John McWhorter – How Should We Memorialize the Past?

0:00 Inside the mind of a crack columnist

4:19 The blowback from Norman Finkelstein’s TGS appearance

15:27 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, 2023

Links and Readings

John’s NYT archive

Norman Finkelstein on TGS

Norman Finkelstein’s book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Come to It: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom

Jonathan Eig’s new biography of Martin Luther King, King: A Life

Jonathan Eig’s biography of Muhammad Ali, Ali: A Life

Charles Johnson’s novel, Middle Passage

Charles Johnson’s novel, Dreamer

Reza Aslan’s new book, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville

PBS’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