Episodes
-
Progressives have long dominated the environmental movement, advocating government spending and bureaucratic oversight as the solution to climate change. Countless local and federal regulations have been aimed at mitigating environmental harm, often hampering productivity. Is this really the best way to preserve our planet? Some conservatives believe we should instead turn to innovative, market-driven solutions that balance environmental protection with economic growth.
Our guest, self-described “conservative environmentalist” Benji Backer, proposes new ways to discuss climate issues and encourages conservatives to contribute to the environmental debate. By engaging private landowners—who play a pivotal role in environmental stewardship—and implementing local solutions, Backer believes we can reduce waste and address the root of environmental degradation. Instead of looking to government to dictate our climate response, he says we should foster individual responsibility and focus on practical solutions, like opting for reusable items, improving recycling infrastructure, and encouraging thoughtful consumer behavior.
Benji Backer is the author of the new book, “The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future.” He is the founder and executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), the largest right-of-center environmental organization in the country. A graduate of the University of Washington, Benji has been named to the Fortune 40 Under 40, Forbes 30 Under 30, GreenBiz 30 Under 30, and Grist 50 lists.
Follow Benji on X (formerly Twitter): @BenjiBacker
*Related reading*
https://benjibacker.com/
https://manhattan.institute/article/climate-change-work-is-a-reminder-that-the-basel-committee-has-outlived-its-usefulness
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/conservative-environmentalist-discusses-the-politics-of-climate-change-209125445666
-
The pandemic transformed urban housing markets, prompting increased demand for residential space and spurring a shift toward remote work. Many remote employees have left large cities for smaller ones, but housing demand remains strong in major urban centers. As cities' populations fluctuate, the pro-development YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) movement has gained momentum with supporters advocating for more residential construction to bring down housing costs in major cities.
Judge Glock and Salim Furth discuss the pandemic's impact on housing and cities, touching on urban density's appeal in the time of remote work, heightened interest in suburban living, the value of city amenities, and the YIMBY movement's efforts to address housing affordability. They explore the need to expand the national housing supply, the advantages of building up versus building out, and who might benefit from upzoning. They also examine the motivations of NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) who oppose infrastructure development, and the importance of fiscal incentives in promoting residential construction.
Salim Furth is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses on housing production and land use regulation. He frequently advises local governments and testifies before state and federal legislatures. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester.
Follow Salim on X (formerly Twitter): @SalimFurth
*Related reading*
https://twitter.com/judgeglock/status/1767575049517625449
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-07/at-austin-s-yimbytown-fans-of-zoning-reform-seek-common-ground
https://manhattan.institute/article/the-perfect-storm-hitting-homebuyers
https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/salim-furth
-
Missing episodes?
-
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, genome editing, and materials science are poised to dramatically change the way we live, work, and learn—but is that a good thing, or is it a prospect we should dread? As it stands, conservatives are divided on that question, with some embracing technological breakthroughs and others fearing the threat they pose to human dignity.
Jon Askonas has been urging conservatives to embrace the technological transformations of our time — and to use them to advance a distinctly conservative vision for human flourishing. This includes farming, the growth of families, work-from-home jobs, and even subscription-based media that addresses everyday Americans’ concerns.
Jon Askonas is a politics professor at the Catholic University of America where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security, and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. He is also a contributor to American Affairs, The New Atlantis, and Compact magazine.Follow Jon on X (formerly Twitter): @JonAskonas
Related reading
https://www.compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failed/
https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2023/11/technological-stagnation-is-a-choice/
https://politics.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/askonas-jonathan/index.html
-
New York has long been at the forefront of the drug crisis. In 2022, over 3,000 city residents died of a drug overdose, the highest number on record. The proliferation of inexpensive yet lethal drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, poses an escalating challenge to New York City. However, there is hope to tackle these issues through collaboration and partnerships within the city’s criminal justice system and district attorneys.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York Bridget Brennan has been confronting the drug epidemic since she took the position in 1998. She has addressed drug offenses across all five boroughs and has seen the changing nature of drug challenges in the city, from crack cocaine to prescription pills to fentanyl. In this episode, Bridget discusses the impact of potent synthetic opioids, and the strategies of drug prosecution, including targeting high-level distributors and addressing drug markets in specific areas.
