In this talk, Charles Fain Lehman—senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal—explains why so much crime goes undetected, what it actually takes to restore public order, and why the “Karens” objecting to antisocial behavior are onto something.
Recorded: May 19, 2026 at UATX.
00:00 — Preview 00:26 — Why Charles defends the obvious 02:26 — Broken windows theory 07:05 — Criminal invasion 09:04 — Why violent crime nearly quadrupled 10:24 — Does remediating disorder reduce crime? 12:25 — Why the NYPD doesn’t police Bryant Park 16:19 — If it works, why don’t we do it? 18:22 — Disorder is exclusionary 19:04 — Are we allowed to talk about this? 23:25 — What does the criminal justice system actually do? 26:52 — Individual rights vs. community rights 28:55 — Why does disorder policing work? 30:49 — "Essentially all crimes go uncaught" 33:39 — Academic criminology 37:07 — The role of the state 39:49 — Do the interests of the public outweigh the rights of the individual? 40:53 — Save our cities 42:50 — Q&A: What is justice? 45:05 — Q&A: The practical responsibilities of citizens 47:52 — Q&A: Who breaks the law? 50:41 — Q&A: Police discretion 56:15 — Q&A: Should we criminalize hard drugs? 01:00:36 — Q&A: "When people are off the streets, crime goes down" 01:06:47 — Q&A: Big cities vs. small towns 01:10:02 — Q&A: "Public disorder is the natural state of the world” 01:14:30 — Q&A: How disorder affects our perception of crime 01:16:45 — Q&A: Criminological findings & corporal punishment 01:19:46 — Q&A: Campus law enforcement 01:21:12 — Q&A: Helping those in need 01:22:36 — Q&A: Bad prosecutors disrupt the entire system
Monday, June 1 — “The College Girl’s Guide to Getting Married” A conversation with Gabriel and Brittany Hugoboom, founders of Evie Magazine and 28 Wellness. 5:30 PM. RSVP.
Tuesday, June 2 — “Plato and Liberal Education” A lecture by Brendan Boyle, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at St. John’s College. 5 PM. RSVP.
Wednesday, June 10 — “Why Liberal Education Will Make Tomorrow’s Leaders” A lecture by Tony Abbott, Australia’s 28th Prime Minister. 5 PM. RSVP.
