

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

May 19, 2023 • 1h 59min
Norman Finkelstein – The "Triple Scam" of Wokeness
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

May 8, 2023 • 1h 1min
John McWhorter – What Made Omar?
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

May 5, 2023 • 1h 43min
Heather Mac Donald – When Race Trumps Merit
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

May 4, 2023 • 7min
April Q&A
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.comGlenn and John answer questions from the Substack community.

Apr 28, 2023 • 1h 10min
John McWhorter and Mark Goldblatt – I Feel, Therefore I Am
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

Apr 21, 2023 • 1h 1min
Daniel Bessner – The End of the American Century
0:00 The gigification of academia8:26 Is education just another commodity?18:14 What do historians do?26:22 Daniel: The university system is an unregulated cartel35:08 The liberalism (not the leftism) of the university38:22 Using (and getting used by) new technology43:19 An alternate history of global economic development47:29 The end of the American century54:27 Daniel’s critique of US support for UkraineRecorded February 7, 2023Links and ReadingsDaniel’s NYT op-ed, “The Dangerous Decline of the Historical Profession”Daniel’s TGS mini-series, “Glenn Loury’s Intellectual Origins”Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History and the Last ManDaniel’s essay on Fukuyama for the Nation, “A Bad Breakup”Adrianna Kezar, Tom DePaola, and Daniel T. Scott’s book, The Gig Academy: Mapping Labor in the Neoliberal UniversitySamuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis’s book, Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic LifeJames Sweet’s column, “Is History History?”Daniel’s Chronicle of Higher Education piece, “The AHA’s Mission Needs to Change”Eugen Weber’s book, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914Daniel’s podcast, American PrestigeDaniel’s Harper’s Harper’s piece, “Empire Burlesque”Daniel’s New Republic piece, “Does American Fascism Exist? 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

Apr 14, 2023 • 1h 7min
John McWhorter and Ian Rowe – Who Speaks for Black America?
0:00 Al Sharpton’s National Action Network still exists, apparently5:00 MLK’s understanding of America’s contributions to democracy12:58 Are the “people with three names” grifters or merely limited in their racial vision?21:07 How do you change the minds of black voters?30:13 The national black leadership vacuum36:30 The under-recognized success of the black middle class41:30 Ian’s got a four-point plan …47:38 … but what’s the best way to disseminate it? (It’s podcasts.)51:37 The paradox of Obama and Thomas1:01:01 How does Glenn know “nobody is coming to save us”?Recorded April 9, 2023Links and ReadingsIan’s book, Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to PowerIan’s charter school network, Vertex Partnership AcademiesAl Sharpton’s National Action NetworkPew poll on black political strategy and leadershipAEI’s study, “Black Men: Making It in America” Richard Reeves’s book, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about ItThomas Sowell speaking at the 1980 Fairmont ConferenceClarence Thomas’s memoir, My Grandfather’s Son 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

25 snips
Apr 7, 2023 • 1h 12min
Jonathan Rauch – A Liberal Defense of Free Speech
0:00 What’s wrong with cancelation?13:28 A defense of Charles Murray21:24 Cancelation and the closet28:08 Jonathan’s book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth39:35 Jonathan: “The marketplace of ideas” is a necessary but insufficient metaphor42:51 Is Trump an agent of disinformation?54:22 What the woke and MAGA crowds have in common59:41 Why Jonathan is hopeful about the constitution of knowledgeRecorded February 6, 2022Links and ReadingsJonathan’s latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthJonathan’s book, Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free ThoughtCharles Murray and Richard Herrnstein’s book, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American LifeJeff Gerth’s Four-Party Columbia Journalism Review series on Trump and the pressStanford’s Internet Observatory 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

Mar 31, 2023 • 60min
David Sacks and Spencer Segal – Free Speech and Protest at Stanford Law
0:00 The disruption of Judge Kyle Duncan’s speech at Stanford Law School9:33 Why did people have a problem with Duncan?13:51 Will the current Supreme Court overturn Obergefell v. Hodges16:37 The necessity of free inquiry and reasoned discourse26:44 What it’s like being a FedSoc conservative at Stanford Law34:30 The fallout from the Duncan protests41:30 The vulgarity of the insults hurled at Duncan50:00 The role of conservatives at StanfordRecorded March 26, 2022Links and ReadingsVideo of Stanford Law School Associate Dean Tirien Steinbach responding to Judge DuncanStanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez’s letter about the Duncan eventJohn Stuart Mill’s book, On Liberty 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

Mar 30, 2023 • 10min
March Q&A
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit glennloury.substack.comGlenn and John respond to questions from Substack subscribers.