Rob Henderson — Troubled (EP. 203)

Friend-of-the-show Rob Henderson returns to discuss his powerful, moving and important debut book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (published TODAY). We discuss Rob’s experience of the American foster care and adoption system, the life-changing impact of the military, the rise of Luxury Beliefs, the benefits of standardized testing, and MUCH more.

Important Links:

• Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class (Amazon)
• The SAT is a pathway to more college diversity, not less; by Rob Henderson (The Boston Globe)
• Rob Henderson: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way; by Rob Henderson (The Free Press)
• Rob’s Substack
• Rob’s Twitter

Show Notes:

• Foster Care, Adoption & Social Mobility
• Structural Origins of the Foster System
• Why Early-Life Stability is Underrated
• How Ideas Can Change Outcomes
• The Life-Changing Impact of the Military
• Young Male Syndrome
• The Role of Intelligence in Governing Outcomes
• The Benefits of Standardized Testing
• Yale, Luxury Beliefs & the Rise of Identity Politics
• Are Luxury Beliefs a Political or Class Phenomenon?
• Trickle-Down Meritocracy
• Technology, Assortive Mating & Social Mobility
• Is the Overton Window Shifting on Campus?
• Rob as Emperor of the World

Books and Articles Mentioned:

• Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class; by Rob Henderson
• The SAT is a pathway to more college diversity, not less; by Rob Henderson (The Boston Globe)
• Rob Henderson: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way; by Rob Henderson (The Free Press)
• Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society; by Nicholas A. Christakis
• Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010; by Charles Murray
• Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World, by Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross
• A Suitable Boy; by Vikram Seth
• The Son Also Rises; by Gregory Clark