Thinking Class

Gary Gerstle is Paul Mellon Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and the author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order — one of the most clarifying accounts written of how a set of economic assumptions came to dominate Western politics, and how they are now collapsing. He is currently Kluge Chair of American Law and Governance at the Library of Congress, working on his next book, Politics in Our Time: Authoritarian Peril and Democratic Hope in the Twenty-First Century, forthcoming from Penguin Press.The neoliberal order is over — the set of ideas that captured both Reagan and Clinton, both Thatcher and Blair. Gary Gerstle on what that means for Britain, America, and the communities the order hollowed out — and whether what comes next is a swing of the pendulum or a rupture of a different kind. He ends the conversation by calling liberty a fragile flower. Draw your own conclusions.Find Gary Gerstle's work:The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: https://amzn.to/4u7wWIA9780197519646 Books: https://amzn.to/3Rp07bGAbout Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with thinkers, historians, and commentators grappling honestly with the condition of our civilisation.▶ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkingClass✍️ Substack: https://thinkingclass.substack.com🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/37vvzrlxpo8eORDoTDRtbH🐦 X: https://x.com/thinkingclassesNew episodes every week.

Theodore Dalrymple is the pen name of Dr. Anthony Daniels — physician, psychiatrist, and social diagnostician. He spent years working in the hospitals and prisons of Birmingham before his essays for City Journal established him as the foremost chronicler of what he called the culture of the British underclass. His writing has also appeared in The British Medical Journal, The Times, New Statesman, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Salisbury Review, National Review, The New English Review, and The Wall Street Journal. Theodore has authored numerous books, his book Life at the Bottom is twenty-five years old this year, including Life at the Bottom, The Worldview That Makes the Underclass, Our Culture, What's Left of It, and Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality.Rob Henderson is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor at City Journal, and the author of the memoir Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class — a national bestseller selected by The Economist as one of the best books of 2024. He is best known for coining the concept of luxury beliefs: ideas that confer status on the educated class while the costs are borne entirely by those at the bottom. He has written the foreword to the 25th anniversary edition of Life at the Bottom.In this conversation we think out loud about:What Life at the Bottom got right and what 25 years have added to itWhy the non-judgmentalism Dalrymple documented has spread from the clinic into the general cultureLuxury beliefs: the ideas that confer status on the educated class while the costs fall on everyone elseWhy the disability industry at elite universities is the latest expression of the same pathologyThe tattoo economy and what it reveals about cultural contagion moving upward through societyWhat honest hope looks like and what a serious individual-level response might actually requireFind Theodore Dalrymple's work:Life at the Bottom — 25th Anniversary EditionCity JournalThe Salisbury ReviewFind Rob Henderson's work:Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social ClassRob Henderson's Newsletter (Substack)City JournalAbout Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, and public intellectuals — concerned with long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes.If you value serious conversations about Britain, the West, and the forces shaping our future, why not subscribe: ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Michael Lind is a political theorist, historian, and one of America's most rigorous independent analysts of class, democracy, and political economy. He is a Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, a co-founder of the New America think tank, and a visiting professor at the University of Austin. He has taught at Harvard and Johns Hopkins and previously served as an assistant to the Director of the Center for the Study of Foreign Affairs at the US Department of State.His books include The New Class War: Saving Democracy from the Managerial Elite, Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States, The Next American Nation, and among more than a dozen works of non-fiction, history, and political theory. His writing has appeared in UnHerd, Tablet, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, American Affairs, and The New York Times, among many others.This is the first episode in a four-part Thinking Class series on social class in Britain and the West.In this conversation, we think out loud about: What the managerial class actually is and how it displaced the old bourgeoisie  Why Brexit and Trump were intra-capitalist conflicts, not working-class revolts How Britain's failure to properly industrialise shaped its class settlementWhy AI will automate the credential class before it automates the working class What the working class once had — and what was taken from it Whether anything can dislodge the managerial settlement in Britain or AmericaFollow Michael LindBuy Michael Lind's books: https://amzn.to/4tkJFHBFollow Michael Lind's work at UnHerd: https://unherd.com/author/michael-lind/About Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, and public intellectuals — concerned with long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes.If you value serious conversations about Britain, the West, and the forces shaping our future, why not subscribe: ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Dr. Carl R. Trueman is Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania and currently