlantic, June 14, 2026 — the piece that occasions this conversation. •       Episode 2945: Samuel Moyn on Gerontocracy in America — referenced at the opening. •       Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia — Thomas Jefferson's home; venue for the July 4 immigrant-welcoming event Wehner mentions. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 3,000 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: (00:31) - Introduction: Trump at 80 and the apotheosis (02:07) - Visible decomposition: more dangerous than Trump 1.0 (02:54) - Something to celebrate or be concerned about? (03:21) - The disinhibition intensifies; impulsivity more easily triggered (04:18) - Is there a Shakespearean arc? (04:54) - King Lear allusion: hesitation; Trump is a flatter figure (05:30) - Man of borderless corruption; his descent is our descent (06:40) - European mystification: just back from Poland (07:18) - Trump is sui generis (08:10) - When it happens twice, that breaks trust (10:22) - Not everyone elected Trump: the Republican question (11:16) - The crack-up of MAGA world (12:19) - Marjorie Taylor Gre...

“I considered it elder abuse. She put him through the paces, not only before the debate, but after. She should have gotten him out of there immediately.” — Sally Quinn on Jill Biden and the debate Today's guest is amongst America's most verbal octogenarians. No, not you-know-who. Sally Quinn is the illustrious Washington DC hostess, writer and commentator. The almost 85-year-old does improv comedy every Sunday, ballroom dancing every week and Zen Buddhist meditation every Monday night. Her novel, Silent Retreat, is now out in paperback. And she's working on her memoir, tentatively entitled Never Invite Sally Quinn. Certainly Jill Biden won't be inviting Sally Quinn any time soon to one of her tête-à-têtes. Quinn's account of what went wrong with the Biden presidency is sharply personal. Her late husband, legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, had dementia. She watched his cognitive decline from inside, and the parallels with what she observed in Biden were, she tells me, too close for comfort. Jill Biden's decision to keep Joe running after the debate, when she privately suspected he'd suffered a stroke, was, in Quinn's word, “elder abuse.” Silent Retreat, set at a monastery in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, is about the sexiness of silence. A prize-winning reporter and the venerable Archbishop of Dublin fall in love in enforced silence. Anything but elder abuse. But autobiographical? Probably not. As Ben Bradlee used to tease her over breakfast, it's always been hard for not-silent-Sally to keep her mouth shut. Five Takeaways •       The Army Brat Who Became Washington's Most Powerful Hostess: Quinn grew up as an army brat, moving from posting to posting with her military father. She arrived in Washington after college, did a stint as social secretary to the Algerian ambassador, and was then hired by Ben Bradlee to write for the Washington Post's new Style section — the first style section in the history of American journalism. She and Bradlee eventually married. Their home in Georgetown became the hub of Washington's social and political life for decades. She describes herself not as a powerhouse but as someone who “really lucked out.” An army brat who knew how to work a room. •       Gerontocracy Is Real — But People Who Keep Going Are Different: Quinn agrees with Samuel Moyn that American gerontocracy is a genuine problem: people who lose their cognitive sharpness should not be running organizations or countries, and the tragedy is that no one can know in advance who will lose it and who won't. But she draws a distinction: the problem is not old people, it's old people who have stopped growing. She surrounds herself with younger people, particularly younger journalists, because of their energy, idealism, and optimism. She is still working full time. The issue is not age. It's vitality. •       Biden and Jill: Elder Abuse: Quinn's account of the Biden presidency is the most personal Andrew has heard. Her husband Ben Bradlee had dementia. She knows the signs. She watched Biden lose it, got a knot in her stomach every time he spoke publicly. The debate was her worst nightmare. Everyone in the White House knew what was happening and wasn't telling the truth. And Jill Biden — who now admits she thought he had had a stroke after the debate — raised his arm in a victory salute the next day and took him off to campaign in North Carolina. Quinn's verdict: “I considered it elder abuse.” •       Silent Retreat: A New Yorker Writer and an Archbishop Fall in Love in Enforced Silence: The novel grew from Quinn's own annual visits to a Trappist monastery in Virginia's Berryville. She is a woman who once failed to stay quiet for three days — or so her husband thought — and who found to her surprise that she loved it. The novel: a prize-winning reporter whose marriage is falling apart, and an Archbishop of Dublin whose faith is in crisis, check into the same monastery for a silent retreat. They can't speak to each other. They speak to the monk instead. The novel is told through those confessions. Kirkus: “an unholy brew of lust and faith.” Airmail: “a bodice ripper with a fillip of Roman Catholic ritual.” •       Improv, Ballroom Dancing, Zen Buddhism, and Dinner by Candlelight: Quinn's account of how she stays alive at 84 is the most energetic thing in this conversation. Improv comedy every Sunday for two and a half hours — performances after the class, with people half her age. Ballroom dancing every week. Zen Buddhist meditation every Monday night for two hours. Working out every day. Writing her Washington memoir. And hosting small dinner parties — six or eight people, candlelight, good food, a lot of wine — as a form of community-building in what she calls the toxic environment of today's Washington. The memoir's title: Never Invite Sally Quinn. Andrew has already secured an invitation to the next dinner party. About the Guest Sally Quinn is a longtime Washington Post journalist, columnist, television commentator, Washington insider, and one of Washington's legendary social hostesses. She is the author of Silent Retreat (Simon & Schuster), Finding Magic, The Party, Happy Endings, Regrets Only, and We're Going to Make You a Star. She was the founder and moderator of On Faith, the Washington Post's religion website. She lives in Georgetown, Washington DC. References: •       Silent Retreat by Sally Quinn (Simon & Schuster). In paperback. •       Episode 2945: Samuel Moyn on Gerontocracy in America — referenced at the opening. •       Ben Bradlee — Quinn's late husband, executive editor of the Washington Post during Watergate, referenced throughout. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 3,000 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters:...

