Rob Henderson, political commentator and bestselling author of “Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family and Social Class,” will deliver the keynote address for this year’s Brauer Lecture Series, hosted by Olin Business School.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in Graham Chapel on Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus and will include a 45-minute lecture. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and members of the greater St. Louis community are invited to attend this free event. Registration is required to ensure adequate seating.
Henderson grew up in foster homes in Los Angeles and in the rural town of Red Bluff, Calif. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force at age 17, he subsequently attended Yale University using GI Bill benefits and then won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a PhD in psychology in 2022.
In his debut book, Henderson coined the concept of “luxury beliefs,” which he defined as “ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class at little cost, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes.” According to Henderson, luxury beliefs — such as “defund the police” — are a form of virtue signaling among privileged classes that harm more vulnerable communities.
Henderson is currently a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor for City Journal. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe, among other outlets. His Substack newsletter, in which he writes about human nature, psychology, social class, luxury beliefs and more, is sent to more 60,000 subscribers each week.
Immediately following the event, local food trucks will be on site and available for free to students who attended the event.
About the series
The Brauer Lecture Series aims to explore and encourage dialogue on the American free enterprise system.
The series supports student growth and development by hosting leading scholars from across the United States, and it supports Olin Business School’s vision of providing world-changing business education, research and impact.
Made possible by Stephen and Camilla Brauer, the series features highly regarded thought leaders and public figures addressing the positive influences that free-market economics and the American free enterprise system continue to play in economic growth, public policy and world affairs.
