John McWhorter – Glenn and John Live at Brown University
May 2, 2025
1 hr 24 min
347 of 437
May 2, 2025
John McWhorter – Glenn and John Live at Brown University
0:00 / 1:24:22
Excerpt playback isn’t available for this episode — use the full-episode link.
Search the Record
Moment search isn’t open for this episode yet
When it opens, you’ll be able to type any phrase and jump straight to the second it was said.
The Glenn Show Episodes Around May 2, 2025
Episode 347 of 437 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
1:24:22This episodeJohn McWhorter – Glenn and John Live at Brown University
Summary
<p><strong>Support The Glenn Show at https://glennloury.substack.com</strong></p><p><strong>Video Links</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g" target="_blank">0:00</a> Intro </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=31s" target="_blank">00:31</a> Prefatory remarks </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=255s" target="_blank">4:15</a> Glenn: The Trump administration’s defunding of the universities is mischievous in the extreme </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=546s" target="_blank">9:06</a> Ground News ad </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=661s" target="_blank">11:01</a> Doesn’t maintaining the preeminence of American universities require diversity of thought? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=1127s" target="_blank">18:47</a> John McWhorter has entered the building </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=1225s" target="_blank">20:25</a> How did higher ed lose the general public’s support? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=1385s" target="_blank">23:05</a> The university’s role in public discourse </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=1586s" target="_blank">26:26</a> Was affirmative action a success or a failure? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=1896s" target="_blank">31:36</a> The partisan balance in education funding </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=2541s" target="_blank">42:21</a> The costs and benefits of tenure </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=3009s" target="_blank">50:09</a> Can education preserve democracy if students aren’t doing the reading? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=3719s" target="_blank">1:01:59</a> Are we irrevocably polarized as a nation? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=4048s" target="_blank">1:07:28</a> Q&A: You don’t seem as excited by Trump as you once were. What is disappointing you? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=4300s" target="_blank">1:11:40</a> Q&A: If higher ed serves society, why do so many elite grads use their degrees to get rich? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=4561s" target="_blank">1:16:01</a> Q&A: How do you teach diversity to students who’ve never spent time around people different from them? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=4755s" target="_blank">1:19:15</a> Q&A: What’s the difference between contrarianism and provocation? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfrQVA9h6g&t=4883s" target="_blank">1:21:23</a> Q&A: Should fewer people go to college?</p><p>Recorded April 22, 2025</p><p><strong>Links and Readings</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Merit-Find-Common-Good/dp/1250800064/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FCC1A5Y5F0UV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6QXs4G7iPH8RJHa0P_DoiR4LwkDf5Ri4M04hknl8RLaJZpcwnIhc2j0rKEZCDbfrJA36m9wTX2UckELrdULarJKIgus89fKuJMOFZbKpkZRXRtRTQZQhY0HftS1F4X48Y7ftWwNHwgxdFVCFZ8kr97IgMAYlUoHwRmo3KHKLoD59djjn61ouztSnf1hAebLoqt8IIQBqUQ-3Nqxw0ov7VCiCjmd9Yf7xJ1Ax6XgTzYY.RhNx49FMr98ysH_E25Kf4ucmbZZ-Y_-y24At4toYd_I&dib_tag=se&keywords=Michael+Sandel+Tyranny+of+Merit&qid=1745845616&sprefix=michael+sandel+tyranny+of+merit%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Michael Sandel’s book, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Merit-Find-Common-Good/dp/1250800064/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FCC1A5Y5F0UV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6QXs4G7iPH8RJHa0P_DoiR4LwkDf5Ri4M04hknl8RLaJZpcwnIhc2j0rKEZCDbfrJA36m9wTX2UckELrdULarJKIgus89fKuJMOFZbKpkZRXRtRTQZQhY0HftS1F4X48Y7ftWwNHwgxdFVCFZ8kr97IgMAYlUoHwRmo3KHKLoD59djjn61ouztSnf1hAebLoqt8IIQBqUQ-3Nqxw0ov7VCiCjmd9Yf7xJ1Ax6XgTzYY.RhNx49FMr98ysH_E25Kf4ucmbZZ-Y_-y24At4toYd_I&dib_tag=se&keywords=Michael+Sandel+Tyranny+of+Merit&qid=1745845616&sprefix=michael+sandel+tyranny+of+merit%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm" target="_blank">John Stuart Mill’s book, </a><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm" target="_blank"><em>On Liberty</em></a></p><p><a href="https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/areopagitica/text.shtml" target="_blank">John Milton’a </a><a href="https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/areopagitica/text.shtml" target="_blank"><em>Areopagitica</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Closing-American-Mind-Education-Impoverished/dp/1451683200/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E3TM1JWTBWPL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ECRCLj5QBUYS8xvD4m2gm6r6XMiUXVj3N6PskGIak_aHeTEU_yuOLORw6yh90avxSmPg5TWrldshACyVHt2aKA.FCUJJj1yTLYTuk5bqu-ZaU0LxXyRRP0wplvfCjxQm4Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+closing+of+the+american+mind+by+alan+bloom&qid=1745846311&sprefix=alan+bloom+%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Alan Bloom’s book, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Closing-American-Mind-Education-Impoverished/dp/1451683200/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E3TM1JWTBWPL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ECRCLj5QBUYS8xvD4m2gm6r6XMiUXVj3N6PskGIak_aHeTEU_yuOLORw6yh90avxSmPg5TWrldshACyVHt2aKA.FCUJJj1yTLYTuk5bqu-ZaU0LxXyRRP0wplvfCjxQm4Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+closing+of+the+american+mind+by+alan+bloom&qid=1745846311&sprefix=alan+bloom+%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pronoun-Trouble-Story-Seven-Little/dp/0593713281/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RXZNG1YVKB8V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z9hCJZG5PEWNeaJ420hCl_fEqAPM3Y2ivD-XQlBsr6PdDONaECkdkEZJ-u7JMA9v82j4ISDla3Hh2eYuNtLwxxYR9FTcPmj0tt6xOS0eycwie8XKMH20i1wVX5JS9nBCPpHTyl94gjoxVJZmU7FDR2fGFGDY_6955EEG-Wr4vOHkTkSP4--fpGogCoziCauA7wmD91ujfh_JNsFEz6fG8Hryg29wfP4prJmbPhc4i8M.YsFe1nXfJxQAryVClpqnYa9OMt1sNJRCaROiVSHtYjQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=Pronoun+Trouble&qid=1745846383&sprefix=pronoun+trouble%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1" target="_blank">John’s