Bridget G. Brennan was appointed as New York City’s Special Narcotics in 1998 and is the first woman to hold the position. She oversees a staff of approximately 200 legal and support personnel. The agency has its own budget for operating expenses and receives funding from the city, state, and federal government.
**Related reading & links**
https://www.snpnyc.org/about-us/
https://www.city-journal.org/article/...
-
In their efforts to ensure their children's happiness, a growing number of millennial and Gen X parents are turning to therapists, school psychologists, and other mental health professionals for help. Yet there is mounting evidence that this therapeutic turn has backfired. Rather than inculcate the virtues of self-discipline and independence, these efforts have yielded a generation of children filled with anxiety, isolation, and a profound sense of helplessness—and in her new book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up, Abigail Shrier explains why.
After speaking with hundreds of parents and adolescents, drawing on psychiatric studies and literature, in addition to her own lived experience with friends and family, Abigail offers a powerful critique of the booming mental health industry, and offers an alternate vision for fostering healthy, hard-working, and resilient children. In this special episode of Manhattan Insights, The Free Press Senior Editor Emily Yoffe (moderator) sits down with Abigail to discuss her findings.
Abigail Shrier is the author of the new book, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up. She received the Barbara Olson Award for Excellence and Independence in Journalism in 2021. Her best-selling book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (2020), was named a “Best Book” by The Economist and the Times (of London). It has been translated into ten languages. She holds an A.B. from Columbia College, where she received the Euretta J. Kellett Fellowship; a B.Phil. from the University of Oxford; and a J.D. from Yale Law School. She has written for the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal for a number of years.
(Recorded on Wednesday, February 28th, 2024)
**Related readings & links**
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/716567/bad-therapy-by-abigail-shrier/
-
The school choice movement gained significant momentum in the wake of the pandemic shutdowns, which exposed the weaknesses of traditional public schools and the challenges of remote learning. As parents became increasingly aware of the quality and content of their children's education, many began to explore alternative schooling options. By offering a diverse range of choices, including charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling, the movement has inspired parents to find the best educational options for their children. Despite this, advocates of school choice continue to face opposition from teachers unions and skeptics across the political spectrum.
One such advocate is Corey DeAngelis, who has been a proponent of school choice since his time attending a magnet school in San Antonio, Texas. In this conversation, he discusses school choice advocates' recent victories in elections, the involvement of teachers unions in social activism, the role of faith-based institutions in education, the school choice playbook, the legality of religious charter schools, the gold standard school choice playbook, and activism and influencing change.
Corey A. DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has been labeled the “school choice evangelist” and called “the most effective school choice advocate since Milton Friedman.” He is a regular on Fox News and frequently appears in The Wall Street Journal. DeAngelis is also the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, a senior fellow at Reason Foundation, an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, and a board member at Liberty Justice Center. He holds a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas.
Follow Corey on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey
Related reading & links
https://www.wsj.com/articles/school-choice-is-the-solution-to-teacher-strikes-newton-mass-fe82dc98
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dr-corey-a-deangelis-ph-d/the-parent-revolution/9781546006862/
-
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson has brought homelessness back into the national legal spotlight. The case revolves around the question of whether the homeless have a constitutional right to camp on public property, and its outcome could overturn prior lower court rulings that have contributed to the West Coast's homelessness crisis.
Six years ago, the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco first ruled in Martin v. Boise that imposing criminal penalties for sleeping and camping in public violated the constitution. Since that decision, the amount of recorded homeless and deaths among homeless people has increased dramatically in affected states. Moreover, lawsuits brought by residents frustrated with homeless encampments in their neighborhoods have forced some cities to keep streets clear of camps, further complicating adherence to the Ninth Circuit's judgments.
The Supreme Court's ruling, expected later this year, will shape how cities address the challenge of homelessness in America.
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Stephen Eide discusses the potential impact on homelessness policies with Liz Mitchell, a partner at Umhoffer, Mitchell and King and lead attorney for the LA Alliance for Human Rights in a historic lawsuit forcing the City and County of Los Angeles to address homelessness. She was formerly an attorney with the LA City Attorney’s Office in the Police Litigation Unit and was a prosecutor where she handled criminal cases focusing on violent and sexual crimes.
