Matt Johnson – The Lessons of Christopher Hitchens

0:00 How Matt first encountered Christopher Hitchens6:07 Matt’s new book, How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment8:00 Why Matt thinks Cornel West’s Vietnam-Afghanistan analogy is flawed14:21 What’s worth preserving in the left-liberal tradition?21:38 Matt: Identity politics is a “toxin”27:20 Was affirmative action ever necessary?35:29 Matt: I wish the left would rediscover Hitchens’s universalism45:04 Hitchens’s “fearless liberalism”Recorded July 6, 2023Links and ReadingsMatt’s new book, How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-EnlightenmentHitchens’s NYRB review of Douglas Murray’s Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred DouglasHitchens’s book, Why Orwell MattersGeorge Orwell’s book, Keep The Aspidistra FlyingGlenn’s recent conversation with Cornel WestMatt’s Quilette essay on John MearsheimerMatt’s Quillette essay on Bayard RustinJonathan Eig’s King: A LifeNathan Glazer’s book, Affirmative Discrimination: Ethnic Inequality and Public PolicyRoland Fryer’s NYT oped, “How to Fix College Admissions Now”Glenn’s debate with HitchensTa-Nehisi Coates’s Atlantic essay, “The Case for Reparations”Bayard Rustin’s 1965 Commentary essay, “From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement”Norman Finkelstein’s book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Come to It!: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic FreedomGlenn’s conversation with Norman Finkelstein This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe