Feudal Future

Joel Kotkin & Marshall Toplansky
  • 4.6 (37)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

With the new class structure resembling that of the Medieval times, opportunity is quickly disappearing for small business people, property owners, skilled workers and private sector professionals. Join world-renown author Joel Kotkin and tech-entrepreneur Marshall Toplansky as they explore what we can do to liberate the global middle class. They sit down with business, government, and citizen leaders to uncover the trends and give you the insights and tools to forge a better future. Joel Kotkin is the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University, Executive Director of the Urban Reform Institute, and an internationally-recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. His most recent book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism is now available for pre-order. Marshall N. Toplansky is a widely published and award-winning marketing professional and successful entrepreneur. He co-founded KPMG's data andanalytics center of excellence and now teaches and consults corporations on their analytics strategies. This show is supported by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

  1. 1H AGO

    THE EVOLUTION OF THE IRANIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

    A half-century is long enough for a community to transform, but not long enough for the origin story to stay intact without receipts. We walk through one of the first comprehensive efforts to measure Iranian Americans in the United States, then pressure-test the findings with sharp audience questions and personal reflections that put real faces behind the charts.  We talk about how Iranian immigration stretches back further than most people assume, why the 1980s become the biggest decade, and how politics and policy show up in the data. We also unpack the difference between arriving as an immigrant versus entering as a student or visitor and later adjusting status, a key detail for understanding why education and career trajectories look the way they do today. Along the way, we explain why census ancestry data often tells a clearer story than categories that do not reliably capture Iranian identity.  Then we shift from migration to outcomes: where Iranian Americans live now, what aging and fertility convergence mean for the next generation, and why educational attainment stands out nationally. We also get real about culture and identity, including language at home, intermarriage, multiracial self-identification, and the “third-generation return” where descendants go searching for history and Farsi later in life. A clinician adds a vital layer on mental health, generational gaps, and the hidden costs that can sit alongside visible success, while an entrepreneur shares an unforgettable arrival story that ties immigrant adaptation to pivotal moments in American history.  If you care about Iranian American demographics, immigration policy, assimilation, language retention, and community economic impact, this conversation gives you both a framework and a human narrative. Subscribe, share this with someone who debates the numbers, and leave a review with the question you want the next study to answer. Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    1h 19m

  2. MAY 15

    The Future of the Democratic Party and California Politics

    The Democrats keep asking voters to choose them, but many people still can’t answer a basic question: what do Democrats stand for right now? We bring on public affairs consultant and UCLA lecturer David Gershwin and AEI senior fellow Ruy Teixeira to wrestle with the party’s direction, its internal incentives, and why “winning the next election” can mask deeper strategic failure. We talk about how the Democratic donor world and institutional ecosystem often reward coalition management over coalition expansion, making it harder to challenge interest-group orthodoxies or shrink a growing list of litmus tests. We also debate what “centrism” even means in 2026 America, and why so much mainstream Democratic strategy seems to default to anti-Trump positioning plus affordability messaging rather than a sharper, broader governing agenda that can compete in working-class, rural, and exurban places. Then we use California politics as a stress test: what a deep-blue primary system, heavy spending, and activist credibility can do to the candidate pipeline, and why a problem-solver profile can struggle against louder narratives. From there we widen the lens to the midterms and beyond, forecasting a likely Democratic House win, a Senate that’s increasingly in play, and the possibility that all roads lead to veto-driven gridlock. We close with early 2028 handicapping, including Gavin Newsom’s odds on the Democratic side and why Marco Rubio or J D Vance could shape the Republican field. If you care about the future of the Democratic Party, the progressive versus moderate divide, and the real mechanics of American electoral politics, listen through and share this with someone who argues politics with you. Subscribe, rate, and review, then tell us: what would it take for Democrats to expand their coalition again? Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    33 min

