Luxury Beliefs, the “Mating Crisis,” and NYC Politics — with Rob Henderson

Recorded August 4, 2025

In this episode, I welcome back Rob Henderson—social psychologist, author of Troubled, and the thinker who coined “luxury beliefs,” those status-boosting ideas that often shift real costs onto people with less power. We talk about what’s been on Rob’s mind since his memoir came out: the so-called mating crisis, why so many young people are delaying or avoiding partnership and family, and what that means for culture and policy. We also get into Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral run in New York City as a case study in luxury beliefs in practice. Plus: Rob fields questions from my Substack readers. #RobHenderson #LuxuryBeliefs #MatingCrisis #Unspeakeasy #NYCPolitics #DatingTrends #FamilyFormation

This is the full version of the August 11, 2025 episode of The Unspeakable Podcast. To hear the full episodes as soon as they're out, become a paying subscriber here: https://bit.ly/3FIq8xj

👥 Guest: Rob Henderson — Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute; PhD in psychology (Cambridge); author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. His weekly Substack goes to 70k+ subscribers.

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