The Brett Cooper Show

Episode 111: DEI Didn’t Just Fail — It Created a Generation of Radicalized Men

Date: December 18, 2025
Host: Brett Cooper

Episode Overview

In this episode, Brett Cooper dissects the profound societal changes brought about by DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, focusing specifically on their impact on young white men in professional America. Prompted by Jacob Savage's viral Compact Magazine article "The Lost Generation," Brett explores how these policies, while intended to foster equality, inadvertently created a cohort of disenfranchised and increasingly radicalized men. Through stories, data, industry anecdotes, and guest audio, Brett examines the shifting landscape in fields like Hollywood, journalism, and academia, questioning the real outcomes of a decade of DEI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

DEI’s Timeline and the Shift in Opportunity (00:55–03:40)

• Brett introduces Jacob Savage’s viral article highlighting that DEI became institutionalized around 2014, profoundly altering opportunity structures for young white men starting their careers.
• Quote from Savage (read by Brett, 01:39):
  “The same identity, a decade apart, meant entirely different professional fates... If you were forty in 2014...you were already established. If you were thirty...you hit the wall. The mandates to diversify...landed on us.”
• Brett personalizes the analysis by recounting her child acting career and witnessing the trend first-hand, where casting became almost exclusively focused on “ethnically ambiguous” or non-white talent.

Industry Testimony: Tyler Fisher’s Story (03:40–05:43)

• Brett plays a segment from comedian Tyler Fisher, recounting repeated rejections not due to talent, but explicitly because he was a straight white male.
• Tyler Fisher (03:48):
  “...This agent that I am suing, or manager rather, reached out and said, we love you...But we’re not taking white guys.”
• Actual audio of a conversation between Fisher and an agent clarifies that the bias was not isolated or subtle—it was explicit industry policy.

Gatekeeping and Generational Divide (05:44–07:40)

• Brett emphasizes that the pivotal aspect of Savage’s article is that older white men, those already established, remained insulated from these policies, while millennial and Gen Z men were disproportionately affected.
• She notes the disconnect: while DEI critics cite the ‘old guard’ in power, young white men entering the workforce face the brunt of new policies.

Individual Examples Across Industries (07:41–12:47)

Story 1: Andrew, the Journalist (07:48–09:17)

• Andrew, a unionizing journalist, found workplace conversations and priorities shifting entirely to identity markers and fulfillment of quotas rather than merit or journalistic integrity.

Brett’s Personal Observation (08:45):

• “My job went from...read these scripts and pass along the ones with the best characters, the best stories, to a literal racial fire drill. They were losing their minds...It was so blatantly an attempt to appease a political mob versus trying to make good art.”

Story 2: The Ph.D. and Academia (12:51–14:38)

• A young historian, four years post-Ph.D., deemed “unemployable as a 20th century American historian” solely due to being a white man.
• Brett provides supporting statistics challenging the mainstream narrative of persistent male privilege, citing:
  • Harvard humanities: white men dropped from 49% (2014) to 27% (2024)
  • Berkeley physical sciences: only 26% of hires were white men, despite being 48% of applicants
  • Yale: only 14.6% of tenure-track hires since 2018 were white American men

Story 3: The Hollywood Writer (15:00–16:51)

• Savage receives a “needs sheet” from a major agency showing across-the-board requirements for “diverse” or “female” staff, with names like Noah Hawley and Ryan Murphy prioritizing anything but white men.
• These diversity mandates, Brett points out, mostly affected entry-level writers, leaving upper-level jobs for those already entrenched.

The Psychological and Cultural Fallout (16:52–20:29)

• Films and television became formulaic, focusing less on storytelling and more on representation checklists, leading to frustration and, according to Brett, a collapse in artistic quality.

• Douglas Mackey’s Resonant Quote (17:53):
  “Wanna know why movies suddenly sucked?... In 2011, white men were 48% of lower level TV writers. By 2024, they accounted for just 11.9%.”

• The demoralizing impact on young men extends beyond career limitations, into reluctance to form families or pursue traditional milestones.

• Savage’s personal reflection is shared as a poignant moment:

  • “I used to imagine...that I would take them to film sets, that I’d bring them along to exotic locations. Instead...Their father spends most of his working day in his bedroom, scrolling through spreadsheets and ticket listings. What do I say when my boys ask me about my old hopes and dreams?” (18:33)

Tucker Carlson Weighs In (19:06–20:29)

• Brett plays a segment from Tucker Carlson, who echoes the episode’s central theme:
  • Tucker Carlson (19:10):
    “They’ve grown up in, over the last 10 years, a world that hates them. And not in a subtle way, openly, with a Hutu-like directness and ferocity...They’ve been mocked and attacked and lectured and harangued and screamed at.”

Emergence of Alternative Media & Refocusing Energy (20:30–22:21)

• Brett reframes the generational response: adversity led many men to launch new platforms in alternative media, podcasts, YouTube, and Substack, which have become dominated by those sidelined in legacy industries.
• This creative exodus is seen as a positive force—energizing independent media and revitalizing American Christianity.
• “I do think that this pressure has created some diamonds...They built.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jacob Savage (read by Brett, 01:39):
  “The mandates to diversify didn't fall on older white men...They landed on us.”
• Tyler Fisher (03:48):
  “...We're not taking white guys. And I was just like, what the f—?...At least had the opportunity to audition, I'd feel okay about that.”
• Industry Needs Sheet Example (16:51):
  “Chicago Fire. The upper level can be anyone, but we need diverse staff writers.”
• Savage’s Reflection on Fatherhood (18:33):
  “What do I say when my boys ask me about my old hopes and dreams? What do I tell them when they ask about theirs?”
• Tucker Carlson (19:10):
  “They’ve grown up in a country that has systematically, in law, excluded them...Imagine growing up like that.”

Important Timestamps

• 00:55 — Introduction to Savage’s "The Lost Generation"
• 01:35 — Statistics on DEI’s impact in Hollywood, academia, journalism
• 03:40 — Tyler Fisher’s testimony of explicit discrimination
• 05:44 — Generational divide: older vs. younger white men under DEI
• 07:48 — "Andrew the journalist" and industry anecdotes
• 12:51 — PhD's struggle in academia, supporting data, cultural backlash
• 15:00 — Hollywood’s hiring mandates and effects on storytelling
• 16:52 — Declining quality in TV/film linked to identity mandates
• 18:33 — Savage’s personal loss and generational despair
• 19:06 — Tucker Carlson on psychological impact and public exclusion
• 20:30 — Rise of independent media and positive cultural reactions

Tone & Language

Brett’s tone throughout is urgent, personal, and unapologetically critical of DEI, blending personal anecdotes with deep empathy for those affected. There are moments of frustration, outrage, and also resilience: the story is not just about “victims” but also about adaptation, reinvention, and the creation of new spaces for disaffected groups.

Conclusion

This episode confronts the practical fallout of DEI, arguing that rather than correcting historical injustices, institutional diversity policies created new divides, most acutely felt by young white men entering the workforce over the last decade. Brett Cooper, through Savage’s journalism and a litany of personal stories, contends that exclusion bred not just bitterness and disconnection, but also an entrepreneurial and creative resurgence outside of legacy industries. The discussion closes on a note of cautious admiration for those forging new cultural movements in response to adversity—suggesting that while DEI may have failed to achieve balance, it inadvertently sparked a generational reckoning and a drive to build anew.