a visiting Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. His most recent books are The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Expressive Individualism, Cultural Amnesia, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, (with Bruce Gordon) The Oxford Handbook to Calvin and, and To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse (B and H). His writing has appeared in Deseret Journal, Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, American Mind, Claremont Review of Books and Public Discourse. The question "what is a woman?" is only confusing, Carl Trueman argues, because the prior question — what does it mean to be a human being — has already been answered wrongly, or abandoned entirely. His new book The Desecration of Man traces how that happened: a long arc from Luther through Rousseau and Nietzsche, through the sexual revolution and the death of serious art, to transgenderism, artificial intelligence, and the hollowed-out Church of England hosting iftars in its cathedrals.This is the third time Trueman has joined Thinking Class, and in this conversation we think out loud about: the Faustian bargain the West made with its own traditionwhy radical secularism is defenceless against Islam, and what a genuine recovery of human dignity would require — not at the macro-political level, but in a person's own life and community.Follow Carl TruemanCarl Trueman's new book The Desecration of Man is available from Amazon Books: https://amzn.to/3OkKwsLBuy Carl Trueman's books here: https://amzn.to/4cP0nJmFollow Carl at First Things: https://firstthings.com/Carl will be speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London in June — details at: https://www.arc-conference.com/About Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, and public intellectuals — concerned with long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes.If you value serious conversations about Britain, the West, and the forces shaping our future, why not subscribe: ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Richard IV is a writer, cultural commentator and men's mentor whose work has helped thousands of men in Britain and across the West understand what has gone wrong and what can still be recovered.In this episode of Thinking Class, John Gillam speaks with Richard about the invisible order that once gave men a path through life — the initiatory traditions, the moral codes, the religious inheritance — and what has happened to the men who grew up without it. They discuss why so many young men in Britain are adopting a roadman identity that has nothing to do with their own culture; why the Andrew Tate phenomenon is a symptom rather than a cause; what C.S. Lewis predicted about a civilisation that stops giving young men heroes to look up to; and why the Church of England, sitting atop one of the greatest spiritual inheritances in human history, has largely vacated its responsibility to pass it on.John also shares his own journey — from growing up in Northumberland and adopting a globalised identity with no roots in his own people, to studying virtue ethics at a desk while working full time, to baptism and confirmation into the Christian faith — as a case study in what it looks like when a man finds his way back to the tradition of his own people.This is a conversation about what was lost, what it cost, and whether the cycle can turn.Find Richard's work: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RichardTheFourth32Substack and community: https://richardthefourth.substack.com/About Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, and public intellectuals. Expect to hear discussion of long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes.If you value serious conversations about Britain, the West, and the forces shaping our future, why not subscribe:▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on XNew episodes every week. 

Kathleen Stock is a Contributing Editor to UnHerd, a philosopher, author of Material Girls and Do Not Go Gentle, and one of the most forensically precise thinkers in British public life.A bill is moving through the British Parliament right now that would allow doctors to help their patients die. Its proponents call it assisted dying. Its opponents call it assisted suicide. In Canada, five percent of all deaths now occur through the state-sanctioned equivalent. In Belgium, they have extended it to newborn babies. Canada will allow it for those with mental illness alone from 2027.The question is not only whether the bill is good policy. It is what it reveals about the kind of society we have become — and what we now believe a human life is worth.In this episode of Thinking Class, Kathleen Stock examines the case against assisted dying not as a religious argument but as a philosophical one. Stock identifies three types of advocate — the Freedom Lover, the Merciful Helper, and the Utilitarian who sees humans as units — and subjects each position to the kind of rigorous examination its proponents have largely been able to avoid.We think out lout about: how the word dignity has been captured and inverted by the assisted dying movement, why the safeguards being proposed will not hold, what the Canadian and Belgian trajectories tell us about where this ends, and whether a society that has lost the Christian account of suffering — that it can be meaningful, that it is not simply a problem to be eliminated — has any answer to the question of why a difficult life is worth living.Kathleen Stock's new book Do Not Go Gentle is available here: https://amzn.to/4bUImaPFollow Kathleen on X: @Docstockk | Read her at UnHerdAbout Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, and public intellectuals. Expect to hear discussion of long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes.If you value serious conversations about Britain, the West, and the forces shaping our future, why not subscribe:▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on XNew episodes every week. 

