Background:

Glenn Loury has distinguished career as an economist at institutions like Harvard, Boston University, and Brown. He has tackled America's biggest issues about race and inequality. In the 80s and 90s, he gave public lectures and wrote for top publications like The New Republic, The Public Interest, Commentary, and The Atlantic. In the 2000s, he started podcasting and videocasting with The Glenn Show, where he began a popular ongoing dialogue with linguist and social critic John McWhorter who teaches at Columbia University and writes for the New York Times.

Loury's newsletter supports the two mediums—writing and conversation—that he has found most productive over the last two decades. It can be hard to find a traditional home for his commentary. Though he often calls himself a conservative, his views don’t fit neatly into any one ideology. His career has seen him shift to the right and the left. He has addressed issues like mass incarceration, the state of the black family, and the failures of both progressivism and conservatism. His mind, heart, and conscience guide what he says, and he has made a home on Substack with The Glenn Show.

The Glenn Show features weekly conversations with writers, journalists, social scientists, and activists, many of whom struggle to get their voices heard on mainstream outlets. Every two weeks, Glenn Loury posts the latest installment of his ongoing conversation with John McWhorter, where they discuss race and politics. He regularly posts original writing that expands on themes from the podcast, along with transcripts of recent speeches, clips from the show, and gems from the archive.

Loury makes episodes of The Glenn Show and a couple of posts a week available at no cost to everyone who signs up for the newsletter. Paid subscribers get each episode a few days early and can comment. Once a month, Loury and McWhorter record a Q&A episode. Subscribers can submit questions, and only subscribers get access to these episodes. He also regularly posts subscriber-only material, including post-show mini-episodes, bonus episodes of The Glenn Show, guest essays, and other content.

Glenn Loury values his intellectual independence above all else. His newsletter and The Glenn Show allow him to speak his mind and discuss ideas that don’t have a place in mainstream outlets. He has spent his entire career pushing back against the expectations of what a black intellectual is “supposed to think”. Here on Substack, he can breathe freely. But producing a weekly show, multiple posts, and other long-term features that meet Glenn Loury's high standards requires resources. His newsletter and its staff are funded solely by its subscribers. So, if you like The Glenn Show and the newsletter, Glenn would be grateful if you would consider becoming a subscriber.