new book, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pronoun-Trouble-Story-Seven-Little/dp/0593713281/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RXZNG1YVKB8V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z9hCJZG5PEWNeaJ420hCl_fEqAPM3Y2ivD-XQlBsr6PdDONaECkdkEZJ-u7JMA9v82j4ISDla3Hh2eYuNtLwxxYR9FTcPmj0tt6xOS0eycwie8XKMH20i1wVX5JS9nBCPpHTyl94gjoxVJZmU7FDR2fGFGDY_6955EEG-Wr4vOHkTkSP4--fpGogCoziCauA7wmD91ujfh_JNsFEz6fG8Hryg29wfP4prJmbPhc4i8M.YsFe1nXfJxQAryVClpqnYa9OMt1sNJRCaROiVSHtYjQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=Pronoun+Trouble&qid=1745846383&sprefix=pronoun+trouble%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Late-Admissions-Confessions-Black-Conservative/dp/0393881342" target="_blank">Glenn’s memoir, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Late-Admissions-Confessions-Black-Conservative/dp/0393881342" target="_blank"><em>Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.thegreatcourses.com/" target="_blank">The Great Courses</a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Paperback-Translator-Volokhonsky-Dostoevsky/dp/B002VK435K/ref=sr_1_5?crid=CPI41G0RI70N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HfmOw6SMjfYFdFH863PLR9ORc97YE8D8a4Pfvj3BeAdDueoLws2KPPACY_5AWntNmrsLybFgh8Lt_VjH_RWkc2Z06kg2fGRl8g6U0ONF3o9Nfgd_5W1fu14okKsafNMPVQl7QXMTGKeN9yL65xxUmg5BWHwIeHOQNSmIOnMpFDiXOJRfqoaBkHQqMcbhWvkxXYSvEZpDztosr9eH-UQEqHk-HJbkgabf5Ag4a-fjLAY.pk3STXAhycevBxLfaWDNU5BsBQPMJGRBPUkryct4Rog&dib_tag=se&keywords=dostoevsky+crime+and+punishment+pevear&qid=1745846504&sprefix=dostoevsky+crime+and+punishment+pevear%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-5" target="_blank">Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Paperback-Translator-Volokhonsky-Dostoevsky/dp/B002VK435K/ref=sr_1_5?crid=CPI41G0RI70N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HfmOw6SMjfYFdFH863PLR9ORc97YE8D8a4Pfvj3BeAdDueoLws2KPPACY_5AWntNmrsLybFgh8Lt_VjH_RWkc2Z06kg2fGRl8g6U0ONF3o9Nfgd_5W1fu14okKsafNMPVQl7QXMTGKeN9yL65xxUmg5BWHwIeHOQNSmIOnMpFDiXOJRfqoaBkHQqMcbhWvkxXYSvEZpDztosr9eH-UQEqHk-HJbkgabf5Ag4a-fjLAY.pk3STXAhycevBxLfaWDNU5BsBQPMJGRBPUkryct4Rog&dib_tag=se&keywords=dostoevsky+crime+and+punishment+pevear&qid=1745846504&sprefix=dostoevsky+crime+and+punishment+pevear%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-5" target="_blank"><em>Crime and Punishment</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky/dp/0099922800/ref=sr_1_5?crid=EEDT371UQF9C&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FEsznT-5_AU907n8g5G1sTf9liZ_th5d8zuU0Q8pTP-cAVw_32WtNJ5aB0tf9ksVcTPQR-cZ1Y99A1TmXiZJKh5AEoEOLhpk7eaFQ5Dbpt7DtLSKOKQPR6WT6G_5KlhSgnwMmrU0GgZV3noJ3egCI4ZDbtXZCt-cGjTwJdrN99dkwIClF0tQV6C4E4vdN0pBoB8xhcAEMDql1KMJ30E_q98uhcf62nZ2hjcU5cNUpsU.IMWVQlllezDRKJpFqPdcbp9zhX4da3GFi05TbuLPiEg&dib_tag=se&keywords=karamazov+pevear&qid=1745846564&sprefix=karamazov+pevear%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-5" target="_blank">Dostoevsky’s novel, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky/dp/0099922800/ref=sr_1_5?crid=EEDT371UQF9C&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FEsznT-5_AU907n8g5G1sTf9liZ_th5d8zuU0Q8pTP-cAVw_32WtNJ5aB0tf9ksVcTPQR-cZ1Y99A1TmXiZJKh5AEoEOLhpk7eaFQ5Dbpt7DtLSKOKQPR6WT6G_5KlhSgnwMmrU0GgZV3noJ3egCI4ZDbtXZCt-cGjTwJdrN99dkwIClF0tQV6C4E4vdN0pBoB8xhcAEMDql1KMJ30E_q98uhcf62nZ2hjcU5cNUpsU.IMWVQlllezDRKJpFqPdcbp9zhX4da3GFi05TbuLPiEg&dib_tag=se&keywords=karamazov+pevear&qid=1745846564&sprefix=karamazov+pevear%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-5" target="_blank"><em>The Brothers Karamazov</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199232768/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3IF540RT190VB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IaZRw8q4wCHlov06k3Df20CFU75z1auJsjJzC5MIXOe_CN4goou2qGglQDno-Ea_G6GQuaw0Ilt4aIhwLCiBL4alROobqEScgw7FdMKf69U-ur-BTALh_IICAmvm2it_U-3pK5iZ0x9F35TSp2JLlyS3IANMk_WVGyoDRcZZtgxotL6bQqlqyx6NF9oHZZf7F9MCVkS75r8BUw5lBS-QiEcPRRHqpHJZEmfI9GM2x7A.1YPp6tT_E6WnoujGI0_S8p0FiLBVpTo4qu5VaTSB7TM&dib_tag=se&keywords=tolstoy+war+and+peace&qid=1745846594&sprefix=tolstoy+war+and+peace%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-5" target="_blank">Leo Tolsty’s novel, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199232768/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3IF540RT190VB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IaZRw8q4wCHlov06k3Df20CFU75z1auJsjJzC5MIXOe_CN4goou2qGglQDno-Ea_G6GQuaw0Ilt4aIhwLCiBL4alROobqEScgw7FdMKf69U-ur-BTALh_IICAmvm2it_U-3pK5iZ0x9F35TSp2JLlyS3IANMk_WVGyoDRcZZtgxotL6bQqlqyx6NF9oHZZf7F9MCVkS75r8BUw5lBS-QiEcPRRHqpHJZEmfI9GM2x7A.1YPp6tT_E6WnoujGI0_S8p0FiLBVpTo4qu5VaTSB7TM&dib_tag=se&keywords=tolstoy+war+and+peace&qid=1745846594&sprefix=tolstoy+war+and+peace%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-5" target="_blank"><em>War and Peace</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-Penguin-Clothbound-Classics/dp/014119961X/ref=sr_1_6?crid=25734XG0SQ9D2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lR7GotHlib3nOBgx6O-pZVydVlPHRrECtT5hh_Riv28JvNM1Hg3mavCMfLx7imQP9BGpx__pCUZp7voJ4eegSKpWaUT7hpB9wOLL_S5HYiwMMe1qhS_C8hIIIH4FRgB4n34N3OV-t9HbofFmmBerDoNZoO0IC8tkm_l1W49zvVLLRrssMdsYGOq3p0zw3qurKjm9aPU8gPYTpgBk7wBdFZaEaFuQUAH43MuPKO539mqih0xgbbFZymK2tAvl9brAROzofOrX9zvpJZvDxmgU4mdB4YslQNNJf6N5OOBi5BA.LAQQLm4YCCS0aGO576SoCsRBU5-jigkjwXJ02gdHRDA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Anna+Karenina&qid=1745846629&sprefix=anna+karenina+%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-6" target="_blank">Tolstoy’s novel, </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-Penguin-Clothbound-Classics/dp/014119961X/ref=sr_1_6?crid=25734XG0SQ9D2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lR7GotHlib3nOBgx6O-pZVydVlPHRrECtT5hh_Riv28JvNM1Hg3mavCMfLx7imQP9BGpx__pCUZp7voJ4eegSKpWaUT7hpB9wOLL_S5HYiwMMe1qhS_C8hIIIH4FRgB4n34N3OV-t9HbofFmmBerDoNZoO0IC8tkm_l1W49zvVLLRrssMdsYGOq3p0zw3qurKjm9aPU8gPYTpgBk7wBdFZaEaFuQUAH43MuPKO539mqih0xgbbFZymK2tAvl9brAROzofOrX9zvpJZvDxmgU4mdB4YslQNNJf6N5OOBi5BA.LAQQLm4YCCS0aGO576SoCsRBU5-jigkjwXJ02gdHRDA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Anna+Karenina&qid=1745846629&sprefix=anna+karenina+%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-6" target="_blank"><em>Anna Karenina</em></a></p><p><a href="https://gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm" target="_blank">Plato’s dialogue, </a><a href="https://gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm" target="_blank"><em>The Republic</em></a></p> <br /><br />This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">glennloury.substack.com/subscribe</a>