In this episode the boys are joined by Dr. Rob Henderson. Rob is a writer, public intellectual, and veteran. After serving in the U.S. Air Force he attended Yale University, where he studied psychology. He then went on to get his PhD in Psychology from Cambridge University. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a Contributing Editor at City Journal, and a member of the board of Advisors for The University of Austin. On top of all that, he publishes a twice-weekly newsletter on substack, appropriately titled Rob Henderson’s Newsletter.

In 2024 Rob published his first book, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class; which went on to become a national best seller and was listed as one of The Economist’s best books of the year. (A great last-minute Christmas gift!)

Listen to this episode to hear about Rob's concept of luxury beliefs, how unstable environments affect children, why boys undergo maturity rituals in many cultures (but not ours), and much more!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Manhood in the Making
• Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business
• Being a Writer in the Age of the Influence
• Luxury Beliefs are Status Symbols

Please rate and review us on your podcast player of choice! It’s the best way to support us.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube

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Our Book Recommendations

• The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech – And Why They Fail - Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff
  • A short, easy read that will arm you with the rhetorical weapons you need to fight against censorship.
• Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free - Joe Nucci
  • A fascinating look at all the mental health BS you see on your social media feeds. Joe does a great job of setting the record straight.
• Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World - Tom Holland
  • A phenomenal and eye opening account of how Christian philosophy shaped western culture and thinking.
• Meditations - Marcu Aurelius
  • History's greatest self help book. Penned by one of Rome's greatest emperors. A must read for anyone interested in Stoicism.
• The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization - Peter Zeihan
  • The best explanation of the post-war American lead global order, and how it's falling apart.
• The WEIRDest People in the World
  • One the the best, most in-depth attempts at explaining why the western world is so prosperous and culturally unique.

In this episode the boys are joined by Aum Desai and Nikos Mohammadi. Aum is a student at Columbia College studying Political Science and Economics. He is the president of The Columbia Open Discourse Alliance (CODA), a senior editor at the Columbia Political Review, and a board member for the Columbia Hindu Students Organization. Nikos is also a student at Columbia College, where he is majoring in American Studies. He's a staff writer at Sundial and the vice president of CODA.

Listen to this episode to learn why the protests at Columbia have died down, hear about the great work the folks at CODA are doing, and much more!

You can read some of what Aum has written here:

• A Turning Point at the Turning Point
• Bretton Woods 2.0: How Holistic Tariffs Can Rebuild the Rules of Global Trade
• Mohsen Mahdawi worked with us on dialogue across differences

You can read some of Nikos' writing here:

• How Trump Saved Columbia
• Grappling With the Groyper Problem: Insight From Columbia University
• Reflections on the Forthcoming Populism

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Coddling of the American Mind
• The Canceling of the American Mind
• You Should Watch Charlie Kirk Die
• Does Columbia Need 5,000 Administrators?

Please rate and review us on your podcast player of choice! It’s the best way to support us.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube

Follow us on Instagram and X

Our Book Recommendations

• The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech – And Why They Fail - Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff
  • A short, easy read that will arm you with the rhetorical weapons you need to fight against censorship.
• Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free - Joe Nucci
  • A fascinating look at all the mental health BS you see on your social media feeds. Joe does a great job of setting the record straight.
• Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class - Rob Henderson
  • A beautiful, insightful, and heartbreaking memoir that highlights why a stable, loving family is something that every child deserves.
• Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World - Tom Holland
  • A phenomenal and eye opening account of how Christian philosophy shaped western culture and thinking.
• Meditations - Marcu Aurelius
  • History's greatest self help book. Penned by one of Rome's greatest emperors. A must read for anyone interested in Stoicism.
• The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization - Peter Zeihan
  • The best explanation of the post-war American lead global order, and how it's falling apart.