Can the world’s most popular sport be improved? Richard Epstein thinks so, and argues that soccer’s rules are overdue for reform. From red cards and penalty kicks to VAR, substitutions, stoppage time, and overtime, Epstein applies the principles of law, economics, and institutional design to the beautiful game. The result is a lively conversation about whether smarter rules could make soccer fairer, faster, and even more exciting.
It’s Time to Give John Bolton Personal Security
Before you begin a rant about what a jerk John Bolton is, know that I agree with you. He was obnoxious in his time with President Trump, and then wrote a book criticizing the president on top of it.
My issue is that Bolton’s Secret Service detail was revoked by President Trump, as well as for other high-level officers, shortly after Trump came into his second term, despite threats that were made against Bolton:
July 20, 1969
Buzz Aldrin descending the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle. From nasa.gov
It’s the 57th anniversary of the moon landing. The date reminds me of a promotional film made by North American Aviation in the early days of the space program, positioning space exploration in the context of American history, exploration, and development. The music, a mix of traditional and new, was arranged and composed by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio.
John McWhorter returns as Glenn and John reflect on the nation’s 250th birthday and the state of Black America. Both express disappointment — not at racism’s persistence, but at cultural attitudes that continue to hold Black Americans back. Using the Karmelo Anthony case as a touchstone, they push back hard against victimhood narratives that treat race as a mitigating factor for individual wrongdoing. But Glenn and John diverge on colorblindness: while John laments the persistence of racial identity, Glenn argues that race as a positive site of collective identification — embodied in institutions like the black church — remains valuable and shouldn’t be abandoned in the name of an abstract principle.
The Glenn Show is almost entirely audience-supported, so to those of us who are already full subscribers, let me extend a heartfelt thank you. And if you’re not yet a full subscriber, please consider becoming one. The Glenn Show can only do what it does through the generosity of viewers and listeners. For a mere $6/month or $50/year, you’ll get access to weekly livestreams, monthly Q&A episodes with John McWhorter, commenting privileges, access to the full Substack archives, and other exclusive bonus content.
The Homeless Addict: In 4 Parts
Part One
Meet John. John is 33 and lives in his parents’ basement. John loves his parents, and John’s parents love John. These days, they don’t speak much. There are two doors to the basement. The one at the top of the stairs leads into the kitchen. The second door leads to the side yard. These days, John uses only the second door. John’s parents installed a doggie door in the kitchen door. John’s mother places cooked meals through the door. Later, John uses the doggie door to return the empty plates. Whenever John pushes through dirty sheets, towels, or clothes, John’s mom launders them and returns them through the doggie door. John’s parents won’t give John any money and won’t permit John to have roommates.
My World Cup Experience
On July 3rd, I attended the Australia vs. Egypt Round-of-32 game in Dallas. This was the first World Cup game I’ve ever attended in person, despite having watched it since 1998. I’m sure I was also watching it in 1994 as a 4-5 year old in Cambodia, but I was too young to remember any of it. Since this is the first World Cup that’s hosted in North America in my adult life, there was no way I would miss the opportunity to catch a game in person.
FIFA made the ticket-buying experience as painful as possible. I suppose the organization was salivating at the prospect of selling tickets to a continent that has so many people with high disposable income. Because demand was astronomical for 6 million or so tickets, FIFA implemented several rounds of drawings, allowing some people to buy tickets in the second half of 2025. I entered them, but didn’t get selected in any of the drawings — like the majority of people who entered. Finally, by April 2026, the Last Minute Sale phase started, which allowed anyone to buy tickets.
Spoke on a Holland America Cruise to Iceland
What does Tisha B’Av ask of us after October 7?
Tisha B’Av is the saddest date on the Jewish calendar, but Rachel Goldberg-Polin argues it also offers hope and opportunity. In a conversation shaped by the personal and collective trauma of October 7, she explains why Jewish tradition gathers centuries of loss onto a single day, why it compels us to look inward, and how mourning is meant to become the first step toward repair.
Hello Larry! Another in a Series of Fake Larry King Columns (ALERT: This One Has Nothing to Do with McLean Stevenson)
Spain Wins the World Cup
After five and a half weeks and 104 matches, the 2026 World Cup comes to an end at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, after Spain bested Argentina 1-0. It’s Spain’s second championship, having taken the title in 2010.
The sole goal of the match was scored in the second half of extra time by Ferran Torres. The Spanish maintained control throughout the match, holding possession for nearly 70% of the 121 minutes of play and firing 16 shots to their opponents’ 1.
Spain on 14 July 2026 before 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final against France. Wikimedia Commons
Two Notable Events Today (7/19)
Tide Unawareness? Oceanographic Agnosia? Something Like That.
We’ve been to many places on the Gulf Coast, my lady and I, but we’d never gone to Port O’Connor, so that was my suggestion this time. I’d bicycled through a few years ago but couldn’t remember – and the Internet seemed disinclined to say – if there is actually a shoreline suitable for bathing there. Yes, there can be. A long pier projects into a bay, and we walked to the end of it. The town’s attraction seems chiefly to be fishing. But there is plainly lots of beach, and we returned to it and walked out to the water’s edge and stuck our toes in it. We might have swum, but only after a still longer walk right into that bay. It was low tide. I was totally surprised by this.