“Age is the modality in which class is lived in America today.” — Samuel Moyn Yesterday we had 91-year-old Mordecai Kurz on the show. Tomorrow, it will be 84-year-old Sally Quinn. But today's guest, the Yale legal historian Samuel Moyn, has a bit of a problem with old people. His new book, Gerontocracy in America, argues that the old folks are hoarding power and wealth in America. For Moyn, Dylan's Sixties anthem of “Forever Young” has soured into today's reality of “Forever Old.” In some ways, it's hard to argue with Moyn's thesis. Donald Trump is the oldest elected US president in history. Congress has been ageing for decades — and several Democratic members died in the run-up to the One Big Beautiful Bill vote, thereby facilitating its passage. The progressive heroine Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed on the Supreme Court through a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and died in office, handing the right a supermajority and the end of abortion rights. Clarence Thomas, the RBG of nutcase conservatism, is on track to become the longest-serving Supreme Court justice in US history. And then there's that alte kaker Joe Biden, former dodder-in-chief, the only pol who gives Trump a youthful glow. Even Bob Dylan — who I saw in all his morbid brilliance in Berkeley last week (“but me, I'm still on the road”) — just celebrated his 85th birthday. Forever old, America. Happy 250th. Five Takeaways •       What Is Gerontocracy? Not a Problem With Old People: Moyn is careful to distinguish gerontocracy from old people. He is in his mid-fifties and can't attack old people generally. His target is the system: the structural overrepresentation of old people in power, and the structural disadvantaging of the young that results. Old people can be great. Some are, some aren't — just like everyone else. The problem is that when we defer to old people automatically — as a system rather than as a judgement about individuals — we replicate their mistakes alongside their wisdom. And cognitive decline is real, as Biden proved. “Age is the modality in which class is lived in America today,” Moyn writes, riffing on Stuart Hall's formulation about race. •       The Congress, the Courts, and the Deaths That Passed the Bill: Trump is the oldest elected US president in history — and if JD Vance were to succeed him, Vance would be the youngest president since Teddy Roosevelt. But Moyn's focus goes beyond the presidency. Congress has aged dramatically: the average senator and representative are significantly older than at any point in US history, and there is now only one member of Congress in their thirties. Several Democratic members of the House died in the months before the One Big Beautiful Bill vote, facilitating its passage. The gerontocracy is quite literally voting itself into power through death. •       The RBG Problem: Selfishness and the Supreme Court: Moyn's account of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is unsparing. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — one of the deadliest — and allegedly survived it. She had become a progressive icon, “Notorious RBG.” But she chose to stay on the court rather than retire under Obama, and she died in office in 2020, allowing Trump to appoint Amy Coney Barrett and hand the right a supermajority that ended abortion rights. Moyn's verdict: she was selfish. He is also careful to note that the system should not depend on individual virtue — there will always be selfish people. The system must be reformed so that selfish choices are no longer possible. •       The Framers Designed Gerontocracy Into the Constitution: One of Moyn's most striking historical arguments: the framers deliberately empowered old people. The age minimums for federal office (35 for the presidency, 30 for the Senate) excluded 70% of the population at the time. The Senate was named after the Roman senatus — literally “old men” — and the concept went back to the Spartan council of elders. Alexander Hamilton argued in the Federalist Papers that federal judges should serve until they were “dodering” because the alternative was too much popular power. The gerontocracy is not an accident. It was designed. •       The Solutions: Vote at Six, Retire at Sixty, Tax the Family Home: Moyn's solutions are deliberately radical. On voting: lower the age, as David Runciman advocates to six, and reduce the number of elections because evidence shows the more elections, the greater the elder dominance. On political office: age limits, youth cohorts. On the courts: mandatory retirement — this requires creative interpretation of the constitution rather than amendment. On the economy: higher taxes on inherited wealth and housing assets — an incremental tax for staying in a large house you no longer need. On the title of the paperback: Andrew suggests “Forever Old.” Moyn will credit him if it's chosen. About the Guest Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. He is the author of Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth — and What to Do About It (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 16, 2026), Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World, and The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History. He is co-host of the Digging a Hole podcast and a frequent contributor to The Nation, The New Republic, and The New York Times. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut. References: •       Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth — and What to Do About It by Samuel Moyn (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 16, 2026). •       Samuel Moyn, “The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis,” Harper's Magazine, May 2026 — the excerpt from the book referenced at the opening. •       David Runciman — referenced for his advocacy of lowering the voting age to six. •       Stuart Hall — referenced for the formulation that class is lived through race, which Moyn repurposes for age. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 3,000 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTube

