New York Times columnist, bestselling author and Columbia linguist John McWhorter sat down with Mo Rocca to talk about two very different projects: a provocative book he published in 2000 and a new effort to revive a nearly forgotten piece of musical history.
McWhorter is widely known for tackling contentious topics head-on. He reflected on Losing the Race: Self‑Sabotage in Black America (2000), the book that first brought him broad attention. In the conversation he explains why he has long been willing to court disagreement — not for its own sake, but to push conversations past easy consensus and into more precise thinking. He also addresses how his public perception has changed over time and why, despite criticism, he feels comfortable with the way people see him now.
Alongside his writing and teaching, McWhorter has turned his attention to the arts. One of his latest projects involves reconstructing Early to Bed, a 1940s Broadway musical with music by jazz legend Fats Waller that has largely dropped out of public view. In the interview he describes the work as historical recovery: combing through archival material, piecing together songs and scripts, and trying to place the show within its musical and social context. The effort aims to reawaken interest in Waller’s contributions to American theatre and to make the material accessible to contemporary audiences.
McWhorter frames both endeavors — his cultural criticism and his archival musical work — as parts of the same impulse: a desire to clarify what matters and why. Whether debating complex social issues or helping to restore a neglected piece of musical history, he says the goal is to deepen understanding, not to provoke for attention.
The full interview with Mo Rocca touches on McWhorter’s intellectual journey, the controversies that have followed him, and the satisfaction he finds in projects that recover overlooked stories from the past. It’s a look at a public thinker who moves between scholarship, commentary and cultural preservation.