 ( BAND PLAYING )
 ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: HEY, WELCOME BACK,
EVERYBODY!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY NEXT
GUEST IS A NATIONAL
CORRESPONDENT FOR "TIME"
MAGAZINE WHOSE NEW BOOK IS
CALLED "THE ONES WE'VE BEEN
WAITING FOR."
WELL, WAIT NO FURTHER.
PLEASE WELCOME, CHARLOTTE ALTER!
♪ ♪ ♪
 ( APPLAUSE )
♪ ♪ ♪
 ( APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: NOW, THE NAME OF
THE BOOK, WE'VE GOT IT RIGHT
HERE, AS I SAID BEFORE, IS "THE
ONES WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR."
AND IT'S-- CORRECT ME IF I'M
WRONG HERE-- IT'S ABOUT THE
LEADERS OF THE MILLENNIAL
GENERATION THAT HAVE EMERGED IN
OUR POLITICS.
YOU'VE BEEN COVERING POLITICS
FOR "TIME" MAGAZINE.
YOU'VE WRITTEN A BUNCH OF
COVERS.
WE'RE ONLY 30 YEARS OLD
YOURSELF.
YOU'RE ONE OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE
WHO HAS COME TO REPLACE ALL OF
US OLDIES RIGHT NOW.
>> NOT YOU.
>> Stephen: NOT ME?
>> NO, NO.
>> Stephen: WHO MADE THE CUTS
OF "THE ONES WE'VE BEEN WAITING
FOR" IN THE MILLENNIAL
GENERATION.
HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE IN THIS BOOK?
>> I WAS SPECIFICALLY LOOKING
FOR ELECTED LEADERS WHO WERE
BORN BETWEEN 1981 AND 1996 --
>> Stephen: IS THAT
MILLENNIALS?
>> YES, THAT'S MILLENNIALS,
WHOSE LIVES HAD INTERSECTED IN
SOME FUNDAMENTAL WAY WITH THE
MAJOR HISTORICAL EVENTS OF THAT
TIME.
SO I WAS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO
HAD SERVED IN THE WARS IN IRAQ
AND AFGHANISTAN OR WHO HAD BEEN
IMPACTED BY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
OR WHO HAD EXPERIENCED CRUSHING
STUDENT DEBT, OR WHO HAD
PARTICIPATED IN BLACK LIVES
MATTER OR OCCUPY, BECAUSE THE
POINT OF THIS BOOK IS TO SHOW
HOW THOSE FORCES HAVE SHAMED THE
LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE
GOING TO BE IN CHARGE IN OUR
FUTURE.
>> Stephen: AND NOT JUST
DEMOCRATS.
THERE ARE DEMOCRATS AND
REPUBLICANS IN THIS BOOK.
>> DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS.
I MEAN, MILLENNIALS DO LEAN TO
THE LEFT.
THEY VOTED FOR DEMOCRATS BY
ROUGHLY TWO TO ONE IN THE MOST
RECENT MIDTERMS, BUT THERE ARE
MILLENNIAL REPUBLICANS.
AND THIS BOOK INCLUDES THREE OF
THEM.
>> Stephen: WHERE DID THE
TITLE COME FROM?
WHAT'S THE REFERENCE TO?
>> IT COMES FROM A 2008 SPEECH
BY BARACK OBAMA WHERE HE SAID,
"WE ARE THE ONES WE'VE BEEN
WAITING FOR."
AND IN A LOT OF WAYS THIS BOOK
IS ABOUT OBAMA'S LEGACY.
IT'S ABOUT HOW HIS PRESIDENCY
INSPIRED THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO
HELPED MAKE HIM PRESIDENT AND
HOW THEY'RE TAKING THE LESSONS
OF HIS PRESIDENCY INTO THE
FUTURE, INCLUDING SOME OF HIS
SHORTCOMINGS.
>> Stephen: OKAY, BUT IF
MILLENNIALS ARE SO INSPIRED BY
BARACK OBAMA, THEN HOW COME
MILLENNIALS DON'T VOTE MORE?
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IN SOME WAYS IT'S--
 ( APPLAUSE ).
>> Stephen: THANK YOU.
THEY'RE APPLAUDING-- THEY'RE
APPLAUDING MY QUESTION NOW.
>> YEAH.
WELL, IN SOME WAYS, OBAMA'S
PRESIDENCY WAS ALMOST A VICTIM
OF ITS OWN SUCCESS.
BECAUSE HE WAS SO TRANSFORMATIVE
FOR SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE, AND
MANY MILLENNIALS CAST THEIR
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VOTE FOR HIM.
AND SO IT SET THIS STANDARD OF
PEOPLE NOT FEELING LIKE THEY
REALLY WANTED TO VOTE FOR
SOMEBODY WHO THEY DIDN'T TRULY
LOVE OR TRULY BELIEVE IN.
AND OBAMA MAYBE INADVERTENTLY
MADE VOTING INTO SOMETHING THAT
YOU DO OUT OF LOVE, NOT OUT OF
DUTY.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S REALLY HARD
FOR MANY YOUNG PEOPLE TO KIND OF
GET THEMSELVES EXCITED ABOUT
VOTING FOR SOMEONE THEY DON'T
FEEL LIKE REALLY REPRESENTED
THEM.
