

The Glenn Show
Glenn Loury
Race, inequality, and economics in the US and throughout the world from Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics at Brown University and Paulson Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute glennloury.substack.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 7, 2023 • 1h 6min
Jay Bhattacharya – Rewriting the COVID Narrative
0:00 The problem with scientific consensus6:36 Why Jay and his colleagues were branded “fringe epidemiologists”15:52 Jay: We need to engage with everyone—even those with mistaken beliefs25:55 Persuading science skeptics36:04 How do we stop COVID overreach from happening again?46:38 Jay: Gain-of-function research is impossible to do safely55:03 Are some ideas too dangerous to test?59:30 Jay: Fauci’s blunder was so catastrophic that only history can judge himRecorded June 23, 2023Links and ReadingsRav Arora and Jay’s newsletter, The Illusion of ConsensusDoris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham LincolnThe Great Barrington DeclarationSteve Koonin’s book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Asks Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It MattersSteve Koonin’s TGS appearanceTjalling Koopman’s, Three Essays on the State of Economic ScienceEmily Oster’s Atlantic piece, “Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty”The Norfolk Group DocumentGlenn’s paper, “Self-Censorship in Public Discourse: A Theory of ‘Political Correctness’ and Related Phenomena”Richard Feynman demonstrates flaws in Challenger’s O-ringsRoger Shattuck’s book, Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography 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

Jun 30, 2023 • 1h 5min
Cornel West – The Presidential Aspirations of Cornel West
0:00 Why Cornel is running for president10:45 How Cornel links American militarism abroad and inequality at home15:15 Cornel’s pitch to skeptical right-of-center voters20:30 Is there tension between Cornel’s commitment to stopping climate change and his commitment to helping the working class?33:50 The moral potential and pitfalls of capitalism37:34 Might Cornel inadvertently hand the election to the Republicans?41:44 Cornel: Tim Scott and Clarence Thomas are wrong, but they’re sincere46:06 Why Cornel thinks the US is partially culpable for the Ukraine War52:04 Should Palestinians recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel?1:00:23 Cornel’s ideas about the US borderRecorded on June 16, 2023Links and ReadingsCornel’s campaign websiteCornel’s TGS appearance with Teodros KirosGlenn and Richard Wolff debate capitalism and socialismCornel and Robert George on PBS’s Firing LineSteve Koonin’s TGS appearanceErnesto Cortes’s TGS appearanceBenjamin Schwartz and Christopher Layne’s Harper’s essay, “Why Are We in Ukraine?” 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

Jun 25, 2023 • 59min
Sally Satel – The Ethics of Selling a Kidney (Bonus Episode)
The following bonus episode was previously available only to paying Substack subscribers. We’re now releasing it to the public. 0:00 Identitarianism in the medical profession5:13 The (exaggerated) psychiatric toll of Covid7:31 Why were psychiatrists publicly diagnosing Trump?12:29 Sally’s quest for a kidney donor23:30 How the kidney donation system works and why it doesn’t29:30 The ethics of selling a kidney34:42 Can we put a price on the human body?43:44 Would paying donors exploit the poor?48:17 Is paid kidney donation a political possibility?53:12 The roadblocks facing paid kidney donationLinks and ReadingsSally’s book, P.C., M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting MedicineChristina Hoff Sommers and Sally’s book, One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-ReliancePeter Kramer and Sally’s 2017 NYT op-ed, “Who Decides Whether Trump Is Unfit to Govern?”matchingdonors.comLeon Kass’s book, Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for BioethicsGlenn’s conversation with Michael SandelMichael Novak’s defense of paid kidney donation in First ThingsSally’s book, When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Kidney DonorsSally’s New York Times Magazine piece, “Desperately Seeking a Kidney”Sally’s website 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

Jun 23, 2023 • 1h 3min
John McWhorter & Jonathan Rieder – Canceling "Culture in America"
0:00 Why Jonathan’s course “Culture in America” got canceled 9:07 The fragility of liberal arts education 17:24 Managing “CRT zealots” in the classroom 27:44 Is there a future for free inquiry? 35:03 John: Black middle-class students don’t need affirmative action 44:57 Is diversity the problem, or is it elitism? 52:35 The virtues (and virtue signaling) of Randall KennedyRecorded June 17, 2023Links and ReadingsAlex Morey and Nadine Strossen’s FIRE article about Jonathan, “Who’s Allowed to Teach ‘Culture in America’?”Barnard’s Center for Engaged PedagogyJohn’s book, Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black AmericaRobin DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about RacismCornell Belcher’s book, A Black Man in the White House: Barack Obama and the Triggering of America’s Racial-Aversion CrisisRichard Rothstein’s Atlantic piece, “The Problem with Wealth-Based Affirmative Action”John’s guest post, “Racial Preferences May End, but the Fight Will Continue”Derrick Bell’s book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of RacismGlenn’s City Journal essay, “Affirmative Distraction”Randall Kennedy NYT guest essay, “The Truth Is, Many Americans Just Don’t Want Black People to Get Ahead”Randall Kennedy’s Atlantic essay, “My Race Problem”Randall Kennedy’s book, For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the LawRandall Kennedy’s book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome WordJohn McWhorter and Randall Kennedy on The Glenn ShowJohn’s 2008 Bloggingheads conversation with Randall Kennedy 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

Jun 16, 2023 • 1h 5min
Robert Cherry – The State of the Black Family
0:00 Bob’s new book, The State of the Black Family: Sixty Years of Tragedies and Failures—and New Initiatives Offering Hope7:02 Bob: “Liberals have given up” on changing black family dynamics15:02 Two-parent families are preferable, but single-parent families need help22:01 Do children help women organize their lives more effectively than men?29:14 Is community college helping or hurting young black men?38:38 How Bob thinks police and communities should deter violence45:42 Work requirements with a human face56:04 The moderate’s dilemmaRecorded May 4, 2023Links and ReadingsBob’s new book, The State of the Black Family: Sixty Years of Tragedies and Failures—and New Initiatives Offering HopeDaniel Patrick Moynihan’s report, The Negro Family: The Case for National ActionHerbert Gutman’s book, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925Lawrence Mead’s book, Beyond Entitlement: The Social Obligations of CitizenshipLawrence Mead on TGS 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

Jun 9, 2023 • 1h 9min
John McWhorter – How Should We Memorialize the Past?
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

Jun 2, 2023 • 59min
Charles Love & Donique Rolle – Teaching Black History without CRT
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

Jun 1, 2023 • 11min
May 2023 Q&A
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.com

May 26, 2023 • 1h 2min
John McWhorter – Race, Reparations, and Jordan Neely
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

May 21, 2023 • 1h 4min
Nikita Petrov – How Substack Can Solve Online Censorship (Bonus Episode)
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