Hello! This week we have on Sam Moyn, a professor at Yale Law School and the author of the new book Gerontocracy in America: How the Old are Hoarding Power and What to do about it. We talk about how the elderly exercise their political and financial power in the country and explore some of the ideas in this book about how to get more money and political power into the hands of the young. This is a fun, heated conversation with a lot of compelling ideas and takes so please give it a listen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Yascha Mounk and Sam Moyn also discuss whether some people deserve to have more votes than others. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, The Last Utopia, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and many other publications. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Sam Moyn discuss whether a truly fair democracy might weigh different citizens' votes differently, whether the emphasis on human rights have got us into the mess we're in today, and to what extent our democracy is in danger from populism. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prior to the 1930s, old age in America often meant poverty. But thanks to Social Security, Medicare, medical advances, and rising asset prices, over the past 90 years, older Americans have become one of the wealthiest and most politically powerful groups in the country. In his new book, 'Gerontocracy in America,' Samuel Moyn argues that this success has created a dangerous imbalance. He says America isn't just facing oligarchy, or rule by the rich, but "Old-igarchy": a system in which wealth and power are increasingly concentrated among older generations, often at the expense of younger Americans. Today, Derek talks with Moyn about the rise of gerontocracy in America, whether elderly power has become a problem, what reforms could rebalance the scales between generations, and whether this argument is a serious critique of American politics or simply ageist nonsense. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Samuel MoynProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We discuss  the overlooked and insidious complications from gerontocracy in American democracy.   Sam's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Think of democracy as a political form for transient human beings  2) Evangelize one of these ideas: age quotas, tax code reform, or campaign finance reform   Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, the cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, and the author of Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth – and What to Do About It.      Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Sam on X:  https://x.com/samuelmoyn   Read Gerontocracy in America:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Samuel Moyn Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

Youth is vanishing. In a material sense, birth rates are plummeting around the globe and older people are staying in positions of power across both the public and private sector for longer periods of time. It's also vanishing in a cultural sense, too thanks to a steady stream of reboots, remakes, and de-aged celebrities, as studios and execs bet on proven hits vs. net-new creative.Against this ossified backdrop, just how much is youth actually leading culture? And are we even giving them a chance? To learn more, we spoke with Samuel Moyn, a Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University and the author of the upcoming book “Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About it.” He breaks down why gerontocracy poses one of the biggest challenges to a thriving youth culture and, by proxy, to creative risk taking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6/8/26 (Co-Host -- Megan Rubiner Zinn) Author Danielle Crittenden on “Dispatches from Grief: A Mother's Journey Through the Unthinkable” – the death of a child. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor -- Smith History Professor, Richard Pryor's daughter and author of “Something We Said: Richard Pryor, A Notorious Word, and Me.” The Easthampton Override -- the stakes are huge -- with teacher Kelley Brown, police lieutenant Andrew Beaulieu and firefighter and EMT Cody Potasky. Yale Professor of Law and History Samuel Moyn on “Gerontocracy in America: How thew Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth and What to Do About it.”

The country is run by senior citizens, and their control is transforming the nation. Samuel Moyn is Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University and author of “Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth and What to Do About It.” He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the nation's elders hold vast amounts of wealth and political influence, why that isn't transferring to younger generations and how we might rebalance power among generations. His companion article “The Old Guard” was published in Harper's. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 Have you ever heard the word gerontocracy?  Well, according to our guest, you’re living in one.  The point may be best illustrated by the last two presidential campaigns where we elected an elderly man, Joe Biden, to be our president in 2020 and when feeling that he was too old to serve another term, we replaced him with another old man, Donald Trump.  It’s not only happening in our politics among the candidates, funders and voters (oh it’s true that older Americans outvote and other demographic groups), but also in business and other endeavors.  Many of them, baby boomers, were brought up on the youth culture of the 1960’s and cannot see themselves giving up their positions and privileges.  This trend has an impact on many things, including the ability of young people to move on up, the differential in social safety nets between young and old and the types of short- term issues our politics might address at the expense of long-term ones, like the warming of the planet.  It’s a fascinating topic and our guest, Samuel Moyn, a Yale professor describes its many implications in detail in his new book, “Gerontocracy in America:  How the Old are Hoarding Power and Wealth–and What to Do About It.”  He is our guest today.

