Why America Can’t Solve Homelessness — with Anand Giridharadas

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Support for the show comes from First Citizens Innovation Banking, formerly Silicon Valley Bank. First Citizens is the bank of the innovation economy. The name may have changed, but for over 40 years, their commitment to bold ideas, relentless ambition, and delivering what's next is as strong as ever. So if you're wondering where the road to innovation starts, it's here. First Citizens Innovation Banking. Head to firstcitizens.com/innovation to learn more.

Support for the show comes from Yahoo! Scout. Whatever you're searching for, Yahoo! Scout can turn hours of research into clear, trustworthy answers in seconds, keeping up with culture, navigating the ups and downs of parenting, planning a vacation, and more. Makes sense of life's everyday questions and personal decisions with Yahoo! Scout. Yahoo's personal finance page has been my home page for about 30 years, and so far I find the user interface from Yahoo! Scout really elegant and I find the results to be really helpful quite frankly. Go to scout.com to start exploring today.

SPEAKER_2 (1:03)

Growing teams need a corporate card built for more, something that doesn't sacrifice speed for control.

Introducing the American Express Corporate Cashback Card. Get 1.5 percent cash back on eligible business purchases, advanced spending controls, and real-time visibility, plus intelligent expense management. Get started at go.amex.com or go to go.mex.corporate. Terms and cap apply.

Ed Elson (1:36)

Episode 416, 416, the area code for Toronto in 2016, Deadpool hit theaters.

Scott Galloway (1:42)

True story.

Ed Elson (1:43)

I have worn a Deadpool outfit the last two Halloweens. This guy is literally my Marvel genius. My favorite quote, whose balls that I have to fondle to get my own Marvel movie. I don't know, but his name rhymes with Wolverine.

Scott Galloway (1:59)

Maximum effort. Go, go, go!

Ed Elson (2:11)

Welcome to the 416th episode of The Prof G Pod. It's like 615 Pacific daylight time. I mean, it just happened here. Still in LA, oh, dark hundred. Had to take a sleeping pill to get to bed at like, I don't know, once. I could get five hours sleep. So if I seem out of it, trust your instincts. What's happening? The Prof G Pod is a Signal Awards finalist. Please help us win. This is actually a big deal for us. We're a small team.

Go to Signal Awards. I don't know, we'll put a link in the bio, but please do go and vote for us.

In today's episode, we speak with Anand Giridharadas, a journalist, bestselling author, and publisher of the newsletter The Inc. I'm especially proud that I can pronounce Anand's name. I first interviewed Anand on stage. I used to run a company called L2, and we used to do these events. It was coming right out of the recession, and I thought people want to- I tapped into this whole IRL thing. Think of me as kind of the Taylor Swift of academia. I used to throw these big events and bring all these professors in. With Anand, we discuss his new book, Man in the Mirror, An America's Crisis of Belonging. What Jordan Neely's death reveals about homelessness and mental illness and the line between public safety and vigilantism. With that, we hope you enjoy our conversation with Anand Giridharadas.

Scott Galloway (3:50)

Anand, thanks for joining us.

Anand Giridharadas (3:51)

Thank you so much for having me. I'm glad you're on Substack.

Scott Galloway (3:54)

Yeah, what a thrill.

You're kind of the original or an original gangster here. Just to wax poetic a bit, Anand and I are fellow alumni of the hit.

Anand Giridharadas (4:08)

Alumni is an interesting word for that.

Scott Galloway (4:10)

Alumni, yeah, as in it's over. We both had shows on CNN Plus. So before we get into your book.

Anand Giridharadas (4:16)

Wasn't it Vice?

Scott Galloway (4:18)

Oh, were we both on Vice? I've had so many failed TV shows. You're right, it was Vice.

Oh, it was Vice.

Anand Giridharadas (4:25)

I don't know that alumni is the right word for trauma bonding.

Scott Galloway (4:29)

Okay, but your show, to be honest, your show was boring, but fine. My show was awful.

Awful. I looked like an old man having an epileptic seizure. I don't know about you, but I had to film it from my garage. It was COVID.

Anand Giridharadas (4:46)

Yep.

Scott Galloway (4:46)

And they put all these MTV-like graphics on it to make it feel younger.

I watched it with my partner. This is a true story, and then I want to hear your experience. I watched the first episode with my partner at the end of the show. She started crying and looked at me and said, what does this mean for our family?