The Genius of Thomas Sowell

By: Alan Wolan
  • Summary

  • Thomas Sowell might well be our greatest living Intellectual. His accomplishments span 6 decades and include over 40 books and thousands of columns and articles written on a wide range of topics, from economics to sociology to history to race and culture. It is hard to name another intellectual who has studied and written on as wide a range of topics in such a profound way. This podcast will discuss his ideas and is intended to provide a place for admirers of his work to discuss his contributions with other like minded thinkers.

    © 2024 The Genius of Thomas Sowell
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Episodes
  • "Race, IQ & Sowell" with Nathan Cofnas, Part 2
    Sep 24 2024

    This is Part 2 of Episode 40, “Race, IQ and Sowell” with Nathan Cofnas.

    A few weeks after I recorded my original conversation with Nathan Cofnas, which I released in Episode 40, Part 1, I hosted a live conversation with Nathan on X Spaces which opened the floor up to the public and anyone who wanted to get in on the discussion.

    We had a great group discussion about hereditarianism and we got to hear more about Nathan’s thinking on this controversial subject, and why Nathan thinks Sowell gets it wrong on this subject.

    If you were intellectually stimulated by Part 1 of this episode, I think you will like Part 2 as well.

    I really enjoy this format of public conversation because almost everyone who wants to speak can, and I get a kick out of hosting and moderating these conversations, so expect more of these in the future.

    I encourage you to subscribe to Nathan’s substack and read his three essays which are mentioned in the discussion:

    #1) Are smart people superior?

    #2) A Guide for the Heredarian revolution, and

    #3) Thomas Sowell’s wishful thinking about race

    If I sound like a fan of Nathan Cofnas, it’s probably because I am. What I like most about him is not his positions or conclusions but that he gets me to think and rethink my positions on some of Thomas Sowell’s diehard arguments.

    I think they call this critical thinking, or something like that.

    It’s kind of fun once you get used to it.

    I hope you enjoy this episode.


    Support the show

    • Find me on X (Twitter) at @alanwolan
    • Email me at WolanAlan@gmail.com
    • Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/SowellGenius
    • Purchase podcast merch at https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeniusSowell
    • See all my links at www.alanwolan.com

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    1 hr and 50 mins
  • "Race, IQ & Sowell" with Nathan Cofnas, Part 1
    Sep 9 2024

    In today’s episode we explore the theme of "Race and IQ" and whether or not different racial groups have different levels of innate intelligence.
    Sowell explored this subject in depth in his 2013 book “Intellectuals and Race."
    Joining me to discuss this controversial topic is Professor Nathan Cofnas, who has written extensively on this subject.

    I highly recommend you read the following to get the most out of this episode:
    1) "Intellectuals and Race" by Thomas Sowell (of course you should read it!)
    2)
    "A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution" by Nathan Cofnas
    3)
    "Thomas Sowell's Wishful Thinking About Race" by Nathan Cofnas.

    You can find Professor Cofnas's Substack at: https://substack.com/@nathancofnas.

    • This episodes' song list
    1.
    Strange Fruit Billie Holiday 1939
    2.
    Carefully Taught South Pacific 1949
    3.
    Black Boys Hair 1964
    4.
    Birmingham Sunday Joan Baez 1964
    5.
    Mr Rogers Kiddie Pool scene 1969
    6.
    Black and White three dog night 1972
    7.
    Why can’t we be friends War 1975
    8.
    War Bob Marley 1976
    9.
    What color is God’s skin 1977
    10.
    Redemption Song Marley 1980
    11.
    Ebony and Ivory 1982
    12.
    My Hometown bruce 1984
    13.
    People are People Depeche Mode 1984
    14.
    Black or white Michael Jackson 1991
    15. C
    olored People DC talk 1995
    16.
    Changes by Tupac 1998
    17.
    Everyone’s a little bit racist 2003
    18.
    Stop the hatred Wyclef 2021

    THERE ARE 3 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

    1) Support the show financially by subscribing with a monthly contribution on Patreon: www.Patreon.com/SowellGenius
    The money raised through Patreon supports our efforts to popularize the books and ideas of Thomas Sowell.
    ----------------------------------------------
    2) Rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This helps a lot by nudging the show to the top of searches. I really appreciate the many positive reviews, especially this one by Jonsby: "This is one of the few podcasts that I actually slow down so I can savor it!"
    ------------------

    Support the show

    • Find me on X (Twitter) at @alanwolan
    • Email me at WolanAlan@gmail.com
    • Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/SowellGenius
    • Purchase podcast merch at https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeniusSowell
    • See all my links at www.alanwolan.com

    Show more Show less
    2 hrs and 27 mins
  • "Honesty & Sowell" with Dan Ariely
    Apr 22 2024

    In today’s episode we explore the theme of “Honesty.”

    Sowell wrote about honesty in his latest book “Social Justice Fallacies,” and also in his 2000 classic “Basic Economics.”
    In addition, his 1993 collection of essays called “Is Reality Optional?” contains an essay about honesty which has a very unexpected spin to it.

    We learn that honesty is not just a moral virtue, it’s also a form of human capital that varies greatly from culture to culture and from group to group within a particular culture.