“Retirement is a false construct created a hundred years ago by the government. It was basically created when Social Security was born. Prior to that, people worked until they died — because they didn't live as long.” — Michael Clinton At the ripe young age of 70, Michael Clinton hiked nine days to Everest Base Camp and ran the Tenzing-Hillary Marathon down. Now 72, he is president of his own longevity consultancy, a columnist for Esquire and Men's Health, a private pilot, part-owner of a vineyard in Argentina, and the author of Longevity Nation: The People, Ideas, and Trends Changing the Second Half of Our Lives (Atria/Beyond Words, May 5, 2026). Rather than about living forever, Longevity Nation dares us to redefine what the second half of our lives can look like. And Clinton wants us to reinvent society accordingly. A hundred years ago, he reminds us, only seven million Americans were over 65. Today there are 62 million, which will quickly grow to 80 million. The whole world is aging, and its institutions are not keeping up. Retirement, Michael Clinton explains, is a false construct invented a century ago by industrial age governments. Rewire, the septuagenarian marathoner says. Don't retire. Five Takeaways •       This Is What 72 Looks Like Today: Clinton's opening provocation: at 70, he hiked to Everest Base Camp and ran the marathon down. He's visited 125 countries, run marathons on all seven continents, holds two master's degrees, and is a private pilot. His point is not to brag. It is that the cultural image of what 70 or 80 looks like has not caught up with the reality of what a subset of 70 and 80-year-olds — and, increasingly, a growing proportion of 70 and 80-year-olds — actually look like and are capable of. When he was 40, 72 seemed ancient. Now he is 72. It doesn't. •       GLP-1: Hotel California or Longevity's First Democratised Drug? The sharpest exchange in the interview. Andrew's framing: GLP-1 is Hotel California — you can check in but not check out. Stop taking it and the weight and inflammation return. Clinton's response: yes, that seems to be the story right now, and nobody knows the long-term play. But GLP-1 is coming to Medicare this summer, price cut in half, and it may become the first truly democratised longevity drug — reducing obesity, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk across the income spectrum, not just for the wealthy. Exciting and uncertain in equal measure. •       Retirement Is a False Construct: Social Security was created at a moment when most Americans died before collecting it. Life expectancy was 62. The retirement age was 65. The construct was built for a world that no longer exists. Clinton's prescription: don't retire. Rewire. You don't have to do the same thing, but do something. Stay engaged. Stay purposeful. If you're 65 and live another thirty years, the retirement construct — move to Florida, play golf, wait — is not merely insufficient. It is actively harmful to cognitive and physical health. •       Longevity Nation vs Gerontocracy: Andrew raises the counter-argument: is longevity nation actually gerontocracy? Trump, Biden, Trump. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Nancy Pelosi. A class of elderly people who won't step aside, hoarding power and preventing generational renewal. Clinton's response: he is opposed to formal retirement ages for anyone. His answer to the political hoarding of power is not age limits but engagement — people need purpose, and purpose should be redirected, not cut off. Andrew's unspoken counter: this is easy to say when you're not the one being blocked by an eighty-year-old senator. •       Who Do You Want Around Your Deathbed? Clinton's most personal observation, via the book he co-authored: as you think about living longer, ask yourself — who are the five people you would want around your deathbed? And are you maintaining those relationships? The grandson of a funeral director, Clinton has a different relationship with death than most. His prescription: the longer you live, the more important it becomes to keep your closest relationships strong. Longevity without community is not longevity. It is just duration. About the Guest Michael Clinton is the former president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, founder of Roar Forward, and the author of Longevity Nation: The People, Ideas, and Trends Changing the Second Half of Our Lives (Atria/Beyond Words, May 5, 2026) and Roar: Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It's Too Late). He is a columnist for Men's Health and Esquire, a private pilot, a marathon runner on all seven continents, and a part-owner of a vineyard in Argentina. He lives in New York City and Water Mill, Long Island. References: •       Longevity Nation: The People, Ideas, and Trends Changing the Second Half of Our Lives by Michael Clinton (Atria/Beyond Words, May 5, 2026). •       Stanford Center on Longevity, New Map of Life — cited by Clinton as one of the major research frameworks behind the book. •       Samuel Moyn, Gerontocratic Nation — the Yale professor's forthcoming counter-argument, referenced by Andrew. •       Cara Swisher, Cara Swisher Wants to Live Forever — the CNN series referenced at the opening as the sceptical counterpart to Clinton's optimism. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: (00:31) - Introduction: Cara Swisher wants to live forever (01:33) - How old are you, Michael? 72 and proud (01:57) - The Everest Base Camp hike at 70 (02:17) - Is the longevity boom a coastal elite phenomenon? (03:15) - A hundred years ago: seven million over-65s; today, 62 million (03:46) - The cultural shift:...

