A Mayor, a Military Pro and a Professor on Affluence, Grievance and Greed
episodePreviously titled “A Mayor, a Military Pro, and a Professor on Affluence, Grievance and Greed” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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It seems to me that we can't get better. We can't become the kinds of people that democracies require if we keep lying to ourselves about who we are. And I think being honest, that decency isn't the defining attribute of the American public. It's something that we aspire to be. But as human beings... right? We are fraught and fallen, and we can tell a story about that.
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
How do the guests define courage in today's America?
A former mayor, a military expert, and a college professor walk into a bar. Well, not exactly a bar, more like a podcast studio. It's a tale as old as time, but this week I knew I had to do something special. This This conversation was sparked by a fiery conversation we had on the broadcast, but this one comes without the constraints of television or commercials or rules against swearing. My guests today are three of the best people I know, three of the best people I get to talk to about everything. And today we push them further than we've ever pushed them before. So, without any further ado, Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude, former mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu, and Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols, welcome to The Best People.
That's it for the politeness. I think what I really want to ask you guys is about the assholes trying to destroy the country and the ordinary people with so much more skin in the game, so much more courage when their moment to choose whether to do the brave and uncomfortable thing comes to them saying yes, while the people to whom the country has given everything, everything, seem to capitulate every single time they're in the batter's box.
What role does greed play in American politics?
Eddie, I'll start with you on that. Maybe you're not as surprised and horrified by it as I am.
Well, I'm horrified by it for sure. I think it points to a level of greed and selfishness that clearly threaten American democracy. And I think there is this ongoing calculus that informs decision making. How can I get in on the grift? And then you combine that with fear and cowardice and we get what we have. And, you know, I think this has been going on for a while, Nicole. We've witnessed over the last four decades an erosion of any robust conception of the public good. And that has happened in part because of an unleashing of an economic logic driven by selfishness and greed.
How does the conversation address moral poverty in society?
And then when you layer on that grievance, all hell breaks loose. Tom?
Yeah, I agree with Eddie. I think the term I would use about the phenomenon he's describing is this kind of moral poverty that has overtaken us. I mean, think about the things that have happened in the past 30 years. We don't have the Cold War anymore. You know, maybe it's just as a foreign policy guy, I keep coming back to this, but the Cold War was kind of a a framing and also a kind of guardrail setting that, you know, you couldn't just completely forget about who was running the government or the public good because you were always aware that, you know, it did matter who answered the phone at three o'clock in the morning. It did matter that there was another system, an alternative to us that was always out there kind of in your face.
But I also think that the affluence that has overtaken us, I mean, I started my life as a pretty hard-ass person.
What historical context shapes the current political landscape?
kind of libertarian conservative. You know, it's nobody's business how much money you make. But when you're talking about becoming a trillionaire, it kind of becomes the public's business. You know, even the ancient Athenians built a Parthenon to put money back into the economy at some point, you know, to say maybe we shouldn't just be sitting on piles of gold and silver.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:07
2
How do the guests define courage in today's America?
1:07–2:24
3
What role does greed play in American politics?
2:24–3:13
4
How does the conversation address moral poverty in society?
3:13–4:04
5
What historical context shapes the current political landscape?
4:04–4:58
6
How do the guests view the impact of Trumpism on democracy?
4:58–5:29
7
What solutions are proposed for rebuilding trust in America?
5:29–6:02
8
How can ordinary citizens contribute to change?
6:02–54:35
Speakers
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Tim Snyder on the “Tiny Infinitesimal Amount of Courage” We Need
Marc Elias: We’re Not Heading Towards the Precipice — “We’re There”
Brian Driscoll on the Hollowing Out of the FBI: "It's Devastating”