Paul Taylor — former executive vice president of the Pew Research Center and author of This Is Getting Old — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a sweeping, data-rich conversation about the generation that has dominated American political life longer than any other: the Baby Boomers. Taylor's framing is striking — voters keep electing presidents born in 1946, and no generation in American history has enjoyed the kind of political hegemony Boomers have held since becoming the largest voting bloc in the 1980s. He argues this dominance has had real consequences as America approaches its 250th birthday in a genuinely dark place: CEO pay has ballooned from a 20-to-1 ratio to 300-to-1 on the Boomers' watch, their decisions have fueled the very populist backlash now reshaping both parties, and — in a deep irony — they spent decades undermining public confidence in the very institutions that benefited them most, helping imprint Trump's "everything is rigged" worldview onto the broader public. Taylor offers a wealth of arresting data points: Jimmy Carter is the only Democrat to win a majority of the Boomer vote in the last 14 elections, and the United States is the only country on earth where a majority of citizens believe their fellow citizens are morally bad — a stunning measure of how thoroughly Americans have turned on one another.

The conversation broadens into questions of national identity, demographics, and where the country goes from here. Taylor argues that America is fundamentally a creedal nation rather than a "blood and soil" one, that it has accepted far more immigrants than any other country (though he's candid that too much immigration too fast tends to produce political and cultural backlash, and that the shift toward majority non-white immigration over the past 60 years has been a profound change), and that today's young generation celebrates difference — but a mosaic, he cautions, still needs glue to hold it together. Boomers, he notes, are the last living generation to experience America as something close to a monoculture, and the last to remember segregated America firsthand, which shapes their politics in ways younger generations struggle to understand. Taylor doesn't shy away from the harder verdicts: the generalization that Boomers are a narcissistic generation, he says, is fair. He and Todd explore the demographic time bomb of declining birth rates and an inverting age pyramid (and whether AI and robotics might paradoxically reduce the need for a baby boom), and trace a fascinating through-line from Gary Hart to Graham Platner on how the television era forced politicians to perform their character for the public — and how both Platner and Trump ultimately channel the same anger at a broken system. Taylor closes on a cautiously hopeful note that the next wave of American politics could be a backlash against the current divisiveness, even as he braces for the possibility that his fellow Boomers may not love what they read in his book.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Paul Taylor (This Is Getting Old) joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:00 Voters keep electing presidents born in 1946

01:45 No generation has had political hegemony like the Boomers

02:45 Since the 80s, boomers have been biggest voting bloc

03:30 America in a dark place as it prepares to celebrate 250

05:00 Disneyland opened in the 50s but has lost its egalitarian culture

05:45 CEO pay has gone from 20-1 to 300-1, boomers facilitated that

06:30 Boomers’ decisions have led to a major populist backlash

08:00 Boomers came of age during a period of deep division in America

10:00 During the 60s, people believed the system was built to do good

10:30 Trump’s “rigged” worldview has been imprinted on the public

11:45 Boomers undermined confidence in institutions that benefitted them

13:30 There’s always been a class distinction in the boomer generation

14:30 Carter is the only Democrat to win majority of boomer vote in past 14 elections

16:00 U.S. is the only country where majority thinks fellow citizens are morally bad

17:30 Boomers grew up with a sense of triumphalism after World War 2

18:30 American exceptionalism didn’t start with the boomers

19:30 America has accepted far more immigrants than any other country

20:30 Too much immigration leads to political and cultural backlash

21:30 In the last 60 years, most immigrants have been non-white, a big change

22:30 Today’s young generation celebrates differences, but a mosaic needs glue

24:00 Boomers are the last generation to experience America as a monoculture

26:15 American is a creedal nation, not a “blood and soil” nation

28:45 Americans are misinformed, but generally pragmatic and collaborative

30:00 Hopefully the next wave of politics is a backlash to our current, divisive politics

30:45 Boomers are the last living generation to experience segregated America

32:45 Despite current tensions, progress for women and minorities has happened

34:00 Expanding minority rights is a hard thing to pull off

34:45 Why has it taken so long to push boomers out of leadership?

36:00 Women’s liberation has led to declining birth rates

37:30 Inverted demographic chart is going to create problems

38:30 Will we need a baby boom if AI & robotics will perform many of the jobs?

40:30 The generalization that boomers are a narcissistic generation is fair

41:15 Is there a thru line between Gary Hart and Graham Platner’s character issues?

44:15 The television era forced politicians to present themselves to the public

45:45 Mainers will have to decide about Platner’s shortcomings

47:00 Platner & Trump channel anger at the system

50:30 Will your fellow boomers hate what they read in this book?

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