0:30 - COVID whistleblower 14:14 - Josh Hawley back and forth with Erdman over Wuhan lab statements 35:51 - The "Tragic 20's" 56:43 - Former foreign correspondent for BBC Channel 4 News and NBC, Ian Williams: China’s theft of American AI tech is becoming more brazen. Ian is also the author of Vampire State. The rise and fall of the Chinese Economy 01:13:11 - Pratt calls into TMZ after hit piece claiming he doesn't live in trailer 01:33:05 - Senior writer at National Review, Noah Rothman, discusses his new book Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in America - available Tuesday 5/19 01:51:25 - Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, Samuel Moyn, on the The Old Guard and his new book Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It - available June 16 02:12:27 - Tim Stearns, president and founder of TJ Stearns in Arlington Heights, discusses the balancing act between investment risk and FOMO as the market reaches new highs. For more on TJ Stearns tjstearns.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Yale Law Professor Samuel Moyn joins Bad Faith to discuss the Supreme Court's attack on the Voting Rights Act, and how the Democratic Party's commitment to the gerontocracy has led to the degradation of our courts and our democracy as a whole. Professor Moyn discusses his new book on gerontocracy, why politics seems to have skipped Gen X, and why Biden should be blamed for ignoring an opportunity to do real court reform. Instead of blaming Briahna for voting Green, should Democrats blame their own leadership for declining to pack the court and abolish the Senate? And what's the deal with the party's allergy to accountability? Moyn also weighs in on DNC chair Ken Martin's contentious interview on Pod Save America about his refusal to release the 2024 autopsy report. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

There's perhaps no living person who better embodies the themes, contradictions, ethos, and pathos of “Know Your Enemy” than William Kristol, this week's guest. Today, Kristol is editor-at-large of The Bulwark, a valuable redoubt of unreconstructed Never-Trumpism, which he helped found in 2018. But before dedicating himself, full-time, to the admirable if quixotic mission of undermining Donald Trump from the center-right — alienating many of his one-time friends in the process — Kristol was best known as an influential practitioner of neoconservatism: a staffer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations; cofounder (in 1995 and 1997, respectively) of The Weekly Standard and the Project for a New American Century; a prominent champion of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and faithful son of one of neoconservatism's First Couples: Irving Kristol and Gertrude Himmelfarb. Kristol was also trained in political philosophy by the Harvard Straussian (and frequent KYE subject) Harvey Mansfield. As such, we had an enormous amount to discuss in a limited amount of time. A few things we covered: What was neoconservatism? How should political theory inform political action? Why didn't Never-Trump conservatism work? Where did Trumpism come from? Are Straussians to blame for the Iraq War? And, why does Kristol (a longtime proponent of regime change in Iran) oppose Donald Trump's current war with the Islamic Republic? Further Listening:  "Harvey Mansfield on Political Philosophy," Conversations with Kristol, Jun 30, 2014 "Know Your Frenemies (w/ Samuel Moyn)," KYE, Aug 10, 2020.  Further Reading:  William Kristol & Robert Kagan, "Toward a Neo-Reaganite Foreign Policy,"  Foreign Affairs, Jul 1, 1996. William Kristol & David Brooks, "What Ails Conservatism," Wall Street Journal, Sept 15, 1997. Justin Vaïsse, Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement, (2011) William Kristol and Steven Lenzner, "What was Leo Strauss up to?" National Affairs, Fall 2003.  Anne Norton, Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire, (2004) Sam Adler-Bell, "How the War on Terror Fuels Trump," Jacobin, Aug 13, 2016. ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our specials. Danny and Derek give an update on the conflict in Iran. They talk about the overall state of the war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, casualty figures across multiple countries, the prospect of a ground invasion, the state of Iran's leadership, the strike on South Pars and its effects on Gulf energy infrastructure, Iran's attacks on Israel, Israeli public support for the war, and polling on American support for the intervention. Watch our video exclusive with Samuel Moyn about Jürgen Habermas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jorge Fontevecchia en entrevista con el profesor de leyes e historia Samuel Moyn.

Trump's Deteriorating Mental and Physical Health| Trump's DoJ Releases 10% of the Heavily Redacted Epstein Files Trying to Shift the Focus From Trump to Clinton | Ending the Oligarch-Friendly Illegitimate Rule of the Supreme Court backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Could our political past be prologue?   Yale Historian Samuel Moyn offers a progressive prescription for the future.    https://bit.ly/4ra5rgs

Keep the narrative flow going! Subscribe now for ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to the entire catalog of 500 episodes. After Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism became a surprise bestseller. Arendt, who died in 1975, became a sort of prophet for the liberal "Resistance" based on her insights into lying and politics and the origins of fascism. Today, as President Trump acts with increasing authoritarianism and corruption, Arendt is still frequently quoted, but she's not the star she once was on the American left. Why? Yale historian and law professor Samuel Moyn discusses the uses and abuses of Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century's towering philosophers. Further reading: You Have Misunderstood the Relevance of Hannah Arendt by Samuel Moyn, Prospect (2020) Men in Dark Times by Rebecca Panovka, Harper's (2021) Lying in Politics: Hannah Arendt on Deception, Self-Deception, and the Psychology of Defactualization by Maria Popova, The Marginalian Big Racket Man by Martin Jay for Verso Books (2023)

【主播的话】整整两年之前，2023年的十月份，以色列跟巴勒斯坦之间爆发了新一轮的严重冲突，并恶化为一场旷日持久的战争、以及一场接一场的人道惨剧。那天之后，世界似乎开始了一种持续至今的撕裂。在加沙，成千上万的人每天都在受难，饥饿、暴力、失踪、流离失所、残疾、死亡。与此同时，这场战争的回声，也在战场之外的地方不断回荡——在中东邻国、在美国、在欧洲，在大学校园里，在政治辩论中，在社交媒体上。过去两年里，围绕加沙的争论几乎无处不在：抗议、辞职、取消、抓捕、撤资。它不仅是外交政策的争议，更成了一场关于身份、道德与立场的内战。对许多年轻人来说，这不仅是关于中东的问题，而是关于“我们是谁”，以及“我们还能相信什么样的正义”。今天的节目分为两个部分。第一部分，主要谈中东。我们邀请了中东观察家刘怡，来梳理加沙战争两周年的重要节点，从巴以出发，探讨它对中东局势的影响。第二部分，重点在美国。我们邀请了常驻纽约的美国观察家思骋，来解读加沙战争对美国内政外交的影响。【本期主播】王磬：微博@王磬【本期嘉宾】刘怡：前《三联生活周刊》资深主笔，全球冲突报道者思骋：美国政治观察家，常驻纽约【本期剧透】03:32 加沙战局转向虚无，冲突轨迹受特朗普决策主导，军事行动与政治目标逐渐脱节09:18 加沙正在面临怎样的人道灾难？以色列系统性制造饥荒的现状11:22 战前加沙的畸形供给体系：以色列默许哈马斯控制国际援助流通，形成“物资可进、人员禁入”的共谋式封锁17:45 开战后，加沙生存体系崩溃，黑市物价暴涨50倍19:20 外援切断，美国仅派驻4个物资救援点，平民陷入平静的绝望24:39 犹太人定居点不断增加，西岸巴控区萎缩，武装定居者与隔离墙形成“蚕食式占领”新常态29:24 以色列社会的极端化转向，右翼基本盘稳固化，政治光谱整体右移34:01 巴勒斯坦群体的立场分化：海外巴勒斯坦裔激进口号与本土民众务实诉求42:35 阿拉伯世界的“道义卸责”：亚伯拉罕协议如何改变海湾国家对巴以问题的传统立场？48:10 哈马斯与伊朗构建的宗教抵抗同盟，如何替代传统阿拉伯民族主义？52:29 西方话语道德滑坡，两年间巴勒斯坦苦难从“被忽视”到“被犯罪化”57:40 2025年夏季为舆论分水岭，特朗普政府强硬压制舆论引发民意反弹01:02:05 “以色列替西方干脏活”：战后自由主义需要暴力维系01:06:56 在西方世界，为什么对反以色列政府的言论打压，比在以色列境内还要严厉？01:12:27 美国犹太社群的代际裂变，支持以色列如何从族群共识沦为矛盾源01:18:48 反犹主义如何被定义？又如何成为政治打压的工具？01:25:24 美国民主党出现政治代沟，年轻人在巴以议题和经济前景上面临双重挫败感【相关阅读】 Alex de Waal英国人类学家、公共政策学者与人权活动家，目前于美国马萨诸塞州塔夫茨大学法与外交学院（The Fletcher School）任研究教授。他自 1980 年代起在苏丹及非洲之角（Horn of Africa）地区开展“饥荒”研究，探讨饥荒的政治、社会与人权维度。研究立场强调：现代饥荒并非单纯由自然灾害或粮食短缺引起，而往往是政策失败、冲突、封锁与权力结构所致。其在饥荒领域的重要作品包括：《Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine》（2018）系统地回顾现代饥荒的历史：饥荒为何在 20 世纪下半叶大幅减少；为何在近年来又出现复苏；并指出饥荒多数为“人为”而非“自然”现象。《Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa》（1997）在本书中，de Waal 批判了传统救灾机构对饥荒背后政治与权力结构的掩盖，强调饥荒中的致命性常源于战争、封锁、治理失败，而非单纯粮食供应不足。 Masha Gessen 出生于俄罗斯莫斯科、后来获得美国公民身份的记者、作家和公共知识分子。写作涉猎广泛，涵盖俄罗斯现代史、威权主义、性别与 LGBTQ 议题、美国与俄罗斯关系、乌克兰冲突等。自 2017 年起担任《The New Yorker》的正式撰稿人。其代表作包括《The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia》（2017年获美国国家图书奖）等。她以批判权威主义、剖析自由与专制之间的张力著称。 《Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel》作者：Dov Waxman出版信息：Princeton University Press，2016 年Dov Waxman 为 UCLA 以色列研究教授，研究方向包括以色列政治、美国—以色列关系与美国犹太社群。Waxman 通过大量访谈与民调数据，分析近年来美国犹太社群围绕以色列问题的深刻分歧：一方面年长与更传统的群体维持强烈支持，另一方面年轻与自由派群体越来越公开批评以色列政策。书中探讨了文化、人口学、组织与政治因素如何导致“以色列不再成为团结来源、而日益成为分裂来源”的局面，对美国犹太政治与以美关系的未来提出判断。 《最后的乌托邦：历史中的人权》The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History作者：Samuel Moyn出版信息：商务印书馆，2016 年Samuel Moyn 是美国耶鲁大学（Yale University）法律与历史双聘教授，专攻现代欧洲思想史、国际法与人权史。本书提出一个颇具挑战性的观点：当今“人权”作为普遍正义话语并非源远流长，而是在1960 年代末至 1970 年代初，在全球政治与意识形态乌托邦（社会主义、民族解放运动）瓦解之后，才真正成为国际社会关注的核心。作者通过回顾冷战背景下欧洲、拉丁美洲、美国等地的个案，指出人权运动如何在旧有政治理想失败的废墟上兴起，并探讨其作为“最后的乌托邦”之意味 —— 即人权为何成为替代以往政治理想的新信仰。【特别鸣谢】蓝书屋基金会（Blaues Haus Stiftung）【本期音乐】Bleu-KomikuScreen Saver-Kevin MacLeod【节目制作】方改则【Logo设计】刘刘（ins: imjanuary)【互动方式】小红书@不合时宜微博@不合时宜TheWeirdo商务合作可发邮件至 hibuheshiyi@126.com 或微博私信会员计划咨询可添加微信：hibuheshiyi3 或发送邮件至 hibuhehsiyi@gmail.com

