The Glenn Show

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.comGlenn and John answer Substack subscriber questions from November 2023.

0:00 Is “black heterodoxy” a euphemism for “black conservatism”?13:34 Classical liberalism’s role in Free Black Thought15:07 Erec: I saw things while working as a diversity officer that I can’t unsee22:47 Why the Democratic Party doesn’t like Erec30:38 How Free Black Thought is fostering agency in the black community36:16 Erec: The onus is on us, not affirmative action, to prepare black students for college45:19 What is rhetoric, anyway?Recorded November 13, 2023Links and ReadingsErec’s nonprofit, Free Black ThoughtJournal of Free Black ThoughtFree Black Thought’s podcastMinnesota’s Take Charge programThe Hidden Genius ProjectGlenn’s essay in the Journal of Free Black Thought, “Wrestle Not against Flesh and Blood” 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 The state of campus speech after 10/75:48 Daniel: Why are critics of cancel culture silent when it comes to Israel?15:43 “Explaining” Hamas vs. “excusing” Hamas26:17 Tyler: American Jewish students worried about their safety have been primed by modern identity politics29:31 The tension between DEI and antisemitism response teams38:17 The linguistic ambiguity of “From the river to the sea”43:41 The irreconcilable conflict between campus social justice and donor funding47:49 If not liberalism, then what?53:51 Tyler: Postwar political conservatism is coming apartRecorded November 18, 2023Links and ReadingsDaniel’s podcast, American PrestigeGlenn’s conversation with Yascha Mounk (recorded October 3, 2023)Adam Shatz’s book, The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz FanonLisa Stampnitzky’s book, Disciplining Terror: How Experts Invented “Terrorism”Daniel’s essay in the Nation, “A Bad Breakup”Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s book, Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical FragmentsDaniel’s Harper’s essay, “Empire Burlesque” 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 How Bob gave Glenn his start in podcasting2:05 Is the Gaza War in Israel’s best interests …11:46 … and if not, what should Israel have done in response to October 7?18:06 How Hamas gained control of Gaza26:53 Bob: Some in the Israeli government wouldn’t mind a wider war in the Middle East36:46 What does “From the river to the sea” actually mean?46:10 Bob: Every settlement in the West Bank is a war crime54:20 The psychology of victimhood and retribution1:00:37 The challenge of spiritual transformationRecorded November 13, 2023Links and ReadingsBob’s Substack, the Nonzero NewsletterBrown University faculty’s call for a ceasefireGlenn’s conversation with John McWhorter, “Thinking Through the Gaza War”Bob’s Nonzero Newsletter piece, “The Truth about Hamas”John Judis’s 2013 New Republic piece, “Clueless in Gaza”John Judis and Ruy Texeira’s book, Where Have All the Democrats Gone?: The Soul of the Party in the Age of ExtremesBob’s Nonzero Newsletter piece, “The ‘River to the Sea’ Rorschach Test”Bob debates Eli Lake on Israel-PalestineJimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not ApartheidBob’s book, Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and EnlightenmentThe documentary Disturbing the Peace 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

0:35 A quick announcement1:46 What led Yascha to write about identity6:22 An intellectual history of “identity synthesis”12:15 What’s so bad about “strategic essentialism”?19:15 From postmodernism to post-civil rights28:45 The three key claims of identity synthesis36:02 What led up to the summer of 2020?45:51 The hermetically sealed ideology of Kendi and DiAngelo50:45 Yascha’s defense of universalismRecorded October 3, 2023Links and ReadingsYascha’s new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our TimeMichel Foucault’s book, The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human SciencesEdward Said’s book, OrientalismGayatri Spivak’s essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?”Glenn’s debate with Kmele Foster, Shelby Steele, Robert Woodson, and Reihan SalamKaren and Barbara Fields’s book, Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American LifeTommie Shelby’s book, We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black SolidarityNoam Chomsky and Michel Foucault’s 1971 debate on Dutch televisionDerrick Bell’s book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of RacismDerrick Bell’s essay, “Serving Two Masters: Integration Ideals and Client Interests in School Desegregation Litigation”Mahalia Jackson singing “We Shall Overcome”Roy D’Andrade’s article, “Moral Models in Anthropology” 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 Persia at the turn of the twentieth century6:43 Woodrow Wilson’s contradictions11:14 Did Howard Baskerville escape the prejudices of his time?16:39 How Baskerville got involved in Persia’s democratic revolution26:43 How Czar Nicholas II aided the counter-revolution32:29 The erasure of Baskerville in post-1979 Iran36:31 The theological origin of the Islamic Republic of Iran45:01 Reza: Ordinary Iranians actually love American culture48:51 The internal and external pressures on Iran57:21 The amorality of foreign policyRecorded October 25, 2023Links and ReadingsReza’s book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of NazarethReza’s new book, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville 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 subscriber questions.

0:00 Why John thinks pro-Hamas sentiment on the American left is racist 6:11 Distinguishing between anti-colonialism and antisemitism 12:46 There are great crimes in America’s past. But we shouldn’t let them define us.17:08 Glenn: We’re standing on the precipice of something catastrophic 27:57 John’s proposal for the US’s role in Israel’s domestic conflict 34:59 Is it right for people to lose their jobs over opposing Israel? 42:07 Why are pro-Hamas leftists supporting an anti-liberal regime? 47:01 Glenn and John’s responsibilities as teachers 52:26 What’s next on TGSRecorded October 28, 2023Links and ReadingsJohn’s Free Press piece, “The Ultimate Condescension Toward Palestinians”Adam Shatz’s LRB essay, “Vengeful Pathologies”Joe Biden’s Oval Office address on Israel and UkraineReza Aslan’s book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of NazarethReza Aslan’s new book, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville 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 John thinks Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was rational6:55 How small states deal with world powers10:13 If Russia’s action were rational, were the US’s?16:40 John: The Ukraine invasion violates international law, but Russia has reason to see it as just21:58 The risk of escalation29:26 Zelensky’s expert manipulation of the West33:51 Is it a coincidence that so many recent presidential scandals involve Ukraine?39:57 Can tolerant liberals tolerate illiberal societies?45:45 American Russophobia didn’t cause the war, but it’s not helping49:19 John: If Putin is overthrown, his replacement will probably be even more brutal53:35 The foreign policy establishment’s grip on both Democrats and RepublicansLinks and ReadingsJohn’s SubstackJohn’s book, with Sebastian Rosato, How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign PolicyJohn’s essay, “Bound to Lose” 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 The blowback from Coleman’s TED Talk 8:50 Did TED intentionally throttle promotion for Coleman’s talk? 17:08 John’s trouble with TED while promoting Woke Racism 20:21 Coleman’s forthcoming book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America 29:17 Race in public and private life 43:49 Closure on the TED affair 45:14 What are the goals of each side in the Israel-Palestine conflict? 51:58 Will the Israeli military response simply restart the cycle of violence and resentment? 1:02:15 The threat of post-October 7 overreactionLinks and ReadingsColeman’s Substack, Coleman’s CornerColeman’s podcast, Conversations with ColemanColeman’s forthcoming book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind AmericaColeman's conversation with Glenn Greenwald about the TED TalkColeman’s TED Talk, “A Case for Color Blindness”Coleman’s Free Press piece, “Why Is TED Scared of Color Blindness”Coleman’s conversation with Jamelle BouieGeroge Packer’s Atlantic piece, “Israel Must Not React Stupidly” 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