  3. APR 27

    How Liberalism Lost Its Edge And How It Can Find It Again

    Liberalism didn’t start as a comfortable status quo. It started as a revolt against feudal hierarchy and rigid orthodoxy, and it stayed alive by reinventing itself when capitalism and concentrated power threatened to rot the system from the inside. That’s the premise behind our conversation with Adrian Wooldridge, author of The Revolutionary Center, The Lost Genius of Liberalism, and it’s the thread that ties together everything we wrestle with here.  We trace how earlier liberals confronted the robber barons, rebuilt ladders of opportunity, and used trust busting and institutional reform to keep liberal democracy resilient. Then we ask the uncomfortable modern question: what happens when liberalism becomes the establishment, dominating universities, media, and elite culture? Adrian lays out three paths people drift toward when that happens: the far left, the nationalist right, or a reinvention from the center that keeps freedom of thought and divided power while taking concentrated power seriously again.  From there, we go straight at the biggest modern accelerator of oligarchy: Big Tech. We talk about monopoly power, the attention economy, disinformation, and why addiction-based social media can undermine the rational, self-controlled individual that liberal society depends on. We debate free speech and the dangers of repression disguised as “safety,” then get concrete about policy: antitrust enforcement, Section 230, and how AI could either deepen surveillance and control or empower workers and entrepreneurship. We also zoom out to geopolitics, Trump-era uncertainty, Russia and China, and rising European extremism, because a world without reliable liberal leadership makes domestic renewal even more urgent.  If you care about liberalism, populism, antitrust, tech regulation, free speech, AI, and the future of liberal democracy, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a review with the strongest argument you heard, what did we miss? Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    45 min

  4. APR 18

    Why Wealth Taxes Backfire And What Works Instead

    A state can look rich on paper while ordinary life gets harder fast and the bill comes due. We sit down with Hephestion Bolaris of Class Unity and Hank Adler, an accounting professor and former Deloitte tax partner, to ask the uncomfortable question behind every big promise: who pays, how, and what happens when the payers can leave? We pressure-test wealth taxes and “tax the rich” politics against real examples, from European welfare states that lean heavily on income taxes and VAT to France’s experience with wealth flight. Then we bring it home to California and New York, where a small share of residents funds a huge share of income tax revenue. When budgets depend on capital gains and billionaires’ residency decisions, social services, homelessness responses, and long-term planning start to look dangerously brittle. From there we move past slogans into structure: how wealth can “trickle up” through rent seeking in housing, debt, and insurance; why deindustrialization and financialization can feel like modern feudalism; and what Sweden’s model suggests about pairing social support with growth, industrial capacity, and entrepreneurship. We also debate monopolies, “toll booth” tech companies, and whether AI will widen opportunity or simply reshuffle winners while workers absorb the transition. We close with the toughest trade-offs: jobs guarantees versus universal basic income, minimum wage hikes versus automation in fast food, and why price controls rarely end well outside emergencies. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who argues economics at dinner, and leave a review with your answer: what should society guarantee to everyone? Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    36 min

  5. MAR 26

    Career Launch in the Age of AI

    Entry-level hiring is getting squeezed, but the reasons aren’t as simple as “the economy is bad.” We sit down with David Brown, Americas CEO of Hays, and James Dusserre, assistant dean for placement and career services, to map what the 2026 job market actually looks like for new grads and early career professionals. The surprising part: GDP and unemployment can look okay while companies still pull back on junior openings, because the expectation of AI-driven productivity is changing how leaders plan headcount.  We dig into “slow to hire, slow to fire,” job hugging, and why reduced movement higher up the ladder hits first-time job seekers the hardest. From there, we explore the bigger questions AI raises: are jobs being eliminated now, or is fear of what’s coming freezing decisions? What happens to an organization in three to five years if it stops hiring and developing young talent? And where do guardrails fit when work is tied to identity, purpose, and social stability?  Then we get practical. When AI can generate both job descriptions and perfectly tailored resumes, “just apply online” becomes a losing strategy. We share a modern playbook for job search and career growth: referrals, targeted outreach to hiring managers, research-led messages, professional portfolios, first 90-day plans, and even short video introductions that cut through the noise. We also talk entrepreneurship and why younger workers increasingly treat careers as a portfolio of experiences, not a single ladder.  If you know someone graduating soon or trying to land that first serious role, share this conversation with them. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what’s working (or not working) in your job search right now. Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    31 min

  6. MAR 12

    Is there a new Religious Revival?

    Religious belief is supposed to fade as societies get richer and more educated. So why do newer surveys show the opposite pattern in the United States, with college grads and post grads often *more* likely to attend church than people with only a high school education? We unpack what the data can and cannot prove, why earlier secularization theories missed key realities, and how a smaller but more committed religious share can still look like a “revival” in daily life. We also get into the deeper driver behind the numbers: meaning. For many young adults, especially Gen Z, the loss of stable community and shared moral language can feel like a vacuum. We talk through why “science versus faith” is often framed as a conflict, how that framing breaks down in real life, and why congregations can function as durable social institutions that provide belonging, support, and a place to raise kids with values that feel coherent. Zooming out globally, the story changes fast. Western Europe continues to secularize, but the global south tells a different tale. We explore why sub Saharan Africa may become the centerpiece of global Christianity, from fertility rates and a very young age structure to the practical role churches play where public institutions are weak. We also debate the risks of religion blending with partisan politics and the growing connection between schooling choices, religious communities, and family life. If you found this conversation useful, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest question about where faith, community, and demographics are headed next. Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    48 min

  7. FEB 23

    From Policy To Permits, Here’s How We Unlock Affordable Housing

    California’s housing crisis isn’t a riddle; it’s a chain reaction. We trace it from land policy and restrictive growth boundaries to code complexity, construction costs, and the quiet social fallout inside families, schools, synagogues, and neighborhoods. With demographers, advocates, and veteran builders around the table, we unpack why the median home price-to-income ratio ballooned, how the land share of a home soared past construction, and why four million people have left since 2000. We share the human side too. A sociologist reveals how rising housing costs cut synagogue membership nearly in half among families most likely to join, as tighter budgets crowd out camp and education. Advocates argue for choice—compact, walkable neighborhoods for those who want them and room for larger lots inland—while spotlighting how public meetings are dominated by a few voices. The call is direct: younger residents and employers must show up so councils hear the demand for attainable ownership and missing-middle homes. From the jobsite, developers explain what actually moves the needle. Modular manufacturing compresses timelines and slashes vertical costs, while disciplined preconstruction and fast pay keep trades engaged. We dig into how layered fire, structural, plumbing, and zoning codes shrink the set of buildable solutions, stalling adaptive reuse and office-to-housing conversions. The path forward blends targeted code modernization with strong enforcement, faster approvals, and a regional lens that points to the Inland Empire’s scale, jobs pipeline, and remaining land as the state’s most realistic release valve. We close with a grounded view on homelessness: build dedicated supportive options at lower cost per bed, and simultaneously build far more homes for everyone to prevent people from falling into homelessness in the first place. If you care about affordability, mobility, and the future of California’s middle class, this conversation offers a practical playbook—align land policy, simplify codes, cut build times, and reclaim the civic microphone. If this episode resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who cares about housing, and leave a review with the one change you’d make in your city. Your voice helps build more homes. Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    54 min

  8. FEB 6

    Populism’s Pulse Today

    Populism gets blamed for everything from polarization to democratic decay—but what if the louder story is a search for voice and belonging? We sit down with sociologist Frank Furedi to unpack why so many voters are breaking with legacy parties and why the energy behind these movements is less about recession and more about culture. From national identity and neighborly trust to the norms families rely on, we explore the deeper drivers that explain why reform-minded parties are rising across the West. We trace how media fragmentation reshaped the battlefield. As old gatekeepers lost their monopoly, social and alternative outlets gave “outsiders” room to speak—and to find each other. Furedi highlights examples from the UK and Europe, including GB News’ surge and the growth of platforms that challenge the status quo. That shift helps explain both the momentum behind new movements and the fierce backlash to them, as cultural elites struggle to reassert legitimacy. The conversation moves through the demographics of support—why towns and smaller cities, where people raise children and invest in place, often embrace cultural populism more than hyper-urban cores. We dig into whether a left version of populism can last, what happens when movements become bigger than parties, and how “common sense” doubles as both a set of taken-for-granted truths and a social glue. Furedi argues we’re not in a neat cycle; we’re in a new landscape with diffuse elites, weak class identity, and rising pre-ideological movements seeking a public language that feels real. If you’re curious about why voters are rejecting legacy institutions, how culture outpaces economics in shaping allegiance, and what it would take to rebuild a shared civic conversation, this episode offers a grounded, hopeful lens. Subscribe, share with a friend who cares about the future of democracy, and leave a review to join the debate. Support Our Work The Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center’s senior staff. Students work with the Center’s director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world. For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/ Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalism Learn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87 Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribe This show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

    31 min
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4.6
out of 5
37 Ratings

About

With the new class structure resembling that of the Medieval times, opportunity is quickly disappearing for small business people, property owners, skilled workers and private sector professionals. Join world-renown author Joel Kotkin and tech-entrepreneur Marshall Toplansky as they explore what we can do to liberate the global middle class. They sit down with business, government, and citizen leaders to uncover the trends and give you the insights and tools to forge a better future. Joel Kotkin is the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University, Executive Director of the Urban Reform Institute, and an internationally-recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. His most recent book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism is now available for pre-order. Marshall N. Toplansky is a widely published and award-winning marketing professional and successful entrepreneur. He co-founded KPMG's data andanalytics center of excellence and now teaches and consults corporations on their analytics strategies. This show is supported by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

Information

  • Creator
    Joel Kotkin & Marshall Toplansky
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    149
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Feudal Future
  • Show Website
    Feudal Future

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