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Why is Glenn defending an Ivy League professor who stripped down to his boxers during class?

February 19, 2013
Wilson

Writer

This morning, TheBlaze reported the story of a Columbia University professor, Emlyn Hughes, who stripped down to nothing but his boxer shorts during the first lecture of his “Frontiers of Science” course.

The class, apparently part of Columbia’s core curriculum, is a lesson in quantum mechanics, and Hughes chose to begin the semester by stripping down to his underwear to change outfits in front of his class, while footage of the September 11 attacks, Adolf Hitler, North Korea, and Saddam Hussein rolled on the projector behind him, and Lil’ Wayne’s Drop It Like It’s Hot played in the background.

The video below captures the event (WARNING: language may be explicit):

The story has become somewhat of a firestorm across the web, with many making a mockery of the event and others questioning why an Ivy League institution that carries a price tag as hefty as Columbia’s ($22,000 a semester) would allow such bizarre behavior. But on radio this morning, Glenn had a surprisingly different take on the incident.

“Now there is a story up on TheBlaze, and this one is going to be counterintuitive. You're going to think that you know exactly where I stand on this,” Glenn said. “In fact, I'm going to have Stu and Pat explain what's happening… and then I'll give you my opinion on this, and I think I know exactly why it's happening. If you read the story, I think you'll be outraged and you'll say this is why I am never sending my kid to an Ivy League school.”

Immediately following the bizarre presentation, Professor Hughes explained his reasoning to the students:

HUGHES: In order to learn quantum mechanics, you have to strip to your raw, erase all the garbage from your brain and start over again. Quantum mechanics, nothing you have learned in your life up to now is in any way – I’ll prepare you for this – because everything you ever do in your everyday life is totally opposite to what you're going to learn in quantum mechanics. And so I've been tasked with the impossible challenge of having to teach you quantum mechanics in one hour what basically the most brilliant minds, Einstein and so on couldn't figure out working on it their whole life.

“I think, and this will come as a surprise, if you don't really read the story or if you don't understand quantum mechanics – and I barely do – I can't believe I'm depending on a professor that is stipulated down to his underwear at an Ivy League university, but I believe this guy may be genius in his approach,” Glenn said. “Trying to get people to understand the insane in today's world, with the way colleges are now, and the way college students are now, this may have been the best approach to get their attention.”

“I completely – and I can't believe I'm saying this because I don't support very many people on college campuses in their teachings, especially when they're in their underpants, but from what I know and what I think happened here, I think the guy's a genius and I think based on what I know, I support him,” he continued. “This is a teacher or a professor that is thinking out of the box, which exactly you have to do. But he is thinking out of the box and I think he's remarkable and brave because somebody looking in from the outside, they're not going to understand it.”

It is safe to say that if this guy plans on showing up to every lecture in his boxer briefs, his teaching style may be cause for concern, but for the first day of a very abstract class, this professor may have taken the perfect approach.

“If he's teaching in his underwear every day, that's a different story,” Glenn said. “But if he is – I mean, if this is the way he introduced it, I think it's a great introduction. I mean, not the one I would have selected myself and, you know, I would – I would keep my eye – if I were a parent, I'd keep my eye on this professor, but…”

“If you tried to teach a class in your underwear, there would be no students the next time,” Stu joked.

From there, the conversation quickly devolved into what the ramifications would be if, say, Glenn showed up to teach a class in his underwear.

“You haven't seen me in my underwear,” Glenn responded. “You don't know how ripped I am.”

Considering Glenn’s penchant for Twinkies and Devil Dogs, only in an alternate universe could a “ripped” physique be possible.

“That one of the possibilities in an alternate universe,” Pat quipped, “you are incredibly ripped.”

“In another universe,” Glenn concluded, “I'm working out.”

 

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE