The Aaron Renn Show

Aaron Renn
  • 4.9 (471)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Aaron Renn's commentary and insights on our 21st century world, along with his conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers on the issues of today. Covering culture, media, economics, politics, Christianity and men's issues. 

  1. Aug 10

    The Quiet Urban Leadership Crisis | Mark Barbash

    Is local leadership declining, even in America’s fastest-growing cities? Aaron Renn sits down with Mark Barbash, a longtime economic development professional in Columbus, Ohio, to examine the quiet crisis of civic and corporate leadership.  They discuss how generational change, corporate consolidation, shifting philanthropy, and a K-shaped economy are weakening the institutions that once held cities together—while headline growth continues. Using Columbus, Ohio as a case study, they explore what it will take to rebuild commitment to the common good.  Topics include the decline of place-based corporate leaders, the rise of donor-advised funds, workforce and housing constraints, the limits of economic development incentives, and whether there’s still a “burning platform” for meaningful change.  CHAPTERS: (00:00 Introduction: The Leadership Crisis in American Cities) (02:05 How Civic and Corporate Leadership Has Changed Over the Decades) (08:15 Generational Shifts and the Decline of Place-Based Leadership) (15:00 Economic Development in a Globalized, Industry-Focused World) (17:00 The K-Shaped Economy, Workforce Shortages & Housing Stress) (24:00 The Transformation of Local Philanthropy and Community Foundations) (31:40 Is There a Burning Platform for Change in Booming Cities?) (37:00 What Should We Do? Rebuilding Consensus and Engagement) ARTICLES DISCUSSED: 🌐 From Titans to Technocrats: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/from-titans-to-technocrats 🌐 'The Columbus Way' is failing as community, problems grow: https://www.aol.com/articles/columbus-way-failing-community-problems-082827000.html 🌐 Instability at Columbus Partnership sign of broken Columbus Way: https://www.aol.com/articles/instability-columbus-partnership-sign-broken-081533000.html CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  2. Jul 27

    SPECIAL: My Appearance on Faithful Discourse with Chris Henry

    In this week's episode, I'm sharing an appearance I made on Faithful Discourse with Chris Henry, the senior pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. For more about this church and our conversation, you can see the write up I did on my web site: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-reckoning-is-here

  3. Jul 13

    Can AI Save Cities From the Urban Doom Loop? | Arpit Gupta

    Economist Arpit Gupta joins Aaron to break down the future of American cities after remote work, office real estate collapse, and the rise of AI. From the “Urban Doom Loop” — where falling commercial property values crush city tax revenue and trigger a vicious spiral — to surging suburban housing prices, office-to-residential conversions, and the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles, this conversation covers the biggest forces reshaping urban America. Will AI supercharge white-collar job growth and rescue downtowns, or accelerate the displacement of routine office work? Are superstar cities like New York and San Francisco pulling ahead while second-tier cities struggle? And how will self-driving cars radically expand commuting patterns and city sprawl? CHAPTERS: (00:00 – Introduction & The Urban Doom Loop Explained) (03:20 – Post-COVID Office Market Recovery (or Lack Thereof)) (07:45 – Why Housing Prices Are Soaring While Offices Collapse) (12:10 – Remote Work’s Lasting Impact on City Centers) (15:30 – AI’s Dual Effect on White-Collar Jobs & Office Demand) (22:40 – Can Tourism or “Playground Cities” Replace Commerce?) (26:15 – Agglomeration Effects in the Age of Zoom & AI) (31:40 – Advice for Young People Entering the Job Market) (36:50 – The Game-Changer: Autonomous Vehicles & the Future of Sprawl) (43:20 – Will Most Cities Decline or Adapt?) ARPIT GUPTA LINKS: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/arpitrage 🌐 Arpit Gupta's NYU Homepage: https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/arpit-gupta CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  4. Jun 22

    The Vanishing Black Family | Delano Squires

    In this powerful conversation, Delano Squires, Director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing at The Heritage Foundation and author of The Vanishing Black Family, breaks down the dramatic collapse of the Black family — from stable two-parent homes in the 1940s-1950s to today’s 70% out-of-wedlock birth rate. Delano explains how slavery deformed but did not destroy the Black family, but how the combination of 1960s welfare policies and new ideologies worked to undermine it. CHAPTERS: (00:00 Introduction) (01:45 The 1986 Bill Moyers Documentary) (04:20 Why Delano Wrote This Book Now) (08:10 The Black Family Before the 1960s – Surprisingly Stable) (13:40 Slavery’s Real Impact vs. Welfare & Feminism) (19:55 The Economic Argument – Jobs vs. Culture) (26:40 Why the “Marriageable Men” Theory Falls Short) (32:15 Restoring the Black Family – The Multi-Generational Plan (Church, HBCUs & More)) (42:50 Final Thoughts) DELANO SQUIRES LINKS: 📖 Buy The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable: https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Black-Family-Feminism-Vulnerable-ebook/dp/B0FRFLFVLH/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/DelanoSquires CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  5. Jun 8

    The 100-Year Rise of the Information Control State | Jacob Siegel

    How did “disinformation” become the all-purpose explanation for American politics? In this eye-opening conversation, journalist Jacob Siegel reveals how a century-old progressive vision of expert rule evolved into today’s censorship-industrial complex — from Woodrow Wilson’s propaganda machine to the Hunter Biden laptop suppression and beyond. Siegel, author of the new book The Information State, traces the hidden history of information control and explains how governments and tech platforms now shape what we see, say, and believe. CHAPTERS: (00:00 Introduction) (00:48 Discovering Disinformation Everywhere in 2016) (04:00 Misinformation, Disinformation & Malinformation Explained) (08:23 The Hamilton 68 Censorship Scandal) (12:15 The Hunter Biden Laptop Suppression) (18:45 The Progressive Origins: Woodrow Wilson to the Creel Committee) (35:00 What Should Replace the Information State?) (41:10 Rebuilding Borders on the Internet) (45:59 Is the Censorship Apparatus Still a Threat?) JACOB SIEGEL LINKS: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/Jacob__Siegel 📖 Buy The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control:  https://www.amazon.com/Information-State-Politics-Total-Control/dp/1250363128/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  6. Jun 1

    AI Is the New NAFTA | Brent Orell

    Is AI the next great labor shock — and are we about to repeat the mistakes of NAFTA? Aaron Renn talks with Brent Orrell, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about what AI is already doing to the workforce, why this time the disruption is hitting knowledge workers first, and why human formation may be the most valuable asset in an AI-infused world. Brent Orrell studies the future of work and AI at AEI and previously served for years at the U.S. Department of Labor. He is launching a National Commission on AI and the Future of the American Workforce. CHAPTERS: (00:00 Introduction) (00:55 Why AI Is the New NAFTA) (04:30 A National Commission on AI and Work) (07:30 The Labor Effects Already Happening) (12:20 How "Learn to Code" Became a Trap) (17:00 Adaptation: The Core Skill for the AI Era) (24:00 Why Human Formation Matters More Than Ever) (40:00 The Coming White-Collar Political Disruption) BRENT ORELL LINKS: 🌐 Brent Orell's AEI Home Page and Articles: https://www.aei.org/profile/brent-orrell/ CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  7. May 18

    Inside the Left's Institutional Capture | Seth Barron

    Aaron Renn sits down with Seth Barron, Associate Editorial Page Editor at the New York Post and author of Weaponized: The Left's Capture and Destruction of America's Sacred Institutions. They discuss how cherished American myths have been twisted to weaponize key institutions — policing, borders, public safety, housing, education, and civic life itself. From “defund the police” and anarcho-tyranny in New York City to open borders, the erosion of assimilation, and the battle over American identity, this conversation reveals how the left uses institutions as tools of political power. CHAPTERS: (00:00 - Introduction) (01:36 - What "Weaponized" Really Means) (03:45 - The Left's War on Policing & Public Safety)  (09:20 - Anarcho-Tyranny in NYC Under Mamdani) (15:10 - Police Brutality Myths vs Reality) (18:40 - Why the Right Lacks a Competing Moral Vision) (22:15 - Think Globally vs Think Locally) (28:50 - Immigration, Borders & the Attack on Citizenship) (36:55 - American Identity & the End of Assimilation) (43:20 - Israel, Palestine & the Left's Broader Agenda) GUEST LINKS: 📖 Weaponized: The Left's Capture and Destruction of America's Sacred Institutions: https://www.amazon.com/Weaponized-Lefts-Seizure-State-Power/dp/1630062693/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/sethbarronnyc CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

  8. Apr 27

    America's "Hebraic Christianity" Culture | Joshua Mitchell

    In this wide-ranging conversation, Georgetown Professor Joshua Mitchell explains why America remains a deeply Hebraic, covenantal nation — and why the current culture war is best understood as a distorted continuation of the Reformation. From the Plato-Aristotle divide to Luther’s turn to history, from Tocqueville’s warnings to the spiritual economy of stain and redemption, Mitchell offers a profound diagnosis of where American Christianity stands today. Watch until the end for a hopeful (yet challenging) path forward. CHAPTERS (00:00 Introduction & The Article That Sparked a National Conversation) (04:20 The Great Schism: Plato vs Aristotle & East vs West) (11:45 Why the Catholic Church Chose Aristotle — And Its Consequences) (18:50 The Reformation: Luther’s Historical Dialectic vs Calvin’s Covenantal Path) (27:15 America as a New Israel — The Hebraic Soul of the Nation) (35:40 Identity Politics as Deformed Puritanism) (44:10 Evangelicals, Conservatives & the Path Forward for Reformation Christians)  JOSHUA MITCHELL LINKS: 🌐 Whither the Reformation in America: https://americanreformer.org/2026/03/whither-the-reformation-in-america/ MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 📖 The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization by Arthur Herman: https://www.amazon.com/Cave-Light-Aristotle-Struggle-Civilization/dp/0553385666/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn 🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

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4.9
out of 5
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About

Aaron Renn's commentary and insights on our 21st century world, along with his conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers on the issues of today. Covering culture, media, economics, politics, Christianity and men's issues. 

Information

  • Creator
    Aaron Renn
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    278
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Urbanophile, LLC
  • Show Website
    The Aaron Renn Show

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