You can now watch my recent conversation with Dr. Drew. This was a live event we did with the Manhattan Institute to celebrate the launch of the paperback edition of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class.
Enjoy:
Some topics we covered:
I opened up about the surreal experience of sharing a stage with Dr. Drew—someone I grew up listening to on Loveline
The divide between kids growing up in stable, affluent homes and kids like me who were latchkey by necessity—and how that plays out generationally and across class lines
Dr. Drew brought his addiction and trauma expertise to explain why cycles of dysfunction repeat, and why it's so hard to break them
The strange cultural gap between elite universities and working-class communities, and why higher ed often fails the very people it claims to help
Dr. Drew and I discussed how giving people money doesn't magically fix chaos; without stability, guidance, or skills, windfalls just accelerate collapse
The surreal transition from foster homes to the military to the Ivy League—and how bizarre it was to hear students from wealthy families call me "privileged" because I didn’t share their worldview
The psychology behind luxury beliefs—and how affluent people adopt trendy, often harmful ideas to gain social status while insulating themselves from the fallout
I asked Dr. Drew what he’s noticed after decades of speaking with young people, and he described a generational shift: less curiosity, more fragility, and increased hostility toward authority figures
The irony of American elites embracing European postmodern philosophy while French academics have moved on from it and now think it’s nonsense
I answer a question about whether I’d send my future kid to an elite college
We look forward to more from you both. “Live, from New York!”
They tell others not to marry then the marry in a private enclave.