Economist Glenn Loury interviews one guest at a time on race, religion, and geopolitics.
The Glenn Show gives contested public questions room to breathe. Glenn Lowry and his guests work through race, inequality, policing, war, economics, norms, and moral responsibility with a pace closer to a seminar than a news panel.
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The Glenn Show is built around single-guest interviews conducted by economist Glenn Loury, with episodes typically running 35 to 70 minutes. Most installments pair Loury with one academic, author, or journalist for a focused conversation tied to a recent book, essay, or current event. Guests in the sample include psychologist Steven Pinker, skeptic and author Michael Shermer, political scientist Ben Peterson, historian David Beito, labor economist Robert Carey, and governance scholar Patricia Agupusi. The show consistently extends Loury's own research interests -- race and inequality, social capital, and the limits of criminal-justice-centered approaches to social order -- into each guest's specialized field. Episodes on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East (Arab citizens of Israel, the Second Intifada, the right of return) sit alongside episodes on American history (a revisionist account of FDR and the New Deal), Nigerian politics (Boko Haram and state failure), and identity politics and critical race theory. Recurring threads include institutional trust, religion's role in civil society, and the boundary between private belief and public expression. The show occasionally airs as a live recording with an audience. Loury uses his background as an economist working on race and social capital to push guests past prepared talking points and into specifics. Production is conversational and largely unedited rather than narrated or heavily scored. The show is best suited to listeners already following academic or policy debates on race, religion, and geopolitics rather than newcomers looking for a general-interest introduction.
Made for: Listeners following policy debates on race, religion, and international politics who want long-form, single-guest interviews with academics and authors.
What sets it apart: The host's own background as an economist working on race and social capital gives the interviews a consistent analytical throughline across otherwise disparate topics like Nigerian insurgency, Israeli labor markets, and New Deal history.
Race, inequality, and economics in the US and throughout the world from Glenn Loury. glennloury.substack.com
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Glenn Lowry turns guest arguments about institutions, political power, and social order into patient, probing conversations.
The Glenn Show works through political and social questions by putting Glenn Lowry in direct conversation with a guest and giving the argument room to develop.
FDR's gold arithmetic meets blushing and Nigerian state failure, if your curiosity refuses one political lane.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A patient argument about how order is made when the social commons thins.
Glenn Lowry and Ben Peterson spend this conversation on a hard question: what happens when law carries more of the load than it should. Peterson argues that the United States has come to lean too heavily on policing, courts, and prisons while families, churches, neighborhoods,…
A serious, politically charged conversation about Arab citizens of Israel, regional politics, and the stubborn costs of unresolved history.
Glenn Lowry's live conversation with Robert Cherry gives clear shape to Cherry's new book on Arab citizens of Israel before widening to the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan.
A careful look at common knowledge, embarrassment, and the fragile rules that hold social life together.
Steven Pinker takes a simple idea and keeps showing how far it reaches: social life depends on what everyone knows that everyone knows. Glenn Lowry gives him room to move from common knowledge to blushing, tears, and the signals people use to show they are playing by the same…
Simone on DEI's dismantling -- and the Gaza question she still can't close.
Chloe Simone built Theory of Enchantment in 2018 as a civil-rights-grounded DEI alternative to the DiAngelo-Kendi frameworks, then watched the Trump administration's anti-DEI sweep take a sledgehammer to it without distinguishing careful from careless.
A patient, skeptical conversation about truth, politics, and living with uncertainty.
Michael Shermer and Glenn Lowry spend most of the episode circling truth, conspiracy thinking, institutional trust, and the way people sort politics into moral camps.
A sober reassessment of FDR as a political operator, not the sanitized figure of memory.
David Beto makes a forceful case against the polished Roosevelt legend on The Glenn Show, and Glenn Lowry keeps the exchange tied to history, policy, and moral tension.
A Nigerian political economist argues the north's anti-Christian violence is a governance failure that US strikes cannot reach.
Dr. Patricia Agupusi, who teaches political economy of development at Wooster Polytechnic Institute, joined Glenn Lawry in early December arguing that anti-Christian violence in northern Nigeria is a governance failure -- state organs have refused to act on attacks and have…
Ryan Holiday pairs daily Stoic lessons with long-form guest conversations at his Texas bookstore.
Philosopher Barry Lam turns reported stories — gig algorithms, AI music, vampires — into philosophical inquiry.
Peter Boghossian applies street epistemology to guests debating free speech, immigration, and belief.
Vox's narrative reporting on factory farming, pandemic risk, and its Good Robot AI safety series.
This episode features a live discussion with Jeffrey Seaman, Robert J.
Social order needs more than law.
Glenn Lowry opens with the feel of a live show, then settles into Robert's argument: Arab citizens of Israel rarely get much attention in public talk about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
This episode critiques those who refuse to criticize Trump's presidency, arguing it reflects a disconnect from reality or virtue signaling, while distinguishing this from Trump derangement syndrome.
Glenn Lowry and John McWhorter engage in a live discussion analyzing the ongoing war with Iran, questioning the strategic plan and implications of regime change.
Glenn Lowry interviews Steven Pinker about When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life, published last fall.
This live episode of The Glenn Show analyzes the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, examining its economic impacts, political implications, and diverse perspectives from left, right, and pro-war viewpoints.
Glenn Lawry interviews economist Larry Kotlikoff on topics including debt, tariffs, and the public role of economists in this live episode of The Glenn Show.
Glenn Loury discusses the US government's actions towards Iran and the potential for war, analyzing the political dynamics and public reaction.
This episode discusses Tyler Austin Harper's critique of the Mellon Foundation's shift to exclusively funding social justice causes in the humanities, exploring its impact on academic diversity and funding monopolies.
Chloe Simone arrives under a changed name.
Glenn Loury discusses the pursuit of power and its relationship to spiritual orientation, using a Star Wars analogy.
A discussion between Glenn Lawry and Rob explores connections between Jeffrey Epstein, a 1979 paper on networks in the black community, and the struggle for rights and integration into institutional networks.
A listener question about why the term 'religion' bothers leftists when applied to wokeness, leading to discussion on social movements and pluralism.
Glenn Loury hosts a discussion on foreign affairs with experts Robert Wright and John Mearsheimer, also touching on his recent conversation with Elon Musk.
Glenn Loury debates the wisdom of strict federal enforcement of immigration law versus local discretion.
Glenn Lowry opens formally, introducing Michael Shermer as a skeptic, author, publisher, and teacher of critical thinking before moving into truth, conspiracy, and rational belief.
This episode discusses the controversial military intervention in Venezuela where armed forces seized the president and the implications of the Donroe Doctrine.
FDR is on trial here.
Glenn Loury introduces Dr.
Glenn Loury and John McWhorter discuss John's cabaret show reconstructing a lost Fats Waller musical.
Glenn Loury interviews Howard Husock about his new book on the history of public housing, discussing race, inequality, and urban policy.
Glenn Loury interviews Charles Murray about his work on social welfare, intelligence, and class structure in America.
Glenn Loury and John McWhorter discuss the upcoming New York City mayoral election, weighing the candidates' experience and positions.
Glenn Loury discusses a conference honoring Thomas Sowell and the imperative of preparing poor Black children for success.
Glenn Loury debates claims of an impending civil war over demographic change, arguing that the US has historically incorporated minorities through constitutional amendments.
Glenn Loury and John McWhorter discuss John's 60th birthday and reflect on aging and life stages.
Glenn Loury discusses political violence, Black community responsibility, and the legacy of Charlie Kirk with guests.
Glenn Loury discusses the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination and a one-man show about Thomas Sowell with guests John McWhorter and Clifton Duncan.
Glenn Loury and John McWhorter interview Mark Dunkelman about his book 'Why Nothing Works' on the decline of government effectiveness.
Glenn Loury discusses Thomas Sowell's life and work with biographer Jason Riley ahead of a conference at Stanford's Hoover Institution.
Glenn Loury discusses race and inequality with economist Emily Skarbek, focusing on the work of Thomas Sowell.
Glenn Loury interviews filmmakers about their documentary on the mental health crisis among Generation Z and the role of social media.
Glenn Loury discusses his re-released book on self-censorship and the current debate over wokeness.
Glenn Loury and John McWhorter discuss the recent agreement at Columbia University and its implications for academic freedom and campus politics.