John McWhorter is a linguistics professor at Columbia University, an essayist for "The New York Times," and the author of "Woke Racism." During our conversation, John talks about the genesis of "The Elect" (his word for woke antiracists), the dangers and the flaws of the ideas of The Elect, how those ideas are counterproductive to helping black America, how The Elect abuse and intimidate those who disagree with them, maintaining standards in American society, the George Floyd murder, the relationship with black men and the police, policies that might help African American communities, and strategies for having courageous, nuanced, well-meaning conversations about race in America.

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(00:00) Intro

(00:51) Get to know John McWhorter

(02:47) The reason for writing "Woke Racism"

(05:51) John’s sense of duty in pushing back against the anti-racist movement

(09:40) The state of racism in America in 2022

(12:20) A description of “The Elect”

(15:56) How the world will look if the ideas of "The Elect" take over society

(18:57) An ethical way to approach race relations in America

(26:21) Ideas of "The Elect" that are counterproductive to improving black communities

(31:45) John’s assessment of the current state of black America

(38:08) The relationships between the cops and black America

(47:05) Advice for white Americans to have honest conversations about race in America

(52:02) What a successful pushback against anti-racism would look like