Related reading & links
A Chance for Legal Sanity on Homelessness | by Judge Glock for City Journal
https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-chance-for-legal-sanity-on-homelessness
Pursue an Orderly Streets Agenda | by Stephen Eide for City Journal
https://www.city-journal.org/article/pursue-an-orderly-streets-agenda
Profile page: Elizabeth Mitchell, Umhofer, Mitchell & King LLP
https://www.umklaw.com/elizabeth-mitchell
-
Radical DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) ideology has overtaken elite universities and, increasingly, American public life. Few reporters have followed the "woke" takeover of American universities and the corrosion of its institutions more closely than our guest.
Our guest Aaron Sibarium, a Yale University alum, now reports on elite institutions that he is the very product of and investigates the pervasive influence of "woke" bureaucracy and ideals in higher education. His extensive and in-depth reporting helped lead to the uncovering of a plagiarism scandal and subsequent resignation of former Harvard president Claudine Gay.
Aaron Sibarium is a staff reporter for the Washington Free Beacon and one of the reporters whose work contributed to the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay. He was recently dubbed the "Gen Z Investigative Reporter... Rocking Conservative Media" by Politico Magazine.
Follow Aaron on X: https://x.com/aaronsibarium
Related reading:
https://freebeacon.com/campus/as-harvard-dean-claudine-gay-weakened-faculty-plagiarism-policy-the-corporation-leaned-on-that-policy-to-try-to-save-her-job/
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/25/aaron-sibarium-conservative-media-00117899
https://www.city-journal.org/article/claudine-gays-dei-empire
-
The field of criminology has transformed in the last quarter century. Evidence-based crime policy has been replaced by misperceptions about the nature of crime and criminal offenders. Concurrently, progressive policies and programs have also reshaped the criminal justice system. However, 70 years of social science research shows that "social control" is one the most important factors in preventing crime.
Professor John MacDonald writes on social control: "While community safety is primarily produced by informal social control [family, friends, neighbors, schools], high-crime areas are in particular need of formal social control like the presence of effective police and prosecutors when neighbors are unable to regulate the conduct of public spaces. So why have progressive criminal justice reforms in the past several years forgotten about social control?"
To discuss social control and returning to an evidence-based crime policy, guest host Rafael Mangual (Nick Ohnell Fellow) talks with Professor MacDonald. John MacDonald is a professor of criminology and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.Follow Rafael on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rafa_Mangual
Related reading:
https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/lessons-for-criminal-justice-reformers
https://www.city-journal.org/article/understand-and-act-on-the-realities-of-criminal-offending
-
Two decades ago, a four-year college degree was widely regarded as the key to boosting incomes. However, recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift in conventional wisdom about the value of a college education. Over half say college isn’t worth the cost, compared with 40% a decade ago. Are the skeptics right? What’s the average return? Who is it working for, and who isn’t it?
Two prominent perspectives on the value of a college education appear to be in stark contrast, making it challenging to reconcile them. On one hand, there's the belief that opportunities for those without a college degree are dwindling, and the relative worth of obtaining a degree is on the rise. On the other hand, there's the concern that the U.S. workforce is now oversaturated with graduates burdened by debt and grappling with underemployment.
For expert insight, guest host Mene Ukueberuwa (Wall Street Journal editorial page writer) was joined by Preston Cooper, who researches the costs and benefits of higher education and how policy can improve students’ success beyond college graduation.
Preston Cooper is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.
Follow Preston Cooper on X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/PrestonCooper93
Related reading:
Check out Preston's latest piece, "Should the government write off uncollectible student loans?": https://blog.freopp.org/should-the-government-write-off-uncollectible-student-loans/
Preston's author page at FREOPP: https://blog.freopp.org/author/preston-cooper/
-
The role of immigration in shaping the nation's economy remains a hotly contested area of debate. Factors such as the real economic benefits of high-skilled versus low-skilled immigrants, the impact of immigration on native employment, and the role of policy in shaping these dynamics stand at the forefront of this national conversation.
While immigration is accepted to have wide-ranging effects on job markets, wages, and the broader economy, assimilation and the promotion of American values are equally important. And to what extent should Americans citizens expect immigrants to assimilate to American culture, habits, and ways of living?
To provide expert insight, guest host Daniel Di Martino (Manhattan Institute graduate fellow) was joined by renowned Harvard Economics Professor George Borjas, a leading authority on the economics of immigration.