For decades, the British Empire in India has been reduced to a simple moral claim: that it was an extractive, exploitative system which left only damage behind.But is that really the full story?In this episode of Thinking Class, John Gillam is joined by Lord Nigel Biggar and Professor Tirthankar Roy to examine what the British Empire — and the East India Company before it — actually did in India, and how that history continues to shape the present.One of India's leading economic historians, Professor Tirthankar Roy challenges the dominant narrative from within — and his conclusions may surprise you.Together, they discuss the main charges levelled against British rule in India, including famine, violence, extraction, and the denial of self-government. They also explore why some of those claims may be justified, why others may be overstated, and how both British and Indian historians are rethinking the role of empire, markets, law, trade, migration, and state power.This conversation goes beyond the usual moral shorthand. It asks how Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras became engines of commerce; how British rule helped create the conditions for law, investment, and global integration; how liberal and constitutional ideas were transmitted; and why India’s rise today makes this history newly relevant.India is now one of the world’s most important rising powers. Its capital, people, and influence increasingly shape life in Britain and across the West. So the question is not simply what happened in the past — but what we think happened, and how that shapes the future relationship between Britain and India.Lord Nigel Biggar is Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford and the author of major works on empire, ethics, and public life.The New Dark Age:: https://amzn.to/4kT9NWCLord Biggar’s books: https://amzn.to/4cfUPaZThe Biggar Picture: https://www.nigelbiggar.co.uk/Professor Tirthankar Roy is one of India’s leading economic historians and the author of The East India Company: The World’s Most Powerful Corporation.Professor Roy's books: https://amzn.to/41tWCCF If you enjoy Thinking Class, subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Substack.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is an independent forum for long-form inquiry examining the political, cultural and civilisational questions shaping England, Britain and the West.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, politicians, and public intellectuals.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, democracy, identity, inheritance, institutional continuity and social change.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

John Waters is an Irish journalist, author, and columnist known for his work with Hot Press, The Irish Times, and The Irish Independent. He has written on social and political issues, specialising in father's rights and cultural critiques. Ireland changed faster than almost any country in the West. The question now is whether the Irish still recognise the nation they live in. In this episode of Thinking Class, we discuss the moral, cultural and demographic transformation of Ireland over the course of John Waters' lifetime.We explore the Ireland of his youth — ethnically and culturally homogeneous, Catholic, rule-bound, often austere, but also warm, coherent and recognisable — and contrast it with the globalised, post-Catholic, media-managed Ireland of today.We think out loud about:the collapse of the old moral orderthe rise of a new elite classthe decline of journalism and honest public speechthe Enoch Burke case and the Irish judiciaryimmigration, demographic change and public silenceIreland as an economic zone rather than a nationthe relationship between Ireland, Britain and the wider WestJohn Waters is one of Ireland’s most distinctive dissident voices. A former mainstream journalist, he has spent decades chronicling the moral and institutional transformation of Ireland and reflecting on what that change means for ordinary people, national identity and the future of democracy.This is a conversation about Ireland and about what happens when a country forgets how to tell the truth about itself.LinksVisit John Waters website: https://www.johnwaters.ie/Read John Waters Unchained: https://johnwaters.substack.com/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is an independent forum for long-form inquiry examining the political, cultural and civilisational questions shaping England, Britain and the West.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, politicians, and public intellectuals.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, democracy, identity, inheritance, institutional continuity and social change.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Michael Reiners is a writer, lawyer, and architectural historian. Michael is the founder of the Reiners Project, which publishes essays, draft legislation and commentary on English constitutional law and the art and architectural landscape. Britain’s constitutional settlement has changed more in the last few decades than most people realise — and the consequences now reach into identity, speech, governance, and the question of who the country is for.This episode forms part of Thinking Class’ ongoing inquiry: The Question of the West — examining the political, cultural, and civilisational foundations of our common life.We discuss the “Yookayification” idea, the logic (and risks) of a Great Repeal approach to post-1997 constitutional reforms, and why any serious reform programme would need to confront the reality of the permanent state — the administrative machinery and quasi-independent bodies that can constrain elected power.Topics we explore:England vs Britain vs the UK — what the words actually mean (and how they changed)Why “UK” is a very recent political identityIdentity, citizenship, and why law doesn’t always reflect reality“Yookay-ification”, naming, and the politics of placeDevolution, Human Rights, Equality frameworks — and unintended consequencesWhat a serious constitutional “reset” would require (and what could go wrong)The “permanent state” problem: how reform attempts get contained or neutralisedWhat cultural restoration could look like beyond slogansLinksFollow Michael Reiners on X: https://x.com/MCRReinersVisit the Reiners Project: https://reiners.org.uk/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is an independent forum for long-form inquiry examining the political, cultural and civilisational questions shaping England, Britain and the West.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, politicians, and public intellectuals.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, democracy, identity, inheritance, institutional continuity and social change.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Lord Nigel Biggar is an Anglican priest, theologian, and moral philosopher, a member of the House of Lords, and Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford.  His most recent books are The New Dark Age: Why Liberals Must Win The Culture War, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (2023), What’s Wrong with Rights?, In Defence of War, and Between Kin and Cosmopolis: An Ethic of the Nation. In the press he has written articles for the Financial Times, the (London) Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, the (Glasgow} Herald, the Irish Times, Standpoint, The Critic, The Article, UnHerd and Quillette.  Britain’s institutions are drifting toward a “new dark age” — where truth-seeking is replaced by intimidation and ideological enforcement.This episode forms part of Thinking Class’ ongoing inquiry: The Question of the West — examining the political, cultural, and civilisational foundations of our common life.Lord Nigel Biggar explains what’s happening inside universities, how liberal argument breaks down, and what citizens can do to push backIn this conversation we discuss: free speech as a civic necessity, why institutions reward intellectual vice, how debate collapses into smears, and why Biggar warns a “new dark age” is possible unless liberal habits of mind are defended.LinksThe New Dark Age:: https://amzn.to/4kT9NWCLord Biggar's books: https://amzn.to/4cfUPaZThe Biggar Picture: https://www.nigelbiggar.co.uk/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is an independent forum for long-form inquiry examining the political, cultural and civilisational questions shaping England, Britain and the West.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, legal scholars, economists, theologians, politicians, and public intellectuals.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, democracy, identity, inheritance, institutional continuity and social change.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Lionel Shriver is a novelist and columnist at The Spectator, and the author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Mania, and A Better Life among many other books.Lionel Shriver returns to Thinking Class to discuss mass immigration in the West—not as an abstract moral debate, but as a lived experience reshaping belonging, institutions, and politics.We start with Lionel’s new novel A Better Life, which tackles immigration through fiction from the host-country’s point of view. We explore why the “native-born” perspective is rarely told, what happens when immigration becomes mass-scale, and why voters increasingly feel unheard as demography, welfare states, and legal frameworks collide.We also discuss: the moral complexity of immigration, why “a better life” can become an argument for open borders, how asylum systems are gamed, the sex divide on immigration, the feminisation of institutions, the crisis of male purpose, and whether low birth-rates signal a culture that no longer believes in itself.Support Lionel Shrivers work: Books: https://amzn.to/4apdqQFA Better Life: https://amzn.to/4c3nPCJLionel Shriver at The Spectator: https://spectator.com/writer/lionel-shriver/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Lord Jonathan Sumption is a British judge and historian, who served as a Supreme Court Justice from 2012 – 2018. He is the author of The Challenges of Democracy And The Rule Of Law, the Sunday Times bestseller Trials of the State, Law in a Time of Crisis, and Divided Houses, which won the 2009 Wolfson History Prize.Across Britain and the wider West democratic decision-making is increasingly being hollowed out by courts, by bureaucracies, by delayed elections, by restrictions on speech, and by a political class that often appears unwilling to govern according to the public will.In this episode of Thinking Class, Lord Jonathan Sumption examines whether democracy and the rule of law can survive the conditions we are now creating.We explore:What democracy and the rule of law actually are, and how historically fragile they’ve always beenBritain’s legal inheritance and the health of the Rule of LawWhether freedom of expression is a precondition for democratic legitimacyThe effects of mass immigration, sectarian politics, and demographic change on democratic consentWhether universal suffrage can function without a shared political communityAnd whether the greatest threat to democracy comes from our institutions or from ourselvesThis is a sober, historically grounded conversation about law, legitimacy, and the future of self-government in Britain and the West.