>> Stephen: ANOTHER SO THAT
BRINGS ME TO, SAY, OUR DEBATE
LAST NIGHT, OR FOR LACK OF A
BETTER WORD, BERNIE.
BECAUSE--
 ( APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: THERE'S A
MILLENNIAL HERE.
YOUNG PEOPLE, MILLENNIALS,
OVERWHELMINGLY, LIKE, 60%, FOR
BERNIE.
WHY DO MILLENNIALS LIKE THE
ALTACOCKER?
WHY DO THEY LIKE THE OLD GUY?
>> THIS BOOK EXPLAINS WHY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVENTS THAT
HAVE SHAPED THEIR LIVES-- AND,
AGAIN, ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND
IN REPORTING THIS BOOK IS THAT
THERE'S THIS MYTH THAT YOUNG
PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS LIBERAL AND
OLD PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS
CONSERVATIVE, AND IT'S JUST NOT
TRUE.
IN FACT, PEOPLE SHAPE THEIR
POLITICAL ATTITUDES IN THE
RESPONSE TO EVENTS OF EARLY
ADULTHOOD, LIKE THEIR LATE TEENS
THROUGH THEIR 20s.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVENTS
THAT SHAPED MILLENNIALS' EARLY
ADULTHOOD, IT WAS CRUSHING
STUDENT DEBT, THE FINANCIAL
CRISIS-- WHICH REALLY SHAPED A
LOT OF THEIR ABILITY TO FIND
JOBS THAT WOULD PROVIDE THEM
WITH THINGS LIKE EYE DON'T
KNOW-- HEALTH INSURANCE.
THAT'S WHY MILLENNIALS ARE HALF
AS LIKELY TO HAVE
EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH
INSURANCE AS THEIR PARENTS,
WHICH MIGHT MEAN THAT THEY WERE
REALLY ATTRACTED TO SOMEBODY WHO
WANTS SOMETHING LIKE MEDICARE
FOR ALL.
MILLENNIALS ARE THE--
MILLENNIALS ARE ONE OF THE
GENERATIONS WHON THEY ARE GOING
TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE IMPACTS
OF CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH IS WHY
THEY SEEM TO BE REALLY ATTRACTED
TO A CANDIDATE WHO IS RUNNING ON
A GREEN NEW DEAL.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE EVENTS
THAT HAVE SHAPED HOW MILLENNIALS
THINK ABOUT POLITICS, IT
ACTUALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE
WHY THEY WOULD BE GOING FOR
SOMEBODY LIKE BERNIE SANDERS
YOU.
>> Stephen:  HAVE A CHAPTER
HERE-- YOUR SECOND CHAPTER IN
THE BOOK IS CALLED, "HARRY
POTTER AND THE SPAWN OF THE
BOOMERS."
 (  LAUGHTER  )
WHAT'S UP WITH THE MILLENNIALS M
AND HARRY POTTER?
BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF
INFLUENCE.
>> THERE'S A LOT OF INFLUENCE.
SO, I FIRST STARTED NOTICING THE
SCOPE OF THIS INFLUENCE WHEN I
INTERVIEWED THE PARKLAND KIDS
AFTER THE SHOOTING IN PARKLAND,
FLORIDA, THE "MARCH FOR OUR
LIVES" TEENAGERS.
AND I NOTICED MANY OF THEM,
INDEPENDENTLY, BROUGHT UP HARRY
POTTER AND WERE COMPARING THEIR
QUEST TO DEFEAT THE N.R.A. TO
HARRY POPTER AND HIS FRIENDS'
QUEST TO BEAT VOL MOR.
AND AS SOON AS I STARTED SEEING
IT, I NOTICED IT IS EVERYWHERE.
IT IS ALL OVER ALEXANDRIA
OCASIO-CORTEZ'S INSTAGRAM.
WHEN MICK MULVANEY TOOK OVER THE
C.F.P.B., THERE WERE A GROUP WHO
CALLED THEMSELVES DUMBLEDORE'S
ARMY.
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THIS, YOU
HAVE TO REALIZE THAT HARRY
POTTER WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED
CULTURAL PHENOMENON, LITERALLY
UNPRECEDENTED IN HUMAN HISTORY.
MORE PEOPLE CONSUMED HARRY
POTTER IN THE TIME THAT IT WAS
BEING CREATED THAN DICKENENS, OR
SHAKESPEARE OR NEARLY ANY OTHER
GREAT WORK OF LITERATURE THAT
YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
SO IT HAS FUNDAMENTALLY SHAPED
HOW MANY OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE
SEE THEIR ROLE IN THE WORLD, AND
ALSO SEE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY IN
TERMS OF WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT
IS EVIL.
HARRY POTTER IS A STORY ABOUT
AUTHORITARIANISM.
IT'S A STORY ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE
BANDING TOGETHER TO FIGHT AN
AUTHORITARIAN RULER WHO WAS
ENABLED BY FECKLESS ADULTS WHO
DON'T WANT TO STAND UP TO HIM.
AND SO IN SOME WAYS IT'S REALLY
RESONANT TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING
RIGHT NOW.
>> Stephen: WELL, THAT STORY
AND THIS ENTIRE BOOK GIVES ME
HOPE.
SO THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
AND I RECOMMEND-- I RECOMMEND IT
HIGHLY.
"THE ONES WE'VE BEEN WAITING
IT'S CHARLOTTE ALTER.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.
