Dr. Murray Is In

One of the more pleasurable things in life is to have a probing conversation with Charles Murray. I did this today, for Q&A. Have a listen.

Murray, as you know, is the famous public-policy analyst who has long perched at the American Enterprise Institute. One of his books is Losing Ground, published in 1984, which had a big impact on me — as I have said before, and do again in this podcast. Other books from Charles include In Pursuit, Coming Apart, and his latest, By the People: Rebuilding Liberty without Permission. (What an American phrase.)

I ask him about big things and small, immediate things and more enduring ones. Why does he regard himself as a libertarian rather than as a conservative? What about his experience in Thailand (where he served in the Peace Corps)? What does he think of Barack Obama? And Hillary Clinton? What is the state of race relations? Has America “come apart”? Are we essentially one big meth house or brothel?

What is the “establishment”? What about national security versus (if it has to be “versus”) civil liberties? What do you do if you have children approaching college age? Where do you send them? Is America finished? Lights out?

Charles has answers — good ones. You may not agree with everything he says — I don’t — but you’ll probably want to hear what he says, as I do. If I believe X and Charles Murray says Y, I think about Y again.

Anyway, that podcast, once more.