Vad händer när vi slutar bry oss om internationell rätt? Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Efter andra världskriget insåg många att något liknande inte kunde tillåtas hända igen. Därför författades regler, lagar och konventioner för att reglera hur vi människor får och inte får bete oss mot varandra.Idag menar många att dessa lagar är på väg att monteras ned och att vi rör oss tillbaka mot en värld som istället styrs av den starkes rätt. Varför är det så? Har folkrätten någonsin respekterats? Och finns det något vi kan göra åt saken?Producent och programledare: Viktor HarizProgramledare: Fanny HedenmoMedverkande gäster: Omer Bartov, Samuel Moyn, Kenneth Roth, Aryeh Neier

Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute looks at US relations with the world under the Trump regime, specifically Russia–Ukraine, Israel–Palestine, and US self-evisceration. Samuel Moyn, author of an article for Boston Review, talks about democracy, checks and balances, and the need for “better elites.” Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/radio.html

Behind the News, 7/24/25 - guests: Anatol Lieven on the US and the world under Trump • Samuel Moyn on checks & balances and the importance of elites - Doug Henwood

Trump Gets Stiffed Again by His Idol Putin as China Admits It Wants the Ukraine War to Drag on to Keep the US and NATO Out of Asia | Trump Says he Expects to Close a Ceasefire Deal Between Israel and Hamas Next Week | Trump as a Man of the Past as Zombie Neoliberalism and Neoconservatism Comeback From the Dead backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Samuel Moyn on Israel and the US attacks on Iran in international law. Do like, subscribe and leave us a review. Want to find out more? Check out all the background information on our website including hundreds more podcasts on international justice covering all the angles: https://www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/ Or you can sign up to our newsletter: https://www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/newsletters/ Did you like what you heard? Tip us here: https://www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/support-us/ Or want to support us long term? Check out our Patreon, where - for the price of a cup of coffee every month - you also become part of our War Criminals Bookclub and can make recommendations on what we should review next, here: https://www.patreon.com/c/AsymmetricalHaircuts Asymmetrical Haircuts is created, produced and presented by Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, together with a small team of producers, assistant producers, researchers and interns. Check out the team here: https://www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/what-about-asymmetrical-haircuts/

“Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?,” wonders Samuel Moyn in the New York Times. “The Democrats Are Finally Landing on a New Buzzword. It's Actually Compelling,” argues Slate staff writer Henry Grabar. “Do Democrats Need to Learn How to Build?,” asks Benjamin Wallace-Wells in The New Yorker.  For the past few months, news and editorial rooms have been abuzz with talk about a new, grand vision for the Democratic Party: abundance. Abundance, according to its media promoters—chiefly NYT's Ezra Klein and The Atlantic's Derek Thompson—is a political agenda that espouses the creation of more of everything we need: housing, education, jobs, and energy, to name a few examples. To accomplish this, we are told, we must aim to eliminate bureaucratic red tape that has for so long bogged down production, innovation, and capital's innate capacity and desire to provide a better, more abundant life. It's an alluring promise—if suspiciously vague and devoid of class politics: obviously, doing more good things is better than doing fewer good things, right? Who can argue with this generic premise? Who wouldn't want to support an agenda that's effectively the Do Good Things Agenda? Scratch the surface, however, and what one finds it isn't just a folky, common sense treatise against red tape, but something more sinister and dishonest, something more slick and shallow. What one gets is a standard entryist strategy that begins with a so-vague-it's-incontestable hook—illogical or corrupt regulations are bad—the quickly pivots into a Silicon Valley flattering, and often Silicon Valley funded, political agenda, a narrative designed to blame inequality and our objectively broken political system on too much regulation and “bureaucracy” rather than there being too much power in the hands of an elite few. What one gets, in other words, is a counter to left populism. What one gets is the latest attempt to reheat neoliberalism as something fresh, innovative and able to excite the voting base. Last week, in Part I of a two-part series we're calling “The Empire Strikes First,” we discussed the Democrats' post-2024 apologia, propped up by scapegoats ranging from trans people to “economic headwinds” to Harris actually being too far left. On this episode, Part II of the series, we explore what comes next: the 2028 Democratic strategy and the so-called abundance agenda that is increasingly shaping it. We'll examine how Democratic media influencers and policymakers use lofty, seemingly progressive rhetoric to rehabilitate and re-sell the same old neoliberal deregulation, privatization, and austerity narrative that got us here in the first place, and ensure that no left-wing movement—that could, god forbid, require a meaningful change in the party—get in their way. Our guests are the Revolving Door Project's Kenny Stancil and Henry Burke.

Jason, Rob, and Asher are taking out a huge, unaffordable mortgage on the housing crisis. What's behind the shortage in housing? Why is it that no one, except canine Tik Tok influencers with billion-dollar bank accounts, can afford to own a home? While mainstream pundits press for an energy-blind buildout of desert sprawl and gleaming towers of glass and steel, we propose a surprising change of course inspired by little people with hairy feet. Originally recorded on 5/21/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:The story of Gunther, the world's most moneyed canine.You can't make this stuff up: Gunther offers to buy Nicholas Cage's island.David Wessel, "Where do the estimates of a 'housing shortage' come from?," Brookings Institute, October 21, 2024.Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng, "Americans' average daily travel distance, mapped," Axios, March 24, 2024.Jon Gertner, "America Is on Fire, Says One Climate Writer. Should You Flee?," New York Times, March 22, 2024.U.S. News and World Report, "Fastest-Growing Places in the U.S. in 2025-2026."Good Ideas for Addressing the Housing Crisis:Jason Bradford, "Growing the Shire, Not the 'Burb: Facing the Housing Crisis with Ecological Sanity," Resilience, May 27, 2025.Global Ecovillage NetworkNate Hagens, "Alexis Zeigler —  Living Without Fossil Fuels: How Living Energy Farm Created a Comfortable Off-Grid Lifestyle," The Great Simplification, April 9, 2025.Energy-Blind Non-Solutions for the Housing Crisis:Conor Dougherty, "Why America Should Sprawl," New York Times, April 10, 2025.Binyamin Applebaum, "Build Homes on Federal Land," New York Times, April 15, 2025.Ezra Klein, "Abundance and the Left," The Ezra Klein Show, April 29, 2025.Samuel Moyn, "Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?," New York Times, March 18, 2025.Tyler Cowen, "Ezra Klein on the Abundance Agenda (Ep. 236)" Conversations with Tyler, March 7, 2025.Related Episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 37. Discounting the Future and Climate Chaos, or… the Story of the Dueling EconomistsSupport the show

Samuel Moyn talks about Trump and the courts. Chris Maisano, author of a recent Jacobin article about class “dealignment,” discusses class and politics. Finally, Evgenia Kovda reflects on hipster nihilism, which she wrote about for the Nefarious Russians newsletter. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/radio.html

The Trump Team Group Chat Revels VP Vance is Running the Presidency Along With Stephen Miller | Incompetent and Unqualified Heads of US Intelligence on Display Before the Senate Intelligence Committee Today | The Courts Will Not Save Us Since They Got Us Into This Mess backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia