Feudal Future

The job market can feel like a contradiction: the economy grows, unemployment does not look catastrophic, yet white-collar candidates can barely get a callback. We unpack that tension with two people who live in the data and the day-to-day reality of hiring: Michael Bernick, former director of California’s Employment Development Department, and Gad Levanon, chief economist at the Burning Glass Ins...

Energy shocks don’t just raise prices, they can end expansions. We sit down with Tyler Goodspeed, Chief Economist at ExxonMobil and author of “Recession,” plus energy analyst Robert Bryce, to map how oil, natural gas, and geopolitics can turn into real-world recession risk. Along the way, we test a question we remember from the 1970s: are we watching another classic energy-driven downturn, or some...

The fastest way to spot a broken housing market is brutally simple: compare home prices to incomes. When that price-to-income ratio, often called the median multiple, shoots from a normal “3” to “11” or “12,” you are not looking at a minor housing shortage. You are looking at a system that no longer works for the middle class. We unpack what the latest Demographia housing affordability data says a...

A half-century is long enough for a community to transform, but not long enough for the origin story to stay intact without receipts. We walk through one of the first comprehensive efforts to measure Iranian Americans in the United States, then pressure-test the findings with sharp audience questions and personal reflections that put real faces behind the charts.  We talk about how Iranian immigra...

The Democrats keep asking voters to choose them, but many people still can’t answer a basic question: what do Democrats stand for right now? We bring on public affairs consultant and UCLA lecturer David Gershwin and AEI senior fellow Ruy Teixeira to wrestle with the party’s direction, its internal incentives, and why “winning the next election” can mask deeper strategic failure. We talk about how...

Liberalism didn’t start as a comfortable status quo. It started as a revolt against feudal hierarchy and rigid orthodoxy, and it stayed alive by reinventing itself when capitalism and concentrated power threatened to rot the system from the inside. That’s the premise behind our conversation with Adrian Wooldridge, author of The Revolutionary Center, The Lost Genius of Liberalism, and it’s the thre...

A state can look rich on paper while ordinary life gets harder fast and the bill comes due. We sit down with Hephestion Bolaris of Class Unity and Hank Adler, an accounting professor and former Deloitte tax partner, to ask the uncomfortable question behind every big promise: who pays, how, and what happens when the payers can leave? We pressure-test wealth taxes and “tax the rich” politics against...

Entry-level hiring is getting squeezed, but the reasons aren’t as simple as “the economy is bad.” We sit down with David Brown, Americas CEO of Hays, and James Dusserre, assistant dean for placement and career services, to map what the 2026 job market actually looks like for new grads and early career professionals. The surprising part: GDP and unemployment can look okay while companies still pull...

Religious belief is supposed to fade as societies get richer and more educated. So why do newer surveys show the opposite pattern in the United States, with college grads and post grads often *more* likely to attend church than people with only a high school education? We unpack what the data can and cannot prove, why earlier secularization theories missed key realities, and how a smaller but more...

California’s housing crisis isn’t a riddle; it’s a chain reaction. We trace it from land policy and restrictive growth boundaries to code complexity, construction costs, and the quiet social fallout inside families, schools, synagogues, and neighborhoods. With demographers, advocates, and veteran builders around the table, we unpack why the median home price-to-income ratio ballooned, how the land...

Populism gets blamed for everything from polarization to democratic decay—but what if the louder story is a search for voice and belonging? We sit down with sociologist Frank Furedi to unpack why so many voters are breaking with legacy parties and why the energy behind these movements is less about recession and more about culture. From national identity and neighborly trust to the norms families...

What if the internet that promised liberation ended up centralizing control over what we see, share, and believe? We sit down with Jake Siegel—journalist, former Army intelligence officer, and author of The Information State—to trace how a tool built for openness became the backbone of a new information order. Starting with the Internet Freedom Agenda and moving through 9/11’s surveillance shift,...

Want a clear-eyed map of where AI is taking jobs, education, and leadership over the next five years? We dig past the headlines to examine why tech profits can soar while layoffs spread, why white-collar roles are suddenly vulnerable, and how students and mid-career professionals can protect their earnings in a market that rewards speed, strategy, and human touch. We unpack the difference between...

The headlines shout about winners and losers, but the real story this year is a quiet break in the social fabric: rising costs, collapsing civility, and a middle class pushed to the margins while trillion-dollar platforms set the rules. We take stock without the wishful thinking—where leadership fell short, why media trust eroded, and how populist energy devolved into a performance economy. Then w...

The ground beneath American religion is shifting, but not in a straight line. We dig into why the country’s casual middle is shrinking while conviction grows at the edges—among communities that ask more, not less. With Charles Murray and Terry Mattingley, we trace the data on mainline decline, the plateau of the “nones,” and the surprising surge in tradition-forward spaces where authority, discipl...

A governor with national ambitions, a party tug‑of‑war, and a state wrestling with affordability—this conversation goes straight at the question on everyone’s mind: can Gavin Newsom sell hope to a country tired of anger without getting buried by California’s record? We bring together seasoned strategists to weigh why prediction markets love his chances, how a relentless work ethic and podcast‑firs...

What explains the outsized success of Iranian Americans—and can that same resolve help tilt the future of Iran? We bring together two sharp voices to unpack a story that spans kitchen-table sacrifice, elite migration, and a culture where A’s are expected and grit is non-negotiable. From early professional cohorts in medicine and engineering to founders in Silicon Valley, we trace the “immigrant tr...

Tired of big talk that falls apart when the trash doesn’t get picked up? We bring together two insiders who’ve lived the fight from the council chamber to the mayor’s office to map how cities actually move: coalitions, budgets, police staffing, and the messy business of making streets feel safe. Houston’s recent pivot toward a centrist, basics-first agenda shows how bipartisan votes still form whe...

The landscape of American defense manufacturing has transformed dramatically since World War II—and not for the better. What happens when a nation with the world's most advanced military technology can't produce enough conventional artillery shells to supply Ukraine while maintaining its own reserves? This episode brings together three exceptional voices to examine America's critica...

Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that wi...

Is there a middle ground between open borders and immigration restriction? This thought-provoking discussion with GOP strategist Mike Madrid and Venezuelan immigrant Dr. Daniel DiMartino explores the complex realities of America's immigration debate beyond the partisan talking points. The experts delve into surprising data showing how education levels dramatically impact immigrant outcomes -...

The technological revolution of artificial intelligence isn't just changing how businesses operate—it's transforming how they're governed. In this riveting conversation, we're joined by Dean Yoost, former senior partner at PWC, and Ashwin Rangan, CEO of DoubleCheck, to explore their groundbreaking book "Governance in the Age of AI: A Director's Handbook." Our gue...

The global balance of power is undergoing a dramatic transformation that extends far beyond the US-China rivalry dominating Western headlines. This eye-opening conversation with experts from three continents reveals how developing nations are reshaping international relations through demographic advantages, economic growth, and strategic non-alignment. Our panel delivers surprising insights about...

The widening gender gap is reshaping American society in profound and troubling ways. Join hosts Marshall Toplansky and Joel Kotkin as they dive deep into this growing divide with Christine Emba, author of "Rethinking Sex: A Provocation," and Aaron Renn, writer of "Life in the Negative World." Drawing from fresh research including focus groups conducted in Raleigh, North Caroli...

America's Jewish geography is undergoing a dramatic transformation, shifting from its historical concentration in the Northeast to flourishing communities across the South and West. This fascinating evolution reflects broader demographic patterns while revealing unique insights about Jewish identity, community formation, and cultural adaptation. Demographic expert Ira Sheskin takes us through...