Michael Shellenberger is the founder of Public, the C.B.R. Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech at the University of Austin (UATX), and the best-selling author of San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities (HarperCollins 2021) and Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All (HarperCollins 2020).
This is Episode Five of The Uncaptive Mind, hosted by UATX Editor-in-Chief Audrey Unverferth. It was recorded on August 2, 2025, in Esztergom, Hungary, at Mathias Corvinus Collegium's annual conference, MCC Feszt.
00:00 — Preview
00:51 — What is the pathology of our elites?
02:33 — Grooming gangs, machetes & the total state
05:29 — Nietzsche's Parable of the Madman
07:04 — Political revolution
08:39 — Were we betrayed by the Enlightenment?
08:57 — American exceptionalism
09:18 — The "Return of the Strong Gods"
09:53 — Michael's life advice
12:04 — Are you captive to your audience?
13:11 — How media works
14:58 — What happens after our elites fail?
17:46 — Michael's book recommendation
