Jason Riley and John McWhorter — The Life and Work of Thomas Sowell

This week John and I have something a little different for you: An interview with Wall Street Journal columnist and Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Jason Riley about his recent book, Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell. We discuss Sowell's ideas, their influence, and his place within the pantheon of American (and black America), intellectuals. Among his innumerable contributions, Sowell's books—especially A Conflict of Visions, Knowledge and Decisions, and Basic Economics—are a particular focus of this wide-ranging conversation. We also get into a broader discussion about black intellectuals, conservatism, and the academy.

And don’t worry, Substack subscribers, John and I will be posting our monthly Q&A later this week. Stay tuned!

As always, I’m curious to know what you think. Let me know here and on Discord.

0:00 Intro

1:10 Comparing the legacies of Thomas Sowell and George Schuyler

5:27 Making the case for Sowell’s significance

16:55 The task of the popularizer

23:55 Why Sowell’s book A Conflict of Visions is important

31:15 The norm of inter-group disparity

40:47 What happened to Glenn’s generation of heterodox Black intellectuals?

50:12 Why it’s hard to be a conservative in academia

59:54 Where is the left-wing critique of progressive racial politics?

Links

Jason’s book, Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell

Sowell’s book, A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggle

Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper's talk with Adolph Reed