City Journal Audio

Heather Mac Donald joins City Journal associate editor Seth Barron to discuss the dubious scientific and statistical bases of the trendy academic theory known as "implicit bias." The implicit association test (IAT), first introduced in 1998, uses a computerized response-time test to measure an individual's bias, particularly regarding race. Despite scientific challenges to the test's validity, the implicit-bias idea has taken firm root in popular culture and in the media. Police forces and corporate HR departments are spending millions every year reeducating employees on how to recognize their presumptive hidden prejudices. Heather discusses the problems with implicit bias, the impact that the concept is having on academia and in the corporate world, and the real reasons for racial disparities in educational achievement and income levels. Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and author of the New York Timesbestseller The War on Cops. Her article in the Autumn 2017 issue of City Journal is entitled, "Are We All Unconscious Racists?"

John Tierney joins Aaron M. Renn to discuss the federal government's efforts to limit electronic cigarettes (vaping), and the corruption of the public health profession more generally. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, public health officials combatted epidemics of cholera and dysentery through improvements in water and sewage systems. In its modern form, however, this once-noble profession acts largely as an advocate for progressive causes, with trivial priorities including taxes on soda, calorie counts for restaurants, and free condoms. In recent years, public health officials in America have even turned against vaping—the most effective antismoking product ever created. "The public-health establishment has become a menace to public health," Tierney writes in City Journal. John Tierney is a contributing editor to City Journal. He spent more than two decades as a reporter and columnist with the New York Times.

Seth Barron and Nicole Gelinas join Brian Anderson to discuss the upcoming New York City mayoral election and some of the challenges facing the city today. Bill de Blasio won the New York mayor's office in 2013, pledging to take the city in a different direction from his successful predecessors, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. From policing and taxes to housing and welfare, the mayor has pursued policies in opposition to those that helped turn the city around after decades of decline and made New York a symbol of urban recovery. So far, however, most of the Giuliani/Bloomberg achievements remain intact; the city is flourishing, and de Blasio is expected to win reelection. But problems are mounting up: the region's transportation infrastructure is in dire need of repair, street homelessness is on the rise, and New York's political culture remains terribly corrupt. Seth Barron is associate editor of City Journal and project director of the NYC Initiative at the Manhattan Institute. He writes primarily about New York City politics and culture. Nicole Gelinas is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a columnist at the New York Post.

On Labor Day, we honor the American labor movement and the contributions that workers make to the strength and well-being of the country. It's been more than 80 years since Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guaranteeing the right of private-sector workers to unionize and bargain collectively for better pay and working conditions. Today, the NLRA still governs the relationship between organized labor and employers—but in 2015, less than 10 percent of American workers belonged to a union. That's down from nearly 40 percent in the 1950s. With economic competition from overseas and technological innovation changing the value of physical labor in the United States, maybe it's time to rethink how American model of labor relations. Oren Cass joins Brian Anderson to discuss labor unions, past and present, and to offer an alternative model for organized labor. This 10 Blocks episode is the third based on City Journal's special issue, The Shape of Work to Come. The discussion draws on Oren's essay, "More Perfect Unions." Oren Cass is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where he focuses on issues ranging from welfare to climate change. Previously, he was domestic policy director of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

Matthew Hennessey joins Aaron Renn to discuss the fading of the baby boom generation, the rise of tech-savvy millennials, and the challenge for those in-between, known as Generation X. This 10 Blocks episode is based on Matt's essay from the Summer 2017 issue of City Journal, "Zero Hour for Generation X." While the baby boomers are finally preparing to depart the scene, "millennials could conceivably jump the queue, crowding out the more traditional priorities and preferences of the intervening generation—Generation X," Matt writes. "If GenXers don't assert themselves soon, they risk losing their ability to influence the direction of the country." Matthew Hennessey is associate op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal and the author of Right Here, Right Now, to be published in 2018 by Encounter Books. Aaron M. Renn is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.