    I explore themes from those 3 Sowell books and I interview Dan Ariely, author of
    "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty: How we lie to everyone, especially ourselves," published in 2012.

    Notes to help you get the most out of this episode:

    • My three favorite Dan Ariely books;
    1. "Predictably Irrational" (2008)
    2. "The Upside of Irrationality" (2010)
    3. "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty" (2012)

    • This episodes' song list:
    1. "Honesty" by Billy Joel
    2. PS22 Children's Choir rendition of "Honesty"
    3. "A Matter of Trust" by Billy Joel
    4. "Honesty" Saxaphone Cover by Max Sax
    5. "Honor Pledge Song" by Princeton Triangle Club
    6. "Honesty" orchestral version by the Japanese Army Band
    7. "One Piece at a Time" by Johnny Cash
    8. "And So it Goes" by Billy Joel
    9. "Piano Man" by Billy Joel
    10. "She's Always a Woman" by Billy Joel
    11. "Lullabye" by Billy Joel
    12. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
    13. "Two Thousand Years" by Billy Joel
    14. "An Innocent Man" by Billy Joel
    15. "Honesty" Violin cover by Shiki

    THERE ARE 3 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

    1) Support the show financially by subscribing with a monthly contribution on Patreon: www.Patreon.com/SowellGenius
    The money raised through Patreon supports our efforts to popularize the books and ideas of Thomas Sowell.
    ----------------------------------------------
    2) Rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts. This helps a lot by nudging the show to the top of Google searches. I really appreciate the many positive reviews, especially this one by Jonsby: "This is one of the few podcasts that I actually slow down so I can savor it!"
    ----------------------------------------------

    3) Purchase our Thomas Sowell Post It Note pads: You can find all 300+ digital images of the post it notes HERE, feel free to download them and use them however you like.
    To purchase pads of printed post it notes, please visit our shop

    Support the show

    • Find me on X (Twitter) at @alanwolan
    • Email me at WolanAlan@gmail.com
    • Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/SowellGenius
    • Purchase podcast merch at https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeniusSowell
    • See all my links at www.alanwolan.com

    Show more Show less
    2 hrs and 13 mins

What listeners say about The Genius of Thomas Sowell

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Awesome Podcast

Much can be learned from Thomas Sowell and this podcast which does such a great job exploring and challenging ideas and concepts.

It's tragic so few know about Sowell.
If you enjoy challenging your perception & assumptions you will enjoy this podcast.

Only feedback I have for the podcaster(Alan I believe). Please adjust volume of the ads and when you play clips because it's a big jump from your voice to loud ear bleeding addition of new sound without match in volume. Your podcast is great. Keep it up :)

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Fantastic Podcast

I have been reading and greatly admiring Thomas Sowell for years. I always feel some pressure to read Sowell more deeply or to take more facts away. This Podcast accomplishes that. Alan does deep-dives into bite size pieces. He demonstrates the genius of Sowell and his methods from multiple angles, pulls in interesting guests, serves up relevant conversation plus adds a dash of music. It is fun and it delivers a great return for the time spent listening. Thank you, Alan Wolan. Bravo!!

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Where Has This Exceptional Person Been All My Life?

Amazing and disappointing at the same time. How much better would people in this land be if we were given or taught from our teachers from Thomas Sowell books? Mr Sowell is understandable, logical, uses common sense, researches his information, witty, confident, and can go on and on. I asked my mother, and other people and never heard his name before.

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More Debates Needed

I would like more in real time rebuttals by experts that have opposing views. And let the best man/women win. It’s easy to frame a fawning hour long podcasts nowadays. Setup more debates like the early slavery episode. I think there were rebuttals that you do not typically hear from either view.

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Fantastic podcast

This is a great podcast. If you are not familiar with the writings of Thomas Sowell, consider this podcast the red pill and see how far the rabbit hole goes! I was generally familiar with Thomas Sowell when I stumbled on this podcast and I’ve now finished 6 of his books and counting. Alan, you are making a great contribution to society here.

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Much Needed!

Thank you for starting this podcast. As you mention many times, it’s criminal how little the general population knows about this extraordinary man. I have no doubt this will change in the coming decades!

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This podcast is great

This is a very well thought out and well presented series. It is very informative and thought provoking. It covers a wide range of topics. There are a wide variety of guests who are quite knowledgeable. The series is appropriately named, as many of the ideas presented can best be described as genius.

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Sowell v Nature of Politicians

Good episode, gave me another outlook on a few things. Alan as the moderator is always great, subject matter is always on line. Look forward to more podcasts.

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A True Gem For The Sowell Enthusiast

Having read quite a few of Sowell's phenomenal books, it was a pleasure listing to the podcast highlighting his works.

I believe his contributions to the field of economic study definitely qualifies him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sowell is truly a literary genius and anyone who's had the pleasure of delving into how eloquently and seemlessly he highlights economic policy, could agree that he is truly the authority on the subject.

A gem for the Sowell enthusiast.

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love it

Thomas Sowell is great. I love listening to these podcasts. The interviews give even more info than you can get from just reading the books.

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