I Interview Hanania on *The Origins of Woke*

[Update: My mother is very sick, so I am postponing Friday’s promised all-access movie and television AMA. My apologies!]

Here’s my deep dive interview for Richard Hanania’s new The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics. Richard and I start with the narcissistic question of whether my critique of his “Why Is Everything Liberal?” personally inspired the entire book. Then I pose a long list of questions, including…

4. Which institutions or factions within institutions now want to enforce wokeness?  Which ones don’t?  How has this changed since 1970 or so?

5. Are there any notable cases where firms are so woke that they don’t try to minimize their own liability in civil rights lawsuits?

6. While writing The Case Against Education, I gradually came to the conclusion that disparate impact law is overrated. Even when IQ-based hiring is legal, it’s rare. Change my mind.

8. My understanding: Almost all discrimination cases are brought by aggrieved employees and former employees.  So hostile work environment >> disparate impact, except perhaps for very prominent firms.  Am I wrong?

9. Hostile work environment law is the main reason why civil rights and civil liberties conflict. This add-on to traditional discrimination law is “The rights that ate all others” and the origin of Hanania’s “lies about lies.”  Also: Let’s talk about the “equal opportunity sexual harassment defense.”

15. On the causes of disparities – can the left really be foolish enough to imagine that discrimination is the sole cause?  Or is this tautological Continental philosophy run amok?

16. Stereotype accuracy – what are the strongest exceptions?  Are there important stereotypes that are even truer than most people think? (Our proposed exceptions may surprise you).

17. My attractiveness hypothetical versus harassment law.

And finally…

19. Do many employers secretly want vigorous enforcement of anti-white and anti-male discrimination to overcome internal resistance to meritocracy?

Here’s the whole interview. Enjoy! And if you still haven’t read the book, do so.