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

Rob Henderson — Troubled (EP. 203)

Infinite Loops