Paul Beston joins Steven Malanga to talk about the history of the American high school and making high-quality career training central in today's high schools. This Ten Blocks episode is the second based on City Journal's special issue, The Shape of Work to Come. In 1910, less than 20 percent of America's 15-to-18-year-olds were enrolled in high school. By 1940, that figure had reached nearly 75 percent. The phenomenon became known as the American high school movement, and the impetus for it came from local communities, not from federal, or even state, government. Today, however, high school diplomas poorly prepare students for finding good jobs. Despite automation and competition from overseas, surveys of businesses consistently show that hundreds of thousands of positions in manufacturing firms go unfilled. One thing is abundantly clear: career and technical training in the U.S. hasn't evolved to keep up with the transformation of the modern economy—and many schools have even slashed funding for vocational education. Paul Beston is managing editor of City Journal and author of the forthcoming book, The Boxing Kings: When American Heavyweights Rule the Ring. His story "When High Schools Shaped America's Destiny" appeared inCity Journal's special issue. Steven Malanga is the George M. Yeager Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal. His story "Vocational Ed, Reborn" also appeared in the special issue.

Tevi Troy joins the Manhattan Institute's Paul Howard to discuss a dreaded scenario: a bioterror attack in New York City. Gotham's status as a cultural and financial center makes it a more desirable target than any other city in the world. Of all the threats the city faces, a biological attack may be the most terrifying. Due its size, density, and transportation complexity bioterror would present a significant challenge. Luckily, New York's unmatched police and counterterror forces—along with federal agencies—remain ever vigilant to keep residents and visitors safe. Tevi Troy is a presidential historian, former White House aide, and former deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. His latest book is Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office.

Henry Olsen joins Brian Anderson to discuss Henry's new book The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism. For nearly 30 years, the Republican Party had defined itself by Ronald Reagan's legacy: a strong military, free trade, lower taxes, and most important, smaller government. When Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for president in 2016, many observers in the media and professional political circles asked a familiar question: Is the Republican Party still the Party of Reagan? According to Henry Olsen, Trump's election actually gives Republicans their best chance to "re-Reaganize" the GOP. Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. From 2006 -2013, he served as Vice President and Director of the National Research Initiative at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.

Edward L. Glaeser joins Brian Anderson to discuss the great American domestic crisis of the twenty-first century: persistent joblessness, particularly among "prime-age" men. This Ten Blocks edition is the first based onCity Journal's special issue, The Shape of Work to Come. In 1967, 95 percent of men between the ages of 25 and 54 worked. During the Great Recession, the share of jobless prime-age males rose above 20 percent. Today, even after years of economic recovery, more than 15 percent of prime-age men still aren't working. Technological changes, globalization, the educational system, and government policy have all contributed to the problem. "To solve this crisis, we must educate, reform social services, empower entrepreneurs, and even subsidize employment," argues Glaeser in his article, "The War on Work—and How to End It," in the special issue of City Journal. Edward L. Glaeser is a professor of economics at Harvard University, a City Journal contributing editor, and the author of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.

Seth Barron joins Brian Anderson to discuss New York City politics, Mayor Bill de Blasio's first term, the relationship between de Blasio and Governor Cuomo, and the controversy surrounding this year's Puerto Rican Day Parade. "Surging tax revenues and the continued peace dividend from 20 years of vigorous Broken Windows policing have given Bill de Blasio a relatively easy first term in the mayor's office," notes Seth Barron in a recent story for City Journal. Indeed, as his first term in office winds down, de Blasio is an overwhelming favorite to win reelection this November. But for many New Yorkers who lived through Gotham's worst days two and three decades ago, de Blasio's election was a troublesome sign of how fragile the city's success might be. His likely second term in office might expose more of that fragility. Seth Barron is associate editor of City Journal and project director of the NYC Initiative at the Manhattan Institute. He writes primarily about New York City politics and culture.