529 - Is America Already In An Irreversible Free Fall? - Viet Thanh Nguyen
Published: August 31, 2026
Duration: 52:55
What happens when an academic insider steps away from the institution?
In this episode, Ken visits Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen at his home. Following his recent retirement from the University of Southern California (USC) after 28 years, Viet opens up about the realities of higher education, the corporate mechanics of major universities, and the psychological freedom of stepping away from academia.
Viet and Kenneth dive into the state of modern America, examining political division, the price of free speech, self-censorship, the impact of AI on writing, and the...