John McWhorter is an American linguist in language change and language contact, with a specialty in creole languages. He is also a highly acclaimed author and scholar who teaches linguistics, American Studies, and music history at Columbia University. He has written 20 books, including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Losing the Race: Self Sabotage in Black America, and most recently, Woke Racism, which argues that an illiberal neo-racism, disguised as anti-racism, is hurting Black communities and weakening the American social fabric.

John is a New York Times columnists, hosts the podcast Lexicon Valley and is the frequent conversation partner of Glenn Loury on his podcast, The Glenn Show.

“What we mean by taking race into account is admitting especially Black and Latino students under lowered standards compared to other students.”