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week. ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Dr Carrie Gress has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America and is the editor at the online women’s magazine Theology of Home. Carrie’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Review, Daily Caller, Daily Wire, First Things, Newsweek, The American Spectator, The Catholic Thing, The Federalist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Examiner. She is a frequent radio and podcast guest and has appeared on Fox, BBC, CBC, EWTN, OAN, and Russia Times television. She is the best-selling author of eleven books including The Marian Option, and The Anti-Mary Exposed, The End of Woman: How Smashing The Patriarchy Destroyed Us, Theology of Home and, her latest book, Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can't Be Fused With Christianity. She co-authored City of Saints; A Pilgrim’s Guide to John Paul II’s Krakow with George Weigel.  Carrie has lived and worked professionally in Washington, D.C. and Rome, Italy and her work has been translated into nine languages.In this episode of Thinking Class, Carrie  and I examine how feminism has transformed the understanding of womanhood, relationships between men and women, and the moral foundations of Western society.We explore why motherhood has been devalued, how the promise of liberation has coincided with rising anxiety and loneliness among women, and why feminism increasingly positions men and women as competitors rather than complementary partners. Carrie explains how feminism has come to function as a shadow church while displacing older sources of dignity, obligation, and community.Drawing on history, theology, psychology, and culture, we discuss the connection between feminism and Marxist thought, the emotional mobilisation of women for political ends, the neglect of men’s roles and gifts, and why a renewal of local relationships, family life, and moral seriousness is essential if the West is to recover a more humane vision of flourishing.If you value serious, historically grounded conversations about Britain, the West, and the civilisational forces shaping our lives, please subscribe to Thinking Class, like the episode, and share it with others who want to think more deeply about what we have inherited, and what we owe the future.Buy Dr Carrie Gress' books: https://amzn.to/4qgVa0gVisit her website: https://www.carriegress.com/aboutSubscribe to the Theology of Home Substack: https://theologyofhome.substack.com/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Dr. Bijan Omrani is a classicist, historian, and Oxford-educated barrister. His research explores questions of religious history and cultural identity, spanning from ancient Roman Greece to Afghanistan and the Silk Road. He has taught Classics at Eton College and Westminster School, is a former editor of Asian Affairs, and currently serves as a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. He is also a churchwarden.Dr. Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert is the director of the organisation Don't Divide Us. She is an educator, academic, author, and campaigner who believes passionately in the essential importance of impartiality. What does it mean to steward a civilisation?For centuries, England’s institutions — churches, schools, charities, civic bodies, even industries — were shaped by a Christian understanding of stewardship: the belief that what we inherit is held in trust, not owned outright; that culture, faith, and place impose obligations as well as rights.In this episode of Thinking Class, Bijan and Alka and I examine how far Britain has drifted from that inheritance, and what the consequences have been for its institutions, culture, and public life.We begin with the Christian idea of stewardship itself, before exploring:The disappearance of cultural knowledge once taken for granted — scripture, song, manners, dress, and shared moral reference pointsHow stewardship historically shaped the governance of England’s public institutionsWhere those institutions are now breaking with that inheritanceThe Church of England’s Project Spire and the logic behind its reparations agendaHow today’s political and cultural elites compare with earlier generations of stewardsThe decline of civic responsibility and the erosion of the “little platoons” of societyWhy fewer people now see themselves as custodians of what they have inheritedAnd what, if anything, might be done to recover a culture of stewardshipThis is a conversation about inheritance, obligation, and continuity — and about what is lost when a civilisation forgets that it is something to be kept, not endlessly reinvented.Guest work:Buy God is an Englishman by Bijan OmraniFollow Bijan Omrani on XRead Bijan Omrani's writing in The Telegraph and The CriticVisit Alka Sehgal Cuthbert's websiteFollow Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert on XVisit the Don’t Divide Us websiteAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Firas Modad is an analyst and political economist focused on the Middle East and global geopolitics. He runs his own consultancy, Modad Geopolitics, helping companies and investors understand the commercial impact of political, economic, and security risks they face. Firas Modad is a host on Podcast of the LotusEaters.Firas examines how Britain’s security is being quietly undermined at home and abroad, and why so