Episode 67: Richard Reeves - The Quiet Despair Of Modern Men

Richard Reeves is a writer, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of "Of Boys and Men." During our conversation Richard presents data detailing how boys and men are falling behind in education and employment, that men represent three out every four "deaths of despair," and the confusion over what is good about being a man and what it means to be a man as gender roles have significantly changed.

Richard also talks about the phenomenon of both Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate, why Peterson and Tate have gained such an audience, his primary concern of "checked-out" rather than "acting-out" men, the influence of video games and pornography, the effect of divorce on men, the evolutionary point and purpose of the male sex, and what can be done to help problems of modern men.

I think Richard's book will be a seminal work of our era. It puts the data to what is already known by millions of men: the isolation, the detachment, the loneliness, the disconnection, the feeling of being unnecessary, the silent despair. A healthy civilization encourages, designs, and incentivizes all of its citizens to flourish, and Richard's book should help raise our consciousness to the reality of the lives of so many men.

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(00:00) Intro

(02:24) How Richard realized men are falling behind

(06:00) The data re: men falling behind in education

(09:20) The structure of education helps women's natural abilities

(13:44) A response to the indifference of male decline

(18:24) Stories of suffering of modern men

(21:48) Men are "opting out" not "acting out"

(27:00) What would men be doing without porn and video games?

(28:37) Big stats and small stats that reveal the decline of men

(32:14) A sense of agency is crucial for men who are struggling

(38:49) Jim Hollis' work for men

(40:04) Jordan Peterson is a gigantic listening ear for men

(45:24) The Andrew Tate phenomenon

(52:49) Jordan Peterson's rage and empathy

(58:27) Divorce and its effect on men

(01:03:02) What is the evolutionary purpose of men?

(01:08:04) Children need positive relationships with their fathers; married parents less so

(01:16:57) Solutions to increase male flourishing