“Worrying” Disconnect Between Yale and the Outside World; Rob Henderson on Luxury Beliefs

In the newest episode of Pod and Man at Yale, Isaac Oberman ’26 and freshman Jacob Tyler ’27 talk about the cultural disconnect between not only their home towns in the Midwest and the Yale culture dominated by the coasts, but also between Yale and the rest of the country.

• Tyler: “They don’t believe me when I say that inflation is bad right now and it’s kind of hilarious but it’s also sad because these are the future leaders of America...it’s a little worrying, the disconnect.”
• Oberman: “It’s always vocationally focused, and everything’s so fast-paced, and everybody talks about their job instead of what they want and what they actually value in life.”
• Tyler: “It’s really hard to convince people otherwise, that maybe [white privilege] isn’t a thing, because every single white person they know here is extremely privileged.”
• Oberman: “I do think the urban necessity to have something to do, always, is a bit harmful, actually.”

For the episode’s expert interview, author Rob Henderson ’18 talked about his childhood in foster care, what luxury beliefs are, and how luxury beliefs are impacting campus and country:

• Henderson: “Most people don’t even know that the vast majority of American adults don’t have bachelor’s degrees.”
• Henderson: “The more educated and affluent you are... the more likely you are to say we should defund the police; the more likely you are to say we should decriminalize hard drugs; the more likely you are to agree that having two married parents is unimportant for kids. And, ultimately, they have detrimental consequences for the rest of society.”
• Henderson: “If you are a graduate of an elite university, and if you belong to this very privileged segment of society, you have a duty to give your beliefs and policy proposals and ideas a very thorough analysis before you start promoting them.”
• Henderson: “For a lot of, I’ll just say the word, elites, their only exposure to poverty is kind of the most... apparent and visible and kind of provocative parts of poverty... They don’t necessarily see people who clock into their job, make a minimum wage living, and then go home and try to pay their bills and take care of their kids.”

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