George J. Borjas is the Robert W. Scrivner Research Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Related reading:
https://manhattan.institute/article/accelerating-americanization-a-study-of-immigration-assimilation
https://www.city-journal.org/article/america-faces-a-talent-competition-to-the-north
From 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/opinion/the-immigration-debate-we-need.html
-
As the 2024 election draws near, voters in early primary states will soon decide who will be on the ballot for president in November. Will the race be a rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden? And what impact, if any, will the current president's lagging popularity and the former president's legal troubles have on the contest?
To shed light on the presidential race and the GOP primary in particular, Jesse Arm (MI's director of external affairs) talks with Patrick Ruffini. Patrick is the co-founder of Echelon Insights, a next-generation polling, analytics, and intelligence firm. He began his career as one of the country’s first political-digital practitioners. He managed grassroots technology and outreach for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and previously ran digital strategy for the Republican National Committee. Ruffini is the author of a new book, "Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP."
Check out Patrick Ruffini's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Party-People-Multiracial-Populist-Coalition/dp/1982198621
Follow Patrick Ruffini on X (formerly known as Twitter): https://x.com/PatrickRuffini
RELATED READING:
The latest post on Patrick Ruffini's Substack: https://www.patrickruffini.com/p/how-independent-voters-could-upend
-
In 2021, New Yorkers elected Eric Adams as the 110th mayor of New York City. Since assuming office, the Adams administration has grappled with a migrant crisis inundating the city's homeless services, staggering budget deficits caused by a decade of mismanagement, and a growing unease among citizens regarding safety on public transit, among other issues.
The Adams mayoral campaign promised to restore the city's safety and economic vitality. So how has New York City fared in the Adams era? In this episode, our guest, Nicole Gelinas, gives her perspective on Mayor Adams's administration and the challenges facing the city. She also discusses new investigations into Adams's campaign fundraising.
Nicole Gelinas is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a columnist at the New York Post. She writes on urban economics and finance. Gelinas is a CFA charterholder and the author of After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street—and Washington (2011).
Related reading:
https://nypost.com/2023/11/12/opinion/subway-vigilantes-will-continue-until-nyc-deals-with-rampant-crime
https://nypost.com/2023/11/09/opinion/nyc-is-on-verge-of-fiscal-cliff-because-officials-spend-like-drunken-sailors/
https://www.city-journal.org/article/full-speed-ahead
-
In Phoenix, Arizona, a massive downtown homeless encampment known as "The Zone" was recently cleared out following legal battles and a court order. For years, the area was filled with hundreds of tents lining the blocks of streets, leading to a rise in crime and serious complaints from local residents and businesses. At its height, The Zone held about 1,000 people.
Earlier this year, a successful state court lawsuit citing a "public nuisance" claim led to a judge ordering the city to permanently clear out the encampment and find beds for the people remaining. Our guest for this episode, Ilan Wurman, was an attorney for the plaintiffs in that case, Brown v. City of Phoenix.
Ilan Wurman is an associate professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where he teaches administrative law and constitutional law. He talks with guest host Judge Glock (who served as an expert in the court case) about the lawsuit against the city of Phoenix and the problems with America's debate on homelessness.
This conversation was recorded on October 9, before the city's deadline to clear The Zone.
Related reading
https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-homeless-encampment-b0ccbe6bc03ee1592b4e6a087c839417
https://www.city-journal.org/article/taking-a-stand-against-the-zone
https://www.city-journal.org/article/end-of-the-encampments
-
The role of science, its applications, and ethical implications have been focal points of many public debates in recent years. From the challenges posed by COVID to the complexities of climate change, the question of what qualifies as evidence and the definition of science itself have become partisan issues.
In November 2022, our guest Joe Simonson reports, the Biden administration's Office of Science and Technology issued a rather unscientific memo to over two dozen federal agencies: directing them to apply "indigenous knowledge" to "research, policies, and decision making."
Joe Simonson is a senior investigative reporter for the Washington Free Beacon. He talks with host Charles Fain Lehman about "indigenous knowledge" and its serious (and dangerous) role in federal policymaking.
Related reading
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/this-is-extremely-dangerous-inside-the-biden-administrations-push-to-swap-science-for-indigenous-wisdom/
https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-native-americans-treaties-government-and-politics-1117a5c10f9cb7da1f03247bd7d1ed56
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2022/12/01/white-house-releases-first-of-a-kind-indigenous-knowledge-guidance-for-federal-agencies/
-
In the period since 2020, consumer prices have increased by 18 percent. While the inflation rate has slowed from its peak, core inflation remains significantly higher than the pre-pandemic average. This prompts the question: what factors are behind this inflation surge, and what can we learn from it in terms of America's economic future?
