Nigel Biggar, The Professor They Tried To Cancel | Andrew Roberts | Hoover Institution episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 31, 2026 · 48 MIN

Nigel Biggar, The Professor They Tried To Cancel | Andrew Roberts | Hoover Institution

from The Secrets of Statecraft · host Hoover Institution

Andrew Roberts sits down with Oxford theologian and historian Nigel Biggar to explore the personal and intellectual firestorm surrounding his work on empire, colonialism, and reparations. Biggar recounts how his “Ethics and Empire” project triggered a coordinated campaign to shut it down, how a major publisher canceled his book at the last minute, and how it ultimately went on to become a bestseller. Along the way, he challenges what he calls the “tyranny of imaginary guilt” shaping modern debates about Britain’s past, questions the case for reparations, and reflects on the broader implications for academic freedom, free speech, and the politics of history in the West today.

Andrew Roberts sits down with Oxford theologian and historian Nigel Biggar to explore the personal and intellectual firestorm surrounding his work on empire, colonialism, and reparations. Biggar recounts how his “Ethics and Empire” project triggered a coordinated campaign to shut it down, how a major publisher canceled his book at the last minute, and how it ultimately went on to become a bestseller. Along the way, he challenges what he calls the “tyranny of imaginary guilt” shaping modern debates about Britain’s past, questions the case for reparations, and reflects on the broader implications for academic freedom, free speech, and the politics of history in the West today.

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Nigel Biggar, The Professor They Tried To Cancel | Andrew Roberts | Hoover Institution

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Andrew Roberts sits down with Oxford theologian and historian Nigel Biggar to explore the personal and intellectual firestorm surrounding his work on empire, colonialism, and reparations. Biggar recounts how his “Ethics and Empire” project triggered...

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