Podcast Summary: Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words
Episode: 1960s Liberalism, Who Killed Michael Brown | Victor Davis Hanson Eli Steele Draft
Host: Jack Fowler (Guest-hosting for Victor Davis Hanson)
Guest: Eli Steele, Filmmaker
Date: January 17, 2026

Overview

This episode features filmmaker Eli Steele, co-creator of the documentary What Killed Michael Brown?, in a wide-ranging conversation with guest host Jack Fowler. The discussion pivots around the legacy of 1960s liberalism, the meaning and impact of white guilt in America, and the cultural/historical roots of tensions over race and authority, especially as explored in the deaths such as Michael Brown’s in Ferguson, Missouri. The episode also dives into cancel culture’s impact on the film’s distribution, the collaborative process between Eli and his father Shelby Steele, and the continuing legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Purpose of What Killed Michael Brown?

• Title Rationale:

  • The documentary’s title intentionally asks “what,” rather than “who,” shifting focus from the police officer’s personal responsibility to the larger cultural and historical forces at play.

    “We know who killed Michael Brown. Officer Darren Wilson. But his name was not important…It was the color of his skin that mattered the most, and his whiteness.” – Eli Steele (04:53)

  • The film uses the Michael Brown case to probe decades of social policy, migration patterns, and changes in black communities from self-reliance to dependency.

• Historical Context Explored:

  • Tracks the Great Migration, the rise of prosperous black neighborhoods, and subsequent upheaval as public policy shifted families into housing projects.
  • Explores how “post-Dixie liberalism” replaced autonomy with dependency, eroding black agency.
  • Examines the emergence of “bad faith”—the belief that black Americans cannot succeed independently, which, as Shelby Steele argues, “injured the minds of people” (06:40).

• Consequences for Today:

  • The shooting in Ferguson is portrayed as a watershed moment dividing America and catalyzing modern identity politics.
  • The film seeks to investigate the “apparatus of post-dixie liberalism, the bad faith, the lack of equity in America” and their roles in Michael Brown’s mindset and fate.

2. Cancel Culture and Censorship of the Documentary

• Banning from Amazon:
  • Amazon initially blocked the documentary with a vague, categorical rejection and without appeal.

    “It was, I guess, [a] surprise or a little shock to feel the power…that they could deny you…they control, they have a monopoly…It was scary.” – Eli Steele (12:17)

  • Notable that Amazon, as a de facto monopoly, can suppress content without clear justification.
  • Steele relates the banality and chilling effect of such raw, bureaucratic power.
  • Widespread media and advocacy pressure ultimately forced Amazon to allow the film’s release.

3. Working with Shelby Steele: The Father-Son Dynamic

• Collaboration:
  • Eli reflects on being profoundly deaf and the extraordinary effort Shelby and his wife made to ensure Eli could speak and hear. This family context underscored the significance of their later, ideologically driven collaborations.

    “I was born profoundly deaf… it took them almost four years to get me to learn how to hear and speak. That kind of tells you…what kind of man he is.” – Eli Steele (18:16)

  • Their work together was unplanned but grew from mutual agreement on the importance of examining pivotal moments in American society (e.g., Ferguson).
  • Process described as sometimes “all-out war” intellectually, but ultimately generative and rewarding, built on trust and shared goals.

4. White Guilt: The Subject of Their Next Documentary

• Defining White Guilt:

  • Quoting Shelby Steele:

    “White guilt is the fallout of centuries of oppression in America… The white people who were on the top lost moral authority… what they've been trying to do, especially on the left, is regain that moral authority.” – Eli Steele, relaying Shelby Steele (24:23, 01:08)

  • White guilt as the engine behind much of modern progressive policy; intertwined with black grievance leaders.
  • The dynamic is explained as “two sides of the same coin,” with each camp exploiting the other’s needs—one for innocence/moral authority, one for validation and compensation.
  • The new documentary aims to make these invisible social forces more visible and comprehensible.
  • Post-October 7th events further clarified for the filmmakers how liberation ideology (oppressed vs. oppressor) culturally manifests, often in anti-Western rhetoric.
  • White guilt facilitates entry of “liberation ideologies,” including Marxism, under the guise of empathy.

• Release Details:

  • Final cut targeted for April, wide release hoped for in May.
  • Website for updates: whiteguiltfilm.com

5. The Enduring Message of Martin Luther King Jr.

• Unity vs. Victimhood:
  • Reflections on King’s famous 1965 message: “be all you can be,” urging personal and national uplift rather than grievance.
  • Emphasizes King’s avoidance of shaming or white guilt; “He was not playing off of white guilt. He was not doing that. … We all need to live up to the principle in the Constitution. We all need to have that same shot. So that's a very unifying message.” – Eli Steele (33:18)
  • Both left and right are charged with betraying King’s legacy—left by promoting dependency and lowered standards, right by misunderstanding or deconstructing his impact.
  • Eli draws a through-line from King’s vision and messages to the aspirations underlying his and his father’s work.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the “what” in What Killed Michael Brown?

  “That title was the perfect title because it really framed what we were doing with the film… It allowed us to chronicle how blacks had moved up to St. Louis during the Great Migration… then all of a sudden a shift from home-ownership to government housing…and how post-Dixie liberalism was different than segregation and slavery.” – Eli Steele (05:30)

• On cancel culture’s impact:

  “You spend so much time making a film… And Amazon, whether we like it or not, is part of our habit… It was a kind of surprise or a little shock to feel the power to feel the rejection.” – Eli Steele (12:17)

• On working with his father:

  “…it has always resulted in an amazing insight in somebody better and showed us to rehab that faith in the process and even carried over to the new film White Guilt” – Eli Steele (20:08)

• On white guilt today:

  “White guilt has exploded… It actually increased. It’s actually become even more evil than we realized. It’s far more insidious.” – Eli Steele (24:23)

• On Martin Luther King’s message:

  “He was not shaming… not playing off of white guilt. He was saying, your ancestors, the white was still great. But we all need to live up to the principle in the Constitution… That’s a very unifying message.” – Eli Steele (33:18)

Timestamped Breakdown

• [03:02] – Eli’s background; collaborating with his father Shelby Steele; significance to What Killed Michael Brown?
• [04:53] – Rationale for What Killed Michael Brown?; focus on broader forces, not just individual actors.
• [06:30-07:45] – Historical narrative: Great Migration, rise and decline of black neighborhoods, post-1960s liberal policies.
• [09:12] – Impact of urban renewal/housing projects—“one of the great traumas of American history.”
• [12:17] – Amazon ban of the documentary; emotional and professional toll; eventual reversal.
• [18:06] – Working with Shelby Steele; family history; creative process.
• [24:23] – Upcoming documentary on white guilt; defining and explaining its role in American society.
• [29:14] – Release plans for White Guilt; website for more info.
• [32:47] – Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr. and the relevance of his vision today.

Further Resources

• White Guilt Documentary: whiteguiltfilm.com
• Eli Steele’s Substack: Man of Steel Substack (confirm spelling/link from transcript as needed)
• Victor Davis Hanson article on Martin Luther King: Philanthropy Daily (published January 16)

This episode offers a deeply personal, historically informed critique of contemporary American racial discourse and an insider’s look at the creation and suppression of challenging documentaries. It is especially useful for listeners seeking to understand not only the facts of events like Ferguson, but the broader philosophical and cultural trends shaping their interpretation and impact.