Late last year, John McWhorter and I released two episodes focusing on the documentary The Fall of Minneapolis and the filmmakers behind it, Liz Collin and JC Chaix. The documentary argues, among other things, that Derek Chauvin followed standard procedure while arresting George Floyd, that he was convicted of murder partially on the strength of false testimony, and that he is not culpable for Floyd’s death. John and I found the film convincing, and we said as much. But a very detailed critique of the documentary by the journalist Radley Balko has made us stop and reconsider our original enthusiasm.
After John spends a few minutes defending George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue from a detractor, we move on to the documentary. Were we too enthusiastic in our initial praise of The Fall of Minneapolis? And if so, why were we so primed to accept its conclusions? We move on to discuss Coleman Hughes’s new book, The End of Race Politics, and we ask whether Coleman’s conception of colorblindness can account for the enormous complexity of the social reproduction of race in America. Then it’s Biden time. Evidence continues to mount suggesting that Joe Biden may no longer be up to the job of president, but talk of replacing him on the ballot appears to be a nonstarter for the Democratic Party. As John says, in today’s charisma-driven politics, a Biden-Harris ticket has little to offer. Those who want Trump out of politics need to defeat him at the ballot box, not in the courtroom. It's beginning to seem doubtful that Biden will be up to the challenge
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0:00 What’s wrong with Rhapsody in Blue?
7:26 Radley Balko’s response to The Fall of Minneapolis, Coleman Hughes, Glenn, and John
17:26 Were Liz Collin and JC Chaix dishonest in their documentary about Derek Chauvin?
19:55 Were Glenn and John too credulous about The Fall of Minneapolis?
25:41 Hughes’s new book, The End of Race Politics
28:26 The problem with colorblindness
36:30 The interrelatedness of “black culture” and “American culture”
43:52 John: No one’s going to be excited about a Biden-Harris ticket this time around
52:59 Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin
Recorded February 11, 2024
Links and Readings
John’s NYT piece, “No, ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ Is Not ‘The Worst’”
Glenn and John’s conversation about The Fall of Minneapolis
Glenn and John’s conversation with Liz Collin and JC Chaix
Liz Collin and JC Chaix’s documentary, The Fall of Minneapolis
Radley Balko’s Substack post, “The Retconning of George Floyd”
Coleman Hughes’s Free Press piece, “What Really Happened to George Floyd”
Coleman Hughes’s book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America
Glenn’s 2003 NYT oped, “Affirmative Action—and Reaction; Admissions (and Denials) of Responsibility”
A clip from Coleman Hughes’s most recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher
Ross Douthat’s NYT piece, “The Question Is Not If Biden Should Step Aside. It’s How.”
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin
John McWhorter – "The Fall of Minneapolis" Reconsidered