I seem to be vastly underobservant as well as minimally expectant when it comes to seaside affairs. It hardly occurs to me what the sea is doing, even when I’ve been in daily view of it. Is there something wrong with me?
Hunting a Horror
Ser Kellan tor Iaestus is a Highwayman. On the distant Outlands world where Kellan lives, a Highwayman is a Crown official, not a bandit. A combination of a circuit-riding magistrate and sheriff, dispensing justice. Sometimes this entails settling disputes between farmers and sometimes hunting lawbreakers. He is good at his job because of his talent. He is a truth-teller, a living lie-detector.
Sam Robb’s A Sense of Murder opens with Kellan roped into a new task. Prospero, an Imperial Magus, arrives in the Outlands seeking a truth-teller. Kellen is assigned as Prospero’s guide in this hunt.
The seers of the Black House diverted Prospero from the hunt. The Empire needs those with talent, and a truth-teller would be valued in the Imperial capital. For Prospero, the hunt is a distraction. For Kellen, it is a danger and an opportunity. He keeps his talent hidden because he does not want to be drafted into Imperial service away from his home world. As Prospero’s guide Kellen is well-positioned to lead suspicion away from himself.
Considering the Next Step
Saturday Night Radio
It’s “The Best of Saturday Night Radio” … or is it? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tonight, in addition to solving a baffling mystery, we unveil one of the closely guarded secrets of the world’s greatest living magician (who has been dead for decades). It’s “Blackstone, the Magic Detective” and “Death Defying Death” on “Saturday Night Radio.” And listen all the way to the end to learn a trick that you yourself can perform to amaze your family and friends ….
Quote of the Day – Spaceflight
Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Today fits into the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which sent men to the Moon. It launched July 16, landed on the Moon July 20, and returned to Earth July 24. It was the first time human beings set foot on another orbital body.
July Floods, Again
You are all likely aware of the disastrous flooding last July 4th. A couple of weeks ago we had localized flooding (5 inches of rain overnight), but it didn’t cause any real problems. This week we had two days of sustained heavy rain – localized amounts from 10-15 inches. Because it fell so widely it was much different from last year, when basically only the Guadalupe River flooded and some creeks backed up from the river. This year the creeks were out of control. In an event like this, people get stranded for various periods of time. We have swift water rescue gear at our home so we can work one side of a couple of creeks and other firefighters can work the other side (no need this time – all we did was monitor closed crossings and keep reporting to our Emergency Operations Center).
Some pictures:
Numbers guru Harry Enten joins Steve, Charlie and James to put a little pizzazz on polling data. The gang covers a great deal of ground: the DSA insurgency, key midterm races, economic and institutional pessimism, public suspicion about polling, and some of the forces behind American polarization. But it ain’t all bad! Stay tuned til the end to find out about Harry’s famous Uncle Neil and a story of inspiration from unlikely places.
Plus, our trio debates the merits of Trump’s election integrity speech, turns over a few cultural touchstones, and makes an announcement about Ricochet 5.0.
Adam White, Jace Lington, and Bennett Nuss analyze the recent Supreme Court decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, focusing on the implications for executive power, administrative agency independence, and the future of administrative law.
Hazy days
The sky in Western New York is a weird color today, and the weather service is warning of low air quality:
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at Albany has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for Fine Particulates until midnight EDT tonight. Air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an Air Quality Index value of 195 for Fine Particulates. The Air Quality Index…or AQI…was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI value…the greater the health concern.”
This Sunday, in the FIFA final match between Argentina and Spain…
Some thoughts from Jerusalem regarding Lindsey Graham and other matters
Virtually one year apart, two of Israel’s greatest champions — Charlie Kirk and Lindsey Graham — were taken from us.
Their absence underscores what is written in Psalm 118: “It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in man.” Words that Kirk and Graham would have embraced since they were men of deep faith.
July 16: A Day Like Any Other Day
1228:Partisan trends being what they are, it’s increasingly rare to see an election actually decided in November. The parties matter more, the candidates a bit less. But that divide doesn’t seem so big in the Grand Canyon State, and Arizonans like a maverick. Chuck Warren of Breaking Battlegrounds joins Henry to discuss the flamboyant characters vying for congressional districts 1, 5, and 6, along with the story behind Andy Biggs’ surprisingly easy path to a general against incumbent Governor Katie Hobbs.
Plus, Henry breaks down the rules of the exceedingly interesting Senate elections coming up in Maine and South Carolina following the dropout of Graham Platner and the passing of Lindsey Graham. And the Democratic establishment strikes back with a couple of ads targeting progressive disrupters.
This week, Bethany sat down with Josh and Hannah Centers, the publishers of a new imprint called Chapter House Books, to talk about the state of children’s literature, reading, and how parents can raise enthusiastic learners.
You can enter to win the first two volumes of their new series here.
