Noah is joined by Gregory Clark to discuss his research on genes and social mobility. They first cover his 2023 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the criticisms it provoked and Greg’s responses to them. They next turn to the taboo within academia surrounding genetic causes of social outcomes. They conclude by discussing Greg’s forthcoming book: For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:55 Inside the PNAS Study
04:18 Genetics vs Culture Clues
07:52 Publication Pushback
09:20 Scandinavian Replication
11:39 Assortative Mating Explained
14:58 Marriage Patterns and Inequality
18:57 How People Match by Status
25:34 Building the Massive Dataset
32:10 What Social Status Means
37:13 Responding to Critics
39:43 Sibling Correlations Argument
42:32 Wealth Shocks Fade Out
45:34 Adoption and Adult Outcomes
46:30 Norway Study and Wilson Effect
48:48 Critiques and Measurement Error
52:39 Moral Panic and Racism Claims
56:24 Funding Bias in Social Science
01:01:36 Why Even Geneticists Downplay Genes
01:04:24 Where the Field Goes Next
01:06:19 Book Publishing Roadblocks
01:12:05 Book Structure and Policy Implications
01:15:46 Academic Publishing Chills Debate
01:19:30 Closing Thoughts and Farewell
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