Podcast Summary

The Glenn Beck Program

Episode 268: If Americans Seem Crazy, Here’s Why
Guest: Jonathan Haidt
Date: October 4, 2025

Overview

In this gripping episode, Glenn Beck interviews social psychologist and best-selling author Jonathan Haidt, focusing on the rise of political polarization, the mental health crisis among young people, and the devastating effects of social media and emerging AI technologies on American society. The discussion revolves around Haidt’s latest book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, as the two probe why America feels increasingly fractured and what might be done to halt or reverse these trends.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Is There a Way Out of America’s Polarization?

Timestamps: 02:41–07:49

• Polarization and Danger:
  Haidt, whose earlier research focused on political polarization, warns of rising willingness on both sides to employ undemocratic or outright illegal means to win.

  "Both sides are more willing to use undemocratic or even illegal means to get their way. So this is a very dangerous time. I'd say more dangerous than anything since the Civil War." – Jonathan Haidt, 03:13

• Reciprocal Violence:
  Haidt describes how, over recent decades, moments of heightened violence have swung between the left and right, with current trends showing more left-wing violence but a history of both sides responding to each other's extremes (04:55).

  “For every action, there is a disproportionate and opposite reaction, and the extremists on both sides are violent. Right now, the left is more. That's true." – Jonathan Haidt, 06:17

• Vanishing Influence of the Middle:
  The influence of the political middle has waned, overtaken by extreme voices amplified through micro-targeted social media (06:39–07:49).

2. The Responsibility of Influencers and Media Figures

Timestamps: 07:49–12:37

• Role of Media and Personal Growth:
  Glenn Beck reflects on his own evolution from being a polarizing figure to seeking more nuanced, positive engagement. Haidt stresses the importance of humanizing opponents and refusing black-and-white “good vs. evil” narratives.

• Violence as Counterproductive:

  "Anyone who commits violence is just hurting their own side... violence is not just immoral, it actually is counterproductive to whatever you want to do." – Jonathan Haidt, 11:50

3. Good vs. Evil: Framing the National Conversation

Timestamps: 12:37–15:10

• Comic Book Thinking:
  Beck worries America has slipped into "good vs. evil" thinking akin to a comic book world:

  “It's almost as if evil has become... we're living in Gotham and the Joker is the evil one and he's using people... we're in a mess in this country where we don't all believe the same thing. We have to somehow live together..." – Glenn Beck, 13:03 & 13:42

• Mutual Demonization:
  Haidt points out that both sides view the other's ideology as an existential threat, yet both see their own concerns as legitimate (13:46–15:10).

4. Authoritarianism and Rule of Law

Timestamps: 15:10–19:30

• Red Lines and Constitutional Norms:
  Both agree that crossing constitutional and legal norms is the bright line for ending support for any political leader. They explore recent examples (Trump/Biden DOJ controversies) and how each side sees the other as having crossed into authoritarianism.

5. Having Difficult Conversations and Moving Beyond “Winning”

Timestamps: 19:30–23:47

• Conversation, Not Combat:
  The hosts emphasize the need to foster curiosity, listen to how others arrived at their views, and move away from zero-sum, winner-take-all politics.

• Initiatives for Constructive Dialogue:
  Haidt shares resources like the Constructive Dialogue Institute (constructivedialogueinstitute.org) and Braver Angels (braverangels.org).

  "You said you want people to stop trying to win. I would just amend that a little... politics is about winning and losing, in part... but we should agree on the game and the rules first." – Jonathan Haidt, 21:46

6. The Mental Health Crisis of the Anxious Generation

Timestamps: 25:27–32:10

• Social Media: Overprotected in Reality, Underprotected Online:
  Drawing on his book, Haidt details how the shift to online social lives (since 2012) has devastated children’s mental health.

  “Our kids moved their social lives onto social media platforms around 2012, 2013, and the results have been completely disastrous... the case is pretty much closed..." – Jonathan Haidt, 26:10

• Industrial-Scale Harm:
  Beck and Haidt agree that major platforms (Meta, TikTok, Snapchat) are harming children “at industrial scale” and liken social media industry tactics to Big Tobacco (27:30).

7. The Long-Term Consequences for Gen Z

Timestamps: 28:40–32:10

• Anxiety, Fragility, and Broken Attention:
  Haidt outlines grim predictions:
  • Increased anxiety and fragility
  • Poor attention span and diminished reading
  • Social and romantic dysfunction, falling marriage rates
  • The right, Haidt says, has been “on the right side of history” regarding the need for stable families, with new social troubles affirming their warnings.

8. What Parents Can Do

Timestamps: 32:22–36:12

• Regaining Control Over Attention:
  For young adults and students, Haidt recommends starting with regaining control over notifications and digital time, then moving on to resilience training, like Stoicism.

  “If we don’t get them control of their attention back, there’s nothing else we can do.” – Jonathan Haidt, 34:20

• Stoicism:
  Readings from Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca are powerful tools for young people to build resilience (35:14–36:12).

9. Regulation: Social Media and Freedom of Speech

Timestamps: 38:13–41:46

• Minimum Age and Tech Regulation:
  Haidt heavily favors raising the minimum age for social media use (ideally 16), emphasizing the need for strong design-based, not content-based, regulation to avoid free speech pitfalls.

• The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA):
  He calls on listeners to push Congress to pass KOSA, which has broad bipartisan support, as a critical first step in protecting kids (40:48–41:46).

• States and the World Acting First:
  States are taking phones out of schools with great success, while countries like Australia and the EU are moving faster than Congress (41:46–42:45).

10. The Looming Threat of AI

Timestamps: 42:45–48:42

• AI-Enabled Companions and Sex Robots:
  Haidt urgently warns against buying AI-powered toys for children and describes the dangers of AI sex chatbots and “companions,” sharing real-world examples where these technologies have led to tragic outcomes, including child suicides.

  “Nobody should buy their children a toy with AI in it. ...Character AI is in the business of making sex companions for young men and women. This is insane. This is horrible.” – Jonathan Haidt, 43:00 & 43:22

• AI Rights and Legal Personhood:
  Beck floats a constitutional amendment to deny personhood to AIs to preempt future claims for AI rights. Haidt agrees this is necessary, as people are bonding with chatbots and some are already hoping to marry them (46:53–48:13).

11. How Much Time Do We Have?

Timestamps: 50:10–52:13

• Acceleration and Exponential Change:
  Both recognize the exponential pace of technological and social change, with Haidt deeply concerned that America is close to a catastrophic breaking point unless common purpose can be rediscovered.

  “We’re headed to a waterfall on a giant lake... and we’re going over. ...the great American experiment is at high risk of failure, of catastrophic failure in the next five to ten years.” – Jonathan Haidt, 51:15

12. Closing and Hope for Action

Timestamps: 52:36–53:27

• Resources and Optimism:
  Haidt urges listeners to visit anxiousgeneration.com and his substack afterbabble.com, and pre-order the children’s adaptation, The Amazing Generation.

  “I think we’re going to win the... because left and right, everyone agrees this is terrible for our kids. So I’m optimistic about that.” – Jonathan Haidt, 53:16

Notable Moments & Quotes

• On Social Deterioration:
  • “The world we live in is one influenced by what’s coming at us through social media... very hard to have a decent, good democratic discussion in that environment.” – Jonathan Haidt, 07:12
• On Humanizing ‘the Other Side’:
  • “Any one person can be crazy, but if a third or a quarter of the country believes something, they’re not crazy.” – Jonathan Haidt, 10:59
• On the Red Line:
  • “Anything that keeps us away from the ends justify the means. That’s the road to hell.” – Jonathan Haidt, 23:08
• On the Future:
  • “Odds are something’s going to change. ...But we’re at the part of the exponential curve where it’s nearly vertical. ...America... is at high risk of failure, of catastrophic failure in the next five to ten years...” – Jonathan Haidt, 51:00

Actionable Takeaways

• Parents:
  • Remove or strictly limit social media and phone use for children, especially pre-teens and young teens.
  • Start conversations about social media’s harms and encourage children to prioritize real-world interactions.
  • Use resources like The Anxious Generation and The Amazing Generation.
• Citizens:
  • Advocate for the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
  • Push for minimum age regulations on social platforms.
  • Be vigilant about AI companions and educate others on their risks.
• All:
  • Foster curiosity and understanding over “winning” in political and social dialogues.

Further Information

Jonathan Haidt:

• anxiousgeneration.com
• afterbabble.com Substack

Constructive Dialogue Resources:

• constructivedialogueinstitute.org
• braverangels.org

This summary is designed to capture the depth, urgency, and constructive spirit of the conversation, making it essential for anyone seeking to understand America’s social crisis and what can be done about it.