few in the political class are willing to confront the scale of the problem.In this conversation, we think out loud about:Britain’s internal security and the risks of social balkanisationThe emergence of tiered citizenship and the limits of multicultural governanceWhether remigration is politically or morally conceivableBritain’s relationship with the United States in an era of shifting powerWhether a sovereign Britain can meaningfully escape the EU’s orbitChina, offshoring, and the long-term consequences of deindustrialisationThe Middle East, Iran, and the possibility of a rising Islamic imperial orderWhy some global crises provoke moral outrage in Britain while others are met with silenceWhat Firas has changed his mind about during his life and whySubscribe to Modad Geopolitics Substack here: https://www.modadgeopolitics.com/About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Professor Azar Gat, one of the world’s leading scholars of nationalism, war, and political identity.Professor Gat is Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the author of several major works on conflict and political order, including War in Human Civilization and, most notably for this conversation, Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism.In that book — and in our discussion today — Gat challenges one of the most dominant assumptions of modern political thought: that nations are merely recent inventions, artificial constructs, or the superficial products of elite manipulation.Instead, he argues that nationalism and political ethnicity have deep historical, cultural, and even evolutionary roots, stretching far beyond the modern era.Together, we think out loud about:why nationalism surged in the modern age — and why it did not begin therethe difference between ethnic and civic nationalism, and the vulnerabilities of eachhow political ethnicity asserted itself in societies as diverse as ancient Egypt, Israel, China, medieval Europe, and early empireswhy Europe developed into a distinctive patchwork of durable nation-states, rather than large civilisational blocsBritain’s formation after Rome, the emergence of England, and how national identity and political ethnicity interacted across the British Isleswhether multicultural governance can override inherited ethnocultural bonds — or merely postpone their re-assertionFrance as a revealing case of civic nationalism, and where its limits may lieand why contemporary examples — from Iran to Europe — suggest that political ethnicity never truly disappearsThis is an important conversation because debates about nationalism, identity, and belonging now sit at the centre of political life across Britain, Europe, and the wider West — yet they are often discussed without historical depth, clarity, or intellectual seriousness.Professor Gat helps restore that depth, showing why these questions endure, and why they cannot simply be wished away by ideology or administrative design.We close, as always on Thinking Class, with a personal reflection — asking Professor Gat what he has changed his mind about over the course of his life, and what led him to rethink his assumptions.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Renaud Camus, writer, painter, photographer, was born in 1946. He is now the author of more than one hundred and sixty works. His works are marked by the question of meaning and the fight against the industrialisation of man and the massacre of landscapes. In this episode of Thinking Class, John Gillam and essayist Renaud Camus engage in a wide-ranging conversation about what Camus has long described as “the disaster” — the civilisational, cultural, and demographic transformations reshaping France, Britain, and much of the Western world.Camus is widely known in public debate for his writings on demographic change in Europe, often discussed superficially or polemically as "The Great Replacement". In this conversation, we move beyond caricature to engage his work on its own terms: as an attempt to diagnose what has changed within Western leadership classes, cultural memory, and moral language — and why these changes have proven so destabilising.Topics discussed include:What Camus means by “the disaster” and why he sees it as civilisational rather than conspiratorialThe role of political, media, and bureaucratic elites — whom Camus calls the “friends of the disaster” — in enabling demographic and cultural ruptureResponsibility, narrative control, and why discussion of consequences is often displaced by moral abstractionBritain and France in comparative perspective, including demographic trends, historical memory, and elite ideologyThe prohibition on speaking of ancestry, roots, and continuity — and what is lost when a people forgets its own pastGlobalism, social engineering, and the moralisation of ideologyEcological objections to simplistic “solutions,” including unchecked population growthWhy Camus rejects violence and insists on lawful, civic, and cultural means of resistanceHis reflections on monarchy, national form, and the endurance of peoplesChristian hope, recovery, and the possibility that nations can outlast periods of profound disfigurementThe conversation concludes, as always on Thinking Class, with a personal reflection: what Renaud Camus has changed his mind about during the course of his life and what led him to think differently.Follow Renaud Camus on XVisit Renaud Camus' website Buy Renaud Camus' booksAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers. Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

William Clouston is the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