‘African American’ Is Awkward. It’s Time...

We’re less than two weeks out from Election Day. In their last conversation before Americans head to the midterm polls, the national politics writer Michelle Cottle joins the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French to take stock. While Jamelle makes the case for cautious optimi ... Show More

One of the biggest issue driving the midterm elections? The economy. On “The Opinions,” the economist Natasha Sarin and the Bulwark editor Catherine Rampell examine the strange disconnect between how the economy is doing and how Americans feel about it. How much of the blame belo ... Show More

Advertisers are projected to spend more money on political ads in the 2026 midterms than in any previous election cycle. What are campaigns selling — and what do they think voters want? The Opinion editor Steve Stromberg examines the ads shaping these elections with the Opinion c ... Show More

When racial tensions flare, people often call for a conversation about race. But do we all share the same definition of racism? Don speaks with recent college graduate, Kennedy Mitchum about changing the definition of racism.  Linguist, John McWhorter explains how words succeed a ... Show More

<p>Linguist and social commentator John McWhorter explains how good intentions may be hurting Black America — and where the word “motherf*cker” comes from.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for informat ... Show More

In the wake of the Washington Football Team rebranding as the Washington Commanders, Roy Wood Jr. talks to Bomani Jones and Crystal Echo Hawk about harmful Native imagery in sports branding. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio ... Show More

John McWhorter, author of Woke Racism and Nine Nasty Words stops by to discuss a linguistic trend Mike has noticed, about phrases that are totalizing but at the same time, particular. In the Spiel Mike discusses attention spans, Ukraine, and how unrelated they are. Plus Lindsey G ... Show More

Linguist John McWhorter argues that it makes perfect sense for the speech of black and white Americans to have subtle differences. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus.  ... Show More

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about race, racism, and "anti-racism" in America. They discuss how conceptions of racism have changed, the ubiquitous threat of being branded a "racist," the contradictions within identity politics, recent e ... Show More

<p>This is the full version of the Aug 4 episode, now available to all subscribers. </p> <div><br /> <div>Author, New York Times columnist, and superstar linguist John McWhorter returns to the pod to catch us up on what's been on his mind now that the Woke Emergency is over . . . ... Show More