FIRE sits down with linguist, writer, author, and college professor John McWhorter to discuss social media mobs, safetyism, free speech, why Stephen J. Gould and Shelby Steele are his biggest intellectual inspirations, censorship of music, the impact of hip-hop music on American culture, and more.

John McWhorter is an American linguist with a specialty in creole languages, sociolects, and Black English. He is currently an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, where he also teaches American studies and music history.

Recent and archived work by John McWhorter for The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/by/john-mcwho...

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Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - Social media mobs
03:17 - Safetyism and free speech
05:09 - Who inspires you?
07:30 - Music censorship
09:35 - Growing up in Philly
12:47 - Mother's views on free speech
13:58 - Nine Nasty Words
16:09 - Why free speech is important