The Glenn Show

0:00 Inside the mind of a crack columnist4:19 The blowback from Norman Finkelstein’s TGS appearance15:27 Is it enough to be a “happy warrior” for your cause?28:45 How did MLK become MLK?37:37 What’s in a name when that name is “Woodrow Wilson”?49:10 Glenn: “Clarence Thomas’s name should be on public school buildings”Recorded May 30, 2023Links and ReadingsJohn’s NYT archiveNorman Finkelstein on TGSNorman Finkelstein’s book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Come to It: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic FreedomJonathan Eig’s new biography of Martin Luther King, King: A LifeJonathan Eig’s biography of Muhammad Ali, Ali: A LifeCharles Johnson’s novel, Middle PassageCharles Johnson’s novel, DreamerReza Aslan’s new book, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard BaskervillePBS’s Frontline documentary, Clarence and Ginni This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

0:00 Charles’s argument for emphasizing education over systemic racism5:21 Donique: Teaching African American history doesn’t require critical race theory15:36 Charles: We are the 97%!18:48 How Donique balances oppression and triumph in black history24:02 What does Florida’s Stop WOKE Act actually say?33:30 What’s wrong with integrating LGBT history and black history?44:19 Sexuality’s ever-shifting Overton window49:40 Why Donique, a public school teacher, advocates for homeschooling54:30 Expanding the canon of historic black figuresRecorded April 10, 2023Links and ReadingsCharles’s podcast, Cut the BullSeeking Educational ExcellenceThe Woodson Center’s 1776 Unites projectPutting the Pieces TogetherIan Rowe’s book, Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.com

0:00 John: “I love linguistics, but it no longer loves me”9:44 How Glenn and John are getting written out of their fields19:27 Jordan Neely didn’t deserve to die …27:28 … but the New York subway is getting scary37:45 Glenn: Reparations would be “impractical, unfair, and divisive in the extreme”50:50 A possible left-wing objection to reparations57:22 Glenn goes ham on reparationsRecorded May 18, 2023Links and ReadingsSteven Pinker’s book, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates LanguageJohn’s book, Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths about America’s Lingua FrancaJohn’s book, Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of “Pure” Standard EnglishJohn’s language podcast, Lexicon ValleyJohn, Our Magnificent B*****d Tongue: The Untold History of EnglishJohn’s NYT piece about Jordan Neely, “A Killing on the F Train”Ta-Nehisi Coates’s 2014 Atlantic essay, “The Case for Reparations”Matthew Desmond’s book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American CityMatthew Desmond’s new book, Poverty, by AmericaGlenn’s conversation with Norman FinkelsteinAugust Wilson’s play, Two Trains Running This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

0:00 Why YouTube censored a TGS episode6:25 How can YouTube justify censoring matters of opinion?15:15 Why there’s no such thing as free speech26:00 Nikita’s notes on Substack Notes39:53 Democratizing content moderation46:11 Creating better, community-centered comments sectionsRecorded May 4, 2023Links and ReadingsNikita’s Substack, PsychopoliticaThe censored TGS episode, “I Feel, Therefore I Am”Glenn’s paper, “Self-Censorship in Public Discourse: A Theory of ‘Political Correctness’ and Related Phenomena”Matt Taibbi’s Substack, Racket NewsSubstack NotesGlenn’s most recent conversation with Amy Wax This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

