On episode 3 of Unbridled, Peter sits down with writer and demographer Joel Kotkin. Joel is one of the most incisive interpreters of America's social and economic fabric. He is also politically close to unclassifiable--equal parts old-time liberal and contemporary conservative. Joel and Peter talk immigration, automation, affordability and unaffordability, the decline of California and the Coasts, and the rise of Texas and the Heartland.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:04:12 - The new aristocracy: consolidation of power in Big Tech

00:06:40 - The new clerisy: the educated managerial class

00:09:07 - The rest of us: the yeomanry and serf class

00:12:15 - Alienation driven by AI

00:15:05 - Counterarguments for Joel

00:19:55 - Does the gap between the poor and rich matter?

00:24:45 - Modern opportunities outside of large cities

00:30:55 - The oligarchy's response to Trumpism

00:36:44 - The change in the cultural zeitgeist despite Trump's narrow victory

00:42:07 - Red State vs. Blue State governance

00:48:44 - Young people dedicating themselves to their political inheritance

00:53:26 - Card game!

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Host: Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin

Executive Producers:
Mat Hames
Beth Hames

Researcher: John Masko

Producer: Laura Utt

Editor: Josh Meyers

Post Production: Jacob Estrada

Camera: Josh Hardwick, Nathan Jennings

Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

Over recent decades, the American university has been on a conveyor belt toward higher costs, less intellectual diversity, and less relevance to contemporary American life. Will Inboden, a decorated historian of foreign policy and newly appointed provost of the University of Texas at Austin, is here to change that. Will and Peter discuss how higher education got into a rut, how universities can lead us out of it, the point of Shakespeare, and how to build lifelong friendships.

Timestamps

00:02:30 - why choose a career in academia

00:05:00 - shaken public trust in institutions of higher learning

00:13:00 - the role of a university

00:16:50 - academic freedom

00:20:26 - STEM research and the CCP

00:29:00 - decline of the liberal arts

00:40:15 - the pursuit of truth

00:42:30 - viewpoint diversity

00:48:00 - life as provost

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Host: Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin

Executive Producers:
Mat Hames
Beth Hames

Researcher: John Masko

Producer: Laura Utt

Editor: Josh Meyers

Post Production: Jacob Estrada

Camera: Josh Harwick, Nathan Jennings

Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

In 2025, Cornel West and Robert George--two thought leaders who disagree on just about everything--aren't supposed to be friends. But against all odds, they are. In this first episode of Peter Robinson Unbridled, Cornel and Robbie discuss their improbable friendship, their love of music, their new book Truth Matters, and how they look for the truths we all share in an age of division.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Host: Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin

Executive Producers:
Mat Hames
Beth Hames

Researcher: John Masko

Producer: Laura Utt

Editor: Josh Meyers

Post Production: Jacob Estrada

Camera: Josh Harwick, Nathan Jennings

Music by Brandon Shufflebarger