Why Don't We Trust the Elites? (With Aaron Renn)
Why Don't We Trust the Elites? (With Aaron Renn)  
Podcast: The Overthinkers
Published On: Mon Sep 14 2026
Description: Why is there so much anti-elite sentiment in the world today? Is it the fault of the elites themselves, or cultural trends they can't control? Joseph Holems and Nathan Clarkson talk to culture critic and author Aaron Renn on their latest episode.  Defining elites:  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elite https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145542? American trust in institutions at all-time low. https://news.gallup.com/poll/712436/confidence-institutions-remains-near-time-low.aspx Global trust decreasing from fear to grievance: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer Anti-elite sentiment worldwide: https://www.ipsos.com/en/populism-remains-strong Christopher Nolan on democracies and greatness: https://singjupost.com/transcript-christopher-nolan-interview-with-podcaster-zhong-shu/ Low trust makes problems harder to solve: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/how-americans-see-problems-of-trust/ Tyranny of merit hypothesis: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-tyranny-of-merit-with-michael-sandel/ Democratization of information hypothesis: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/revolt-of-the-public-10-years-on Elite overproduction hypothesis: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-elite-overproduction-hypothesis-994 Websites The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes