David Kaiser – States of the Union

Preorder Glenn's memoir, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative. Available here or wherever you get your books: https://wwnorton.com/books/97803938813490:00 The many, many books of David Kaiser3:01 David: Claudine Gay is a symptom, not a cause, of what’s wrong at Harvard6:09 Western Civilization and elitism at Harvard10:03 Meritorious elitism and luxury elitism12:35 Intellectuals in the wild14:28 How James Bryant Conant built the modern Harvard …17:33 … and how it was broken18:52 Glenn’s previous conversation with Omer Bartov24:12 Why David thinks the Gaza War falls short of genocide but maybe not ethnic cleansing25:51 What Claudine Gay could (and maybe should) have said at her congressional hearing27:51 Why David thinks originalists will have a problem rejecting attempts to remove Trump from electoral ballots32:38 David: Mitch McConnell should have impeached Trump when he had the chance36:07 David’s new book, States of the Union41:03 Have state of the union addresses always been as boring as they are now?44:55 Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Reagan, and their legacies57:37 Why Obama didn’t propose a New New Deal after the 2008 financial crisis1:01:01 Biden’s silenceRecorded January 10, 2024Links and ReadingsDavid’s book, Economic Diplomacy and the Origin of the Second World War: Germany, Britain, France, and Eastern Europe, 1930-1939David’s book, Politics and War: European Conflict from Philip II to HitlerDavid’s book, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam WarDavid’s book, The Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. KennedyDavid’s book, Baseball Greatness: Top Players and Teams According to Wins Above Average, 1901-2017David’s book, NFL 1965: The Most Exciting SeasonDavid’s book, A Life in HistoryDavid’s book, States of the Union: A History of the United States through Presidential Addresses, 1789-2023Glenn’s previous conversation with DavidFareed Zakaria on elite universitiesGlenn’s conversation with Omer BartovDavid’s blog, History UnfoldingDavid’s blog post about the Fourteenth AmendmentHoward Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United StatesJohn F. Kennedy’s June 11, 1963 address on segregation 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