January 2026 Q&A

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">glennloury.substack.com</a><br /><br /><p>Support The Glenn Show at https://glennloury.substack.com</p><p>On this edition of my monthly Q&amp;A session with John McWhorter, we invited a handful of subscribers to record their video or audio to be played during our livestream. I think it worked great—I loved hearing everyone’s voices and seeing their faces. We’re definitely going to keep this feature around. And if you want to hear and see your fellow TGS fans, and you’re not yet a subscriber, please consider becoming one.</p><p>We start off the Q&amp;A with a question from <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/198268496" target="_blank">John Bingham</a>, who wants to know if a <strong>PhD in economics</strong> is still worth pursuing when AI works so well as a substitute teacher, even at that high level. <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197031846" target="_blank">Neil</a> asks whether <strong>excessive attention to the Israel</strong> <strong>issue</strong> within academia is leaving the larger biases within the university unaddressed. <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/201250925" target="_blank">Lennart</a> asks Glenn to comment on an <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/16/civil-war-university-of-austin-bari-weiss-00729688" target="_blank">exposé</a> about a <strong>behind-the-scenes political struggle at UATX</strong>. <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197098336" target="_blank">RAO</a> asks what colleges are doing to promote <strong>civil discourse across identity lines</strong>. <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197083040" target="_blank">Adam Gorski</a> asks John an insightful question about his categorization of <strong>wokeness as a religion</strong>. <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197051860" target="_blank">Joe Nalven</a> asks who’s to blame for the <strong>ICE shootings in Minneapolis</strong>: protesters, law enforcement, or the media? <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197039791" target="_blank">Neal Gittleman</a> asks whether John and I were being irresponsible in speculating about the motivations of the <strong>mass shooter at Brown University</strong> before the facts were in. And finally, <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/january-2026-q-and-a/comment/197632638" target="_blank">Jason</a> expresses his appreciation for the show and John’s role in it.</p><p>Thanks to everyone who wrote in and sent us recordings, and to all of my subscribers. <strong>The Glenn Show is almost entirely audience-supported</strong>, so to those of us who are already full subscribers, let me extend a heartfelt thank you. And <strong>if you’re not yet a full subscriber, </strong><a href="https://glennloury.substack.com" target="_blank"><strong>please consider becoming one</strong></a>. The Glenn Show can only do what it does through the generosity of viewers and listeners. <strong>For a mere $6/month or $50/year</strong>, you’ll get weekly episodes of The Glenn Show earlier than their public release, monthly Q&amp;A episodes with John McWhorter, access to the full Substack archives, and other exclusive bonus content.</p>