The Genius of Thomas Sowell

About the Show

The best conversations about our greatest living thinker.

Thomas Sowell's work spans six decades, 40+ books, and thousands of essays — from economics to race to the limits of what any of us can really know. The Genius of Thomas Sowell Podcast brings those ideas to life through conversation, music and key quotes.

Host Alan Wolan sits down with authors, economists, and sharp thinkers — Victor Davis Hanson, Theodore Dalrymple, Dennis Prager, Amy Chua, Heather Mac Donald, Steven Pinker, Alan Dershowitz and more — to dig into Sowell's ideas in plain, engaging English. Whether you've read every Sowell book or none, there's a way in here.

Meet the Host

Alan Wolan

Alan is the producer, writer, editor and host of The Genius of Thomas Sowell podcast. Since reading his first Ayn Rand book in high school, he has been passionate about ideas and the impact they have on society.

When he discovered Thomas Sowell as an adult, he was instantly hooked on Sowell's intellectual method and empirical rigor. In 2020, he wanted to do a deep dive into Sowell's work and decided that this podcast would give him the perfect excuse. The Genius of Thomas Sowell podcast was born!

Follow @AlanWolan on X →

Episodes

43 episodes and counting.

Listen to the full catalog on Apple Podcasts & Substack.

43 Affirmative Action Revisited with Jason Riley Jun 19, 2025 42 Trump & Sowell with James Fishback Feb 3, 2025 41 Race, IQ & Sowell with Nathan Cofnas, Part 2 Sep 23, 2024 40 Race, IQ & Sowell with Nathan Cofnas, Part 1 Sep 9, 2024 39 Honesty & Sowell with Dan Ariely Apr 21, 2024 38 Social Pathologies & Sowell with Theodore Dalrymple Feb 12, 2024 37 War and Sowell with Victor Davis Hanson Nov 22, 2023 36 Israel, The Jews & Sowell. with Dennis Prager. Oct 17, 2023 35 The Triple Package" and Sowell, with Amy Chua Sep 18, 2023 34 Maverick" A Biography of Thomas Sowell, with Jason Riley Sep 9, 2023 33 Gad Saad: Courage, Authenticity & Sowell Jul 24, 2023 32 Love & Marriage May 28, 2023 31 Disparate Impact with Heather Mac Donald Apr 22, 2023 30 Lessons of the Cold War with Peter Robinson Mar 11, 2023 29 Fight the Good Fight with Amy Wax Jan 29, 2023 28 Episode 28: Changing Minds with Dr. Joel Brown Jan 9, 2023 27 Freedom Dec 18, 2022 26 Steven Pinker on Thomas Sowell Oct 30, 2022 25 Katharine Birbalsingh on Thomas Sowell and Theodore Dalrymple Oct 15, 2022 24 Sowell, Dershowitz & Allen Oct 2, 2022 23 Equality & Envy Sep 5, 2022 22 Clarence Thomas Aug 3, 2022 21 Abortion Jun 23, 2022 20 Richard Sander about Sowell and Racial Preferences in Admissions Jun 8, 2022 19 Mediocracy and Affirmative Action • Part 5 May 15, 2022 18 Affirmative Action and Sowell's "Inside American Education" • Part 4 Apr 23, 2022 17 The Will Smith Slap and Sowell's "Black Rednecks and White Liberals Apr 11, 2022 16 The Dogmas of American Education: A Panel Discussion • Part 3 Apr 3, 2022 15 Ramona Bessinger on Sowell's "Inside American Education" • Part 2 Mar 16, 2022 14 Sowell and the American Education System • Part I Feb 23, 2022 13 Josh Lewis and Alan talk Sowell. Uncut and Unfiltered. Feb 11, 2022 12 Whoopi Goldberg and Sowell's "Discrimination and Disparities Feb 2, 2022 11 Charles Love on Sowell's "Discrimination and Disparties Jan 30, 2022 10 West Side Story and Sowell's "A Conflict of Visions Jan 1, 2022 9 Alan Dershowitz on Sowell and The Wisdom of the Common Man Dec 22, 2021 8 Michael Shermer on Thomas Sowell Nov 14, 2021 7 Sowell's views on Minimum Wage Laws Nov 4, 2021 6 Robert Chatfield, Producer of the Thomas Sowell Documentary Oct 26, 2021 5 Should Thomas Sowell win a Nobel Prize? Oct 8, 2021 4 Slavery: A debate about Sowell's views on the history of slavery. Sep 28, 2021 3 Moral Crusades with Paul Rossi Sep 11, 2021 2 Wilfred Reilly on Thomas Sowell Aug 23, 2021 1 Introduction Aug 13, 2021

Quotes

Sowell, in his own words.

A running collection of the sharpest lines from the great man himself.

Reviews

Listeners are obsessed.

4.9

out of 5

★★★★★

★★★★

★★★

★★

★

533 Ratings

Hundreds of 5-star reviews. Here's a taste.

★★★★★

“If you want to learn the reality of American culture”

The greatest podcast I’ve ever listened too

— Maupinwil · Apple Podcasts

★★★★★

“I don’t always agree, but I always think”

Great podcast showcasing what we should all learn from an under-appreciated scholar. I always walk away thinking more deeply about issues than when I started.

— Matthhjjj

★★★★★

“Intelligent, Thought-provoking & Thoughtfully Crafted”

Sowell is an American hero and I enjoy this podcast immensely. The episode with James Fishback was informative, timely, thought-provoking and well-choreographed. An i…

— SuePhilly2

★★★★★

“Bravo!”

Really enjoy listening to these discussions. Especially enjoy the education topics

— JEF!#@$

★★★★★

“Great show!”

Highly informative and educational material presented in an entertaining and balanced format. Well Done!

— Capester8

★★★★★

“Creative, educational, and easy on the ears!”

Incorporating Billy Joel’s music into economic theory is something I never would’ve thought possible. But this podcast did it. Can’t wait to hear more.

— T_K_9

★★★★★

“FrenchOrwellian”

I am hooked on this podcast series, I absolutely love it. I wish everyone would at least listen to the Heather McDonald interview. It is captivating.

— FrenchOrwellian

The Bad Reviews

In fairness… not everyone's a fan.

We can take it. A few of our favorite critical reviews, posted unedited.

★☆☆☆☆

“Anti-Science”

Fascist and Zionist rhetoric. This guy loves feelings over facts.

— Please I’m Begging You

★★★☆☆

“Omg the musical breaks”

I am astonished this gets the five star reviews it does. Oh my goodness the music breaks every five minutes. Cannot handle those pretentious artsy intermissions.

— Flourless

★☆☆☆☆

“Pathetic Hagiography”

You expect a podcast titled “The Genius of…” to be hagiographic. But this podcast takes lickspittle-ness, brown-nosing, and toady-ism to a level that would be almost comically admirable if…

— andysphere

Read all reviews on Apple Podcasts →

Subscribe

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Contact

Get in touch.

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