Conversations with Coleman

John McWhorter is back. This time, Coleman and John analyze where America stands on race in 2026, whether the woke moment is genuinely behind us, and what may have replaced it. They also get into why black men are increasingly voting Republican, how mass immigration has subtly shifted the conversation on race, and what the Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act decision actually means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2016, Canada legalized assisted dying for the terminally ill. Since then, the law—medical assistance in dying, or MAID—has expanded dramatically—to people with chronic but non-terminal conditions, with disabilities, and potentially those with mental illness as the sole underlying condition. Rupa Subramanya, The Free Press’s Canada correspondent, has spent years reporting on this slippery slope, interviewing patients, doctors, and families along the way. She discusses with Coleman where the line should be, what some of the strangest assisted dying cases reveal about the system, and what Canada’s experience should tell the rest of the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oren Kessler explains the origins of Palestinian nationalism, the myth that Jews started the conflict in Israel, and why peace in the region has been elusive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does conservatism mean in an age of populism, executive power, and institutional distrust? Yuval Levin is a political theorist, the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and the author of American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again. Today he argues that the deepest divide in American politics is no longer left versus right, but populism versus institutions. Levin traces the shift within the conservative movement from an emphasis on morality and constitutional limits to a more confrontational style of politics, and he explains why durable reform requires coalition building, legislation, and respect for procedure. He reflects on his time in the Bush administration, the limits of presidential governance, the fight over universities, the coming politics of AI, and why the Constitution was designed to hold a divided nation together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and best-selling author of Utopia for Realists and Humankind: A Hopeful History. In 2019, he went viral for his takedown of billionaires at the World Economic Forum and for a heated exchange with Tucker Carlson. Today, he joins the show to discuss his latest book, Moral Ambition, which he defines as the desire to use your available talents and resources to make the world a better place rather than focus solely on individual wealth. He argues the real question is whether the work you’ve chosen is ambitious enough in moral terms—whether your day-to-day life tackles the big problems facing humankind. He explains why “follow your passion” is often bad advice; why moral breakthroughs tend to come from small, disciplined groups rather than mass appeal; and why moral progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Go to https://surfshark.com/colemandeal or use code COLEMANDEAL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Acclaimed novelist and cultural critic Lionel Shriver joins the show to discuss her provocative new book A Better Life. We talk about why immigration has become one of the most morally charged topics in public life; how good intentions collide with human nature; and why cultural change is treated as a legitimate concern for some groups but as taboo for others. We also explore the differing immigration challenges between America and Europe, the hypocrisy of open-border politics, and why fiction may be better suited than policy debates to expose the hard truths about border enforcement, assimilation, and today’s political orthodoxy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest today is Rabbi David Wolpe. He’s spent decades debating atheists, leading one of the country’s largest synagogues, and thinking seriously about what holds a moral society together once traditional faith loosens its grip. Wolpe discusses how secular movements quietly take on the structure—and zeal—of religion. We get into Judaism as a form of peoplehood, the strange moral logic of modern campus activism, antisemitism as a conspiracy engine, and why slogans and ideology can harden into dogma. Wolpe also reflects on his time teaching at Harvard, the limits of academic tolerance, and what he learned about institutions under pressure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a world where AI can recreate our voices, half the internet thinks the moon landing was staged, and every group chat has a cousin who’s “just asking questions,” the perceived line between fact and fantasy has never been blurrier. On February 9 at the Comedy Cellar in NYC, Coleman Hughes will sit down with Michael Shermer—historian of science and author of Truth: What It Is, How to Find It & Why It Still Matters—for a live conversation. Together they’ll dig into why smart people believe strange things—from conspiracy theories and moral panics to post-truth politics—and how skepticism, evidence, and reason can still help us figure out what’s actually real. Is truth the only antidote to our world of cynicism and confusion? After the conversation, we’ll head to a nearby bar for an informal meetup with Michael, Coleman, and fellow Free Pressers for drinks, discussion, and the rare pleasure of arguing in good faith. (Location will be shared with ticket holders only.) This New York City event is intentionally intimate and will sell out quickly. Don’t delay. --- February 9, 2026 6:00pm1 Comedy Cellar @ 30 West 3rd Street, NY, NY, 10012 --- Tickets are here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices