Episode 2520: Larry Aldrich on what's Right with America


Author: Andrew Keen May 2, 2025 Duration: 45:40
Podcast episode
Episode 2520: Larry Aldrich on what's Right with America

Does the United States of America still have anything going for it? According to the Arizona based Larry Aldrich, co-author of the upcoming What’s Right About America, there remains much to celebrate about his country’s foundational strengths, its resilience in the face of sometimes daunting challenges, and its continued innovation. He argues that America's focus on individual empowerment and the rule of law has created a structure that’s enabled the country to overcome its difficulties and divisions throughout its turbulent history. While acknowledging current political divisiveness over issues like immigration reform, Aldrich maintains that the American system of checks and balances continues to work and will enable the nation to navigate through its currently turbulent moment.

Five Point Takeaway

* Aldrich identifies five core American traits: courage, imagination, grit, generosity, and optimism, which he believes contribute to the nation's continued strength and resilience.

* He argues that America's innovative spirit continues to thrive through private sector achievements like SpaceX, which builds upon foundations established by government initiatives like NASA.

* Aldrich believes the American system of checks and balances, though currently stressed, is functioning as designed and will help correct excesses in governmental power.

* On immigration, he advocates for more humane policies and increased legal immigration, arguing that immigrants fill essential roles in the economy that many Americans don't want.

* Despite describing himself as a libertarian who has never voted for a Democrat at the federal level, Aldrich expresses views that sometimes align with centrist positions, including criticism of excessive regulation and opposition to political extremes.

Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

More episodes

Duration: 36:29
Can Swiftynomics save America? That’s the intriguing thesis at the heart of Misty Heggeness’ new book about Swift’s impact on the American economy. Entitled Swiftynomics, it’s as much about Taylor Swift’s fans as it is a…

Duration: 47:03
The Music Man was a 1957 Broadway show written by Meredith Willson, a musician from the small Iowa town of Mason City. The popular play (and later movie) featured a con man called Harold Hill who ripped off the naive peo…

Duration: 54:43
Few biographers can claim to know what it feels like to be Thomas Jefferson more than the Charlottesville-based historian Andrew Burstein. The author of many books about Jefferson, Burstein’s latest, Being Thomas Jeffers…

Duration: 39:13
There was a time in the mid 20th century, the literary historian Gayle Feldman reminds us, when the book business was cool. Back then, New York publishing resembled Silicon Valley tech and the Mark Zuckerberg of his day…

Duration: 47:31
Trump’s Gazan dream is to overlay the complex human history with his own narcissistic real-estate fantasy. But for Maia Carter Hallward, co-author of a new contemporary history of Gaza, this once vibrant Mediterranean en…

Duration: 45:53
The great John Maynard Keynes explained it a century ago. In his 1930 essay, "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren," Keynes predicted that the future would be defined by economic abundance rather than scarcity. B…

Duration: 31:58
WTF will happen in 2026? Over the last week, we’ve been running a series of interviews about the promise and peril of the new year. And in this new weekly magazine-style KEEN ON AMERICA show, we feature highlights of con…

Duration: 45:18
If Darwin’s evolutionary theories couldn’t kill America’s faith in God, then what could? That’s the message in Daniel K. William’s new book, The Search for a Rational Faith. Americans, Williams argues, have always sought…

Duration: 55:15
Happy New Year everyone! As the final show of 2025 and first for 2026, we turned the tables and had me interviewed by the formidable David Masciotra. As you will see, my reading of 2025 is more optimistic than many of my…

Logo
Select station
VOL