0:00 Has Norman been shut out of mainstream political debates?7:54 Norman’s conflict with Alan Dershowitz16:50 Is Israel an apartheid state?19:25 Identifying with Paul Robeson33:08 Norman’s new book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!44:42 Norman: Wokeness is a “triple scam”53:28 What’s become of Angela Davis?1:00:05 Cornel West's chosen path1:09:01 Obama’s self-proclaimed “neat trick”1:24:38 The political intelligence of Carter, Clinton, and Obama1:38:10 South Carolina 2020: a case study in identity politics1:47:24 Would Bernie have won in 2016?Recorded April 19, 2023Links and ReadingsNorman’s new book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic FreedomNorman’s book, The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish SufferingNorman’s book, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of HistoryNorman’s book, Gaza: An Inquest into Its MartyrdomNorman’s book, A Nation on Trial: The Goldhagen Thesis and Historical TruthNorman’s book, What Ghandi Says: On Nonviolence, Resistance, and CourageNorman’s book, “This Time We Went Too Far”: Truth and Consequences on the Gaza InvasionNorman’s book, Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel is Coming to an EndNorman’s book, The Rise and Fall of Palestine: A Personal Account of the Intifada YearsJoan Peters’s book, From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over PalestineAlan Dershowitz’s book, The Case for IsraelAlan Dershowitz and Norman’s debate on Democracy NowMichael Barnett, Nathan Brown, Marc Lynch, and Shibley Telhami’s Foreign Affairs piece, “Israel’s One-State Reality”Paul Robeson singing “The Four Insurgent Generals”The Letters of Rosa LuxembourgMark Doss performing “Ol’ Man River”Paul Robeson’s autobiography, Here I StandW.E.B. Du Bois’s book, The Philadelphia NegroW.E.B. DuBois’s book, Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1880Tom Wolfe’s New York Magazine essay, “Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny’s”Angela Davis’s 2022 appearance at the University of South CarolinaBarack Obama’s memoir, A Promised LandBill Clinton’s memoir, My LifeJimmy Carter’s memoir, Keeping FaithDavid Axelrod’s memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in PoliticsFrederick Douglass’s third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s episode, John and I return to a familiar character: Omar. For those of you unfamiliar with “Omar,” he’s our invented surrogate for the kind of young black man whose behavior is wreaking havoc on Chicago and St. Louis. Omar is economically disadvantaged. He was more than likely raised by a single mother. He underperforms academically, and he may have dropped out of high school. He’s involved in illegal activity of one sort or another. If there is some kind of large-scale disorderly event, you’ll likely find Omar there. After a discussion of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, John and I spend most of the episode talking about Omar: what made him who he is, why he acts the way he does, and what, if anything, can make him change. John has little sympathy for structural explanations for Omar’s behavior. According to John, culture makes Omar who he is, not the history of American racism, not implicit bias, and not even a supposed lack of legitimate jobs. I play devil’s advocate, raising some objections you might hear from sociologists or historians, but in truth, I find John’s reasoning pretty persuasive. To couch it in my own framework, the bias narrative just doesn’t cut it. And to those of you wondering if I have anything more to say about YouTube’s removal of my conversation with John and Mark Goldblatt: I sure do. I’ve recorded an episode with my creative director Nikita Petrov in which we discuss censorship, YouTube, and why we’re sticking with Substack. Stay tuned. This post is free and available to the public. To receive early access to TGS episodes, an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.Featured Content from City JournalHad he been in treatment, Jordan Neely’s death in a subway car may have been prevented, writes Stephen Eide.0:00 Glenn mounts a defense of Tucker Carlson13:44 Glenn: “Race relations will not get better through denial”24:37 What historical conditions created Omar?36:24 John: Omar is not the result of white neglect45:16 John’s critique of structural explanations of Omar54:14 What will happen to Tucker? 55:40 Why you should become a paying subscriber Links and Readings The NYT’s story on Tucker Carlson’s “it’s not how white men fight” textJohn’s book, Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black AmericaWilliam Julius Wilson’s book, The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public PolicyWilliam Julius Wilson’s book, When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban PoorWilliam Julius Wilson’s book, The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American InstitutionsThomas Sugrue’s book, The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar DetroitJason DeParle’s book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End WelfareFrantz Fanon’s book, The Wretched of the EarthFrantz Fanon’s book, Black Skin, White MasksPhilip Roth’s novel, American Pastoral This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

0:00 Heather’s new book, When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives8:20 Are racial disparities in medical school the result of racism or skills gaps?20:03 Do we really know what causes racial disparities?32:23 Closing racial achievement gaps begins at home40:39 Will black doctors necessarily provide better care to black patients?50:26 Canceling Western art1:00:37 Heather: Colonialism cannot explain the development of art1:05:21 The stupidity of arguments against “cultural appropriation”1:18:24 Heather: Lack of policing is a civil rights problem1:29:43 Is it possible for a cop to get a fair trial?1:34:40 Race and the future of progressive DAsRecorded April 16, 2023Links and ReadingsHeather’s new book, When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens LivesStephen Carter’s book, Reflections of an Affirmative Action BabyGlenn’s conversation with Charles MurrayCharles Murray’s book, Facing Reality: Two Truths about Race in AmericaJennifer Lee and Min Zhou’s book, The Asian American Achievement ParadoxRonald Ferguson’s learning network, The BasicsPierre Bourdieu’s book, DistinctionHeather’s City Journal essay, “Stirring Sounds”Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of ColorblindnessMichael Fortner’s book, Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of PunishmentGlenn’s conversation with Michael FortnerJames Forman Jr.’s book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black AmericaFred Siegal’s City Journal essay, “The Riot Ideology, Reborn” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.comGlenn and John answer questions from the Substack community.

0:00 Mark Goldblatt’s recent book, I Feel, Therefore I Am: The Triumph of Woke Subjectivism10:55 Wokeism’s roots in postmodern thought15:05 The “mysticism” of woke thinking17:44 Learning from Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations26:29 John breaks his silence on transgender issues35:13 The political consequences of subjectivism41:46 Why Mark thinks transgender people are mentally disordered50:07 What does the T have to do with the LGB?58:09 Mark: Transgender people deserve respect1:02:39 Distinguishing between strategy and realityLinks and ReadingsMark’s book, I Feel Therefore I Am: The Triumph of Woke SubjectivismMatt Yglesias’s Vox essay, “The Great Awokening”A clip from Glenn’s recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe