BhTV: The Glenn Show (audio)

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and John consider the recent controversy over Santa Claus's race. Why has this debate sparked such strange passion on both sides? They discuss what John identifies as a tendency by some African Americans to be seen as "serious black people." Glenn counsels that blacks must strive to not let race dominate their lives, and recalls Amartya Sen's prescription about the non-inevitability of identity. They consider how James Baldwin both exposed and embodied some of these issues. They close with what could be termed the Trayvon Martin counterargument.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and Harold discuss the death of Nelson Mandela and why they weren't more committed to anti-apartheid activism in the 1980s. Was the African National Congress's use of violent resistance defensible in retrospect? This leads to a broader reconsideration of the Cold War and the savoriness of various regimes the US supported. Glenn argues Mandela has been sanitized and reduced in death, then applies the lessons of South Africa to Israel and Palestine. Is Israel's occupation of the West Bank comparable to apartheid? Harold suggests that all national identities are based on forgetting, and that Mandela is admirable in this context.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn talks to Roland about education reform. How would an economist tackle the racial achievement gap? Does it work to pay kids to learn? Roland reflects on the hardest part of improving schools in New York City, and reveals the five habits of highly effective schools. Glenn asks Roland about the surprising results of his educational experiments in Houston. Finally: Have we found the solution to the problem of underperforming schools?

On The Glenn Show, Glenn talks to Eldar about his new book, Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much. Eldar argues that "attention scarcity" sheds light on the behavior of poor parents. Glenn asks Eldar about the politics of poverty, and Eldar cracks a joke about incorrigible economists who feel threatened by his research. Glenn asks Eldar to use his research to explain the Great Recession. Finally, they consider how advertisers profit from attention scarcity—while the public loses.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and Ross discuss the recent book by Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig, The Bankers' New Clothes. Ross says that the government is inadvertently subsidizing bank fragility. Can anything be done about "too big to fail"? They explain the real reason that Wall Street wants to keep equity low and debt high—more money for bank executives and shareholders. Is it unrealistic to think that government could ever rein in the financial system? Glenn and Ross critique Admati and Hellwig on how accurately regulators can assess bank assets. Ross closes by explaining why he's not optimistic about removing catastrophic risk from the financial system.

On The Glenn Show, Larry makes the case that government debt is much worse than you realize, and says Paul Krugman is suffering from "deficit delusion." He argues that we're making a serious error by not using the "infinite horizon" to calculate the fiscal gap. Larry contends that he's not making a conservative argument, but instead is defending the interests of future generations of Americans. Glenn and Larry discuss two delusions—those of supply-siders and demand-siders. Finally, Larry warns that the monetary policy pursued by Ben Bernanke will lead to hyperinflation.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and Harold discuss crime in Chicago. Harold explains why more guns means more dead bodies, and why he can feel some sympathy for George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s killer. They discuss the difficulty of seeing people—young black men, in particular—as individuals. Are “family values” at least part of the answer to inner-city crime? Glenn and Harold deliver a harsh critique of Kevin Williamson’s recent National Review essay on Chicago. Finally, can literature help bridge cultural divides in America?

On The Glenn Show, John and Glenn discuss the role and responsibilities of black intellectuals. John stresses the importance of blacks doing intellectual work that is unrelated to race, and Glenn laments that blacks remain burdened with the need to dispel racial stereotypes. They consider the question of intellectual diversity, especially when it comes to black conservatives. John regrets the black intellectual emphasis on social justice, and Glenn confesses that he sometimes longs to be free of this particular "black man's burden." The two then debate whether black intellectuals have given a pass to Obama's national security policies. They conclude by assessing the recent public activism of Cornel West and Tavis Smiley.

On a truncated edition of The Glenn Show, Glenn and Josh review Obama's State of the Union address. Did the president bid farewell to post-partisanship? Josh lauds Obama's efforts to help the poor, but Glenn questions the efficacy of raising the minimum wage. And were Obama's remarks on the legality of drone warfare ultimately meaningless?

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and Mark talk crime and punishment. Mark points out that few people in the larger social service world consider crime prevention to be part of their mission. They debate NYC's "stop and frisk" policing and that city's low homicide rate compared to Chicago. Mark reviews his research on crime prevention, where he aims to get the criminal justice system to "act like a halfway decent parent." Mark argues that his methods, while effective, are not politically popular because they're neither mean nor generous. Finally, Glenn challenges Mark on the moral aspects of his theory of crime reduction.

On The Glenn Show, Pat describes his work as a minister in prison. Glenn asks how Pat reconciles his support for convicts with the rights of their victims. Pat explains some of the major incarceration policy reforms he has supported. Pat explains why even sensible reforms have often been controversial to enact. What role should morality play in the political process? Glenn points out that race is also a major factor in how we think about prison populations. Finally, why did former Senator Jim Webb's prison reform push never gain traction?

On The Glenn Show, guest host Glenn II and David tackle the issue of marriage equality. David sees a crisis in the institution of marriage in America. Glenn and David discuss the generational divide over the public and private meanings of marriage, and explore the chicken-and-egg reasons for the declining marriage rate. Glenn asks David why he changed his mind to become a supporter of same-sex marriage. David wants conservatives to realize that family values and gay rights are not in opposition. What about the subset of gays and lesbians who are opposed to getting married? They close with a discussion of how to bring David's conservative brethren into the fold.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn talks to Steve about his recent research on American politics. Steve explains how political parties change positions, looking specifically at conservatives' embrace of prison reform. Is Republican leadership the only way prison reform will actually happen? Glenn and Steve debate the (de)merits of moral argument on behalf of less punitive prison policy. They next dicsuss what Steve calls "kludgeocracy"—the increasing complexity of social policies in the US, citing the Affordable Care Act as a prime example. Steve explains his concerns about the inefficiency and non-transparency of federal-state collaborations on education and Medicaid. They conclude with some reflections on Django Unchained.

On The Glenn Show, John describes the book he's writing on how language does and doesn't shape our view of the world. Glenn reports on the economists' annual conference, including a caucus of African-American scholars who gathered there. John and Glenn reminisce about being declared "outcasts" by their black professional peers. Glenn remembers the work of the great and recently deceased social scientist Albert Hirschman, and they speculate on what "true loyalty" to one's group, nation or culture might mean. Has the era of the towering public intellectual passed? They conclude by expressing their very different views about the affirmative action case pending before the Supreme Court.

Josh and Glenn bring in the New Year on The Glenn Show. They discuss the larger significance of fiscal cliff showdown. Turning to a review of Campaign 2012, Glenn asks about the deeper meaning of Obama's decisive victory. Poverty received little attention during the election—could the theory of justice advanced by philosopher John Rawls be a remedy? Next, a few of the best pieces published last year by Boston Review, the intellectual magazine Josh has edited for two decades: a forum on effective early childhood interventions, a report on the teaching of philosophy to high school students in Brazil, and an interview with author Junot Diaz.