A Conversation with Glenn Loury

A couple of weeks ago I spent an hour with Glenn Loury on his podcast. The episode has now been posted in full, and is embedded below. It is also available on all the usual streaming platforms.

The conversation was freewheeling and somewhat scattershot, spanning a broad range of topics—self-censorship on campus, prediction markets as forecasting mechanisms, the history and geography of exposure to deadly force, the academic family tree of Bob Solow, the insularity of the economics profession, and the game theoretic elements in his forthcoming memoir.

Glenn and I go back a long way—we have written, taught, and traveled together. We disagree often, sometimes sharply, but there is a longstanding mutual respect that I think is unshakable. I was fortunate enough to see an advance copy of his memoir, due out in May of this year, and was flattered by his decision to put my response on the jacket:

This book is a revelation in more ways than one. It reveals secrets, often unflattering ones, to persuade the skeptical reader that more flattering claims are credible. It reveals the beautiful cultural richness of a segregated community in Chicago that is often stereotyped and maligned. It reveals a remarkable path from community college to the highest reaches of academia by a nineteen-year-old father of two. And it reveals the striking originality and curiosity that has defined an undulating career with lurches in ideological positioning, but a consistency of thought and an absolute commitment to rigor. Most of all, this deeply American story is revealing of America.

The other reviews are by Shelby Steele, Robert Putnam, Mark Lilla, Randall Kennedy, and Thomas Chatterton Williams. The subtitle of the book is Confessions of a Black Conservative, which reflects Glenn’s current self-identification. But it is notable that among the six reviewers on the jacket, only Steele would be widely considered to be a conservative. This speaks to Glenn’s breadth and reach. I recommend the book to everyone, regardless of where they locate themselves on the ideological spectrum.