Stephen Miran is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and co founder of AmberWave Partners, an asset management firm. He joins Reihan Salam to discuss inflation and the broader U.S. economy. Stephen has written about a wide range of economic policy issues in both academic publications and outlets like the Wall Street Journal and City Journal. He also served as a senior advisor for economic policy at the U. S. Department of the Treasury during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Find Stephen's work at MI and City Journal: https://manhattan.institute/person/stephen-miran
Follow Stephen on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveMiran
Related reading:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/get-ready-for-a-short-lived-economic-boom-da221867
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidenomics-is-unsustainable-uaw-inflation-reduction-subsidies-wages-cbf8263c
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-all-for-nothing -
On the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel that involved the killing of small children, the elderly, and hundreds of other vulnerable women and men. In the U.S., the atrocity has sparked both outrage and a disturbing surge in antisemitism and anti-Zionism, particularly on social media and on college campuses across the country. While countless Americans have spoken up in solidarity with the Israeli people, some activist groups and academics rushed to support Hamas in the wake of its massacre of Israeli civilians, creating a sense of fear and dread. Many worry that violent extremists could target Jewish communities across America.
Yael Bar tur joins host Reihan Salam from Tel Aviv. Yael, an accomplished social media strategist, has deep experience in security issues and terrorism, having served as social media director for the NYPD from 2016 to 2020. Earlier in her career, Yael served in the IDF as a press liaison.
Follow Yael on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/yaelbt
This conversation was recorded on Wednesday, October 11
Related readings and notes:
***U.S. student groups expressing support for Hamas***
Chicago: https://twitter.com/zach_kessel/status/1712282150798582066
Columbia: https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1712588263133790366
GWU: https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1711765773142614335
Harvard: https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1711153384953348169
NYU: https://twitter.com/zach_kessel/status/1711807838505312586
NYU Law: https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1711790931299426802
-
The clash between "woke" progressivism and classical enlightenment ideals has tested the foundational pillars of modern liberalism—free speech, due process, equal treatment, objective truth, and beyond. This battle is most fiercely fought on university campuses across the English-speaking world. At the heart of the trendy concept of "wokeness" lies the ideology of cultural socialism. Rooted in the pursuit of equity for all identity groups and safeguarding against the minutest harms, it poses a significant challenge for defenders of broadly liberal values.
Eric Kaufmann is a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He joins Reihan Salam to talk about our polarized political culture and how we should understand "cultural socialism."
Related reading:
From monoculture to counterculture: why I am leaving Birkbeck for Buckingham (The Critic) https://thecritic.co.uk/from-monoculture-to-counterculture-why-i-am-leaving-birkbeck-for-buckingham/
Why Conservatives Must Not Abandon Universities: A four-point plan (Aporia Magazine) https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/why-conservatives-must-not-abandon
-
Over the past half decade, panic has spread among politicians in California, as a mysterious startup bought over 50,000 acres in Solano County. In fact, "California Forever" is an effort backed by Silicon Valley investors to develop a new city with tens of thousands of homes in farmland outside San Francisco. The utopian vision for the city promises safe, walkable neighborhoods, vibrant public spaces, and easy access to jobs. But given the state's byzantine rules for development, it's unclear whether the venture can succeed.
To shed light on this ambitious project, we have Chris Elmendorf, a leading expert on the Golden State's intricate land use regulations and a law professor at UC Davis. He joins host Reihan Salam to discuss California's housing challenges.
Related reading:
The Housing Treadmill, City Journal
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-housing-treadmillThe Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch, New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html -
For residents of American cities, the stench of cannabis smoke on the streets has noticeably escalated in recent years. More concerning is the growing presence of addicts hooked on lab-produced meth and fentanyl in communities across the country, resulting in more than 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021 and again in 2022. One thing is clear: America is in the thick of a drug crisis.
What is the nature of this crisis, and what exactly can we do about it? Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins host Reihan Salam to discuss.
Related reading:
Beware America’s recreational drug boom, UnHerd
https://unherd.com/thepost/beware-americas-recreational-drug-boom/How I Changed My Mind on Marijuana, Substack
https://thecausalfallacy.com/p/how-i-changed-my-mind-about-marijuana - Show more
