Episode 2046: David Faris on why American kids are all left these days

In November of this year, two particularly out of touch eighty-year old men will contest the US Presidential election. America, in other words, has an age problem. According to David Faris, author of THE KIDS ARE ALL LEFT, the country might be on the brink of a generational war between young and old. But there’s nothing apocalyptic about this imminent conflict, Faris believes. The majority of American kids, he argues, are politically on the left and their progressive activism will unite rather than divide the country. So the American future, Faris predicts, will be a civil peace rather than war. I hope he’s right.David Faris is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, where he focuses on American political institutions, foreign policy, Middle East politics, and democracy. He is the author of "It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics" (Melville House Publishing, 2018) and "The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America" (Melville House Publishing, 2020) as well as a contributing writer at Newsweek, Slate and The Week. His work has also appeared in The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Heatmap News, Informed Comment, The Daily Beast, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Sun-Times and more.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe