Kenneth T. Jackson - Robert Moses, Hero of New York?

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

November 8, 2022

Duration

1h 33m

Channel

Dwarkesh Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

I had a fascinating discussion about Robert Moses and The Power Broker with Professor Kenneth T. Jackson. He's the pre-eminent historian on NYC and author of Robert Moses and The Modern City: The Transformation of New York. He answers:

• Why are we so much worse at building things today?
• Would NYC be like Detroit without the master builder?\
• Does it take a tyrant to stop NIMBY?

Episode website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/kenneth-jackson Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DQ0NfV Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3fP1jmg Follow me for updates on future episodes: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Timestamps: 0:00:00 Preview + Intro 0:11:13 How Moses Gained Power 0:18:22 Moses Saved NYC? 0:27:31 Moses the Startup Founder? 0:32:34 The Case Against Moses Highways 0:50:46 NIMBYism 1:03:06 Is Progress Cyclical 1:11:58 Friendship with Caro 1:20:03 Moses the Longtermist?

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Kenneth T. Jackson

  guest

• Dwarkesh Patel

  host

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Dwarkesh Podcast, featuring Kenneth T. Jackson and Dwarkesh Patel, Kenneth T. Jackson - Robert Moses, Hero of New York? explores reassessing Robert Moses: Builder, Bully, and Savior of New York Historian Kenneth T. Jackson argues that Robert Moses, often vilified via Robert Caro’s *The Power Broker*, was the single most important builder in American urban history and a central force in New York’s rise, not its fall.

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