The Glenn Show

0:00 John’s recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher7:23 The rigors of the lecture circuit10:29 The difference between equity and equality22:10 How do we know that African Americans are just as smart as everyone else?30:59 The new black bourgeoisie38:33 Standards in the arts are relative. But how relative?51:15 John sets the record straight on his dancing skillsRecorded March 19, 2022Links and ReadingsJohn’s most recent appearance on Real Time with Bill MaherGlenn and John April 14 UATX event in New YorkE. Franklin Frazier’s book, Black Bourgeoisie Glenn and John’s conversation with pseudonymous orchestra conductor Don BatonDon Baton’s Substack, The PodiumGlenn and John’s conversation with actor James BeamanJames Beaman’s Substack, The CornfieldGlenn and John’s conversation with Vincent LloydJohn’s NYT piece, “The High Art of Musical Theater”Walter Murphy’s song, “A Fifth of Beethoven” 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

My guest this week is the distinguished physicist Sylvester “Jim” Gates. Jim was my colleague at Brown for years (he’s now at the University of Maryland), and we’re both alumni of MIT. Jim has made pathbreaking contributions to areas of physics that laymen like me can barely understand—he’s a deep, deep guy. He’s also got some thoughts on race and diversity in the sciences that give us an opportunity for some friendly debate. Jim begins by introducing supersymmetry, a subfield in physics he helped to define back in the ‘70s. It’s extremely complex stuff, but he breaks it down. We spend the bulk of our time, though, talking about race in the sciences. Jim stresses the value that diversity plays in an under-recognized aspect of scientific innovation: imagination. In Jim’s view, while tests are important, there are limits to what they can tell us about who is most likely to produce the next big advance in any scientific field, just as there are limits to what tests can tell us about the competency of any given student. He uses himself as an example of a student who was average when he started grad school but managed to transform himself into a cutting-edge researcher. He sees value in giving weight to diversity, and even to continuing affirmative action, but there are limits. He worries, for example, that DEI initiatives classifying basic practices like homework and demanding excellence as “white” are going too far, just as he thinks speakers with unpopular views should be met with debate rather than cancelation. It’s a pleasure to sit down with a scientist as distinguished as Jim Gates. I think you’ll be seeing more of him on The Glenn Show in the future. 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 the Manhattan InstituteImproving our criminal-justice system means spending the requisite money to address America’s horrific and long-standing problem with criminal violence, argue Reihan Salam and Charles Fain Lehman.0:00 What led Jim to the forefront of physics 7:53 Jim explains supersymmetry 11:50 Is there racism in the sciences? 18:12 The role of culture and imagination in the sciences 28:47 The scientific “big bang” in Europe 33:03 How Jim accounts for racial disparities in test scores 49:35 Jim: “Genius” is a verb 54:18 Why Jim worries about DEI and cancelationRecorded February 6, 2023Links and ReadingsClarence Williams’s book, Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941-1999Jim’s essay, “Equity vs. Excellence: A False Dichotomy in Science and Society”Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific RevolutionsKarl Popper, The Logic of Scientific DiscoveryPhysicist Stephon Alexander’s TGS appearanceStephon Alexander’s book, The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link between Music and the Structure of the UniverseStephon Alexander’s book, Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics 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 John’s awkward run-in at the farmer’s market 5:40 Will people be reading Ibram X. Kendi in 2043? 17:03 Regret, doubt, and going against the tide  28:12 How Glenn and John negotiate their public profiles 40:50 Did Scott Adams deserve to get canceled?  52:47 What’s going on beneath the Scott Adams controversy?Recorded March 5, 2023Links and ReadingsIbram X. Kendi’s Zora Neale Hurston adaptation, Magnolia FlowerMelissa Harris Perry’s radio show, The TakeawayIshmael Reed’s novel, Reckless EyeballingIshmael Reed’s essay collection, Another Day at the Front 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 Oded's new book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality7:58 How inequality and growth emerged over the course of human history18:52 Breaking free of a 300,000-year-old stagnation cycle27:24 Humanity's phase shift into modernity33:39 Inequality and the formation of institutions44:18 The deep links between geography and institutions50:38 Africa, Asia, and the trials of diversityRecorded January 21, 2023Links and ReadingsOded’s new book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality 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 Woke religion or woke cult? 8:59 Does suffering confer authority on the sufferer? 12:47 A world without “anti-black domination” 21:27 Is there an alternative to the criminal justice system? 34:42 Domination and the purpose of the university 42:47 How Vincent’s Telluride Association seminar blew up 50:45 The narrowness of the social justice framework 54:14 Glenn and John’s encounters with fans 59:49 Should Black Studies exist?Recorded February 19, 2023Links and ReadingsVincent’s latest book, Black Dignity: The Struggle against DominationVincent’s Compact essay, “A Black Professor Trapped in Anti-Racist Hell”John’s NYT piece, “DeSantis May Have Been Right” 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

Glenn Loury & Delano Squires (Blaze Media)0:00 Why Delano is a conservative7:06 Delano’s critique of Raphael Warnock and the “Afristocracy” 19:26 Delano: “The designer is the definer” 27:43 Abortion and black lives41:44 Are abortion rights necessary to protect women’s rights? 47:53 Delano: Government is no substitute for fatherhood53:48 Can we reweave the social fabric?Links and ReadingsDelano’s writing at Blaze MediaThe Woodson Center’s 1776 Unites Black and Married with KidsIan 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

0:00 The “utter horror show” and incompetent policing of the Tyre Nichols killing7:52 The relatively peaceful reaction to the killing15:25 What set off the cops?21:53 Why Peter thinks police units like SCORPION should not be disbanded27:25 Should we get rid of qualified immunity?30:21 Policing and white supremacy40:45 Peter: We on the left have ceded law and order to the Trumpian right46:00 Tyre Nichols’s funeral53:59 John: I disagree with Sharpton, Crump, and Dyson, but they’re sincereLinks and ReadingsVideo of Memphis police officers beating Tyre NicholsAl Sharpton’s eulogy for NicholsBenjamin Crump speaks at Nichols’s funeralOfficial trailer for Spike Lee’s film, Bamboozled 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 Ernie’s work as an organizer5:45 Tension, polarization, and reconciliation12:49 The drama of organizing18:21 The definition of power27:52 Ernesto’s work getting running water and sewers to border communities31:26 Market activity vs. market ideology41:31 What’s wrong with meritocracy?56:12 Does identitarianism stand in the way of reconciliation?Recorded January 19, 2023Links and ReadingsIndustrial Areas FoundationMy recent debate with Richard WolffArthur Okun’s book, Equality and Efficiency: A Big TradeoffDaniel Bell’s book, The Cultural Contradictions of CapitalismJohn Kenneth Galbraith’s book, American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing PowerMichael Sandel’s book, The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?Michael Sandel’s book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of MarketsMichael Sandel’s TGS appearanceFranz Fanon’s book, Black Skin, White Masks 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 Glenn and John go to Cambridge9:25 The Hamline University Prophet Muhammad controversy 14:38 John: “Physics is physics”18:45 The Harlem Renaissance and Black Studies26:35 Is “getting past race” more trouble than it’s worth?36:51 Is Joe Biden patronizing black people?42:59 How a black musical changed the sound of Broadway Recorded January 20, 2023Links and ReadingsThe Equiano ProjectArnold Rampersand’s biography of Langston HughesJohn’s 2002 City Journal piece, “The Mau-Mauing at Harvard”Glenn and John’s recent conversation with Greg ThomasCaseen Gaines’s book, When Broadway Was Black 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 Steven’s best-selling book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters2:38 Steven: Concerns about catastrophic climate change “beggar belief”9:43 The complexities of climate change models15:07 Should we worry about rising sea levels?24:54 Hurricanes, tornados, and other extreme weather events29:59 Is a zero-emissions goal worth the cost?38:05 How to fix climate science45:02 Are the Paris Accords viable?48:13 The coming climate backlashRecorded January 3, 2023Links and ReadingsSteven’s book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It MattersSteven’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Will Climate Change Really Put New York Underwater?”Steven’s 2022 Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Greenland’s Melting Ice Is No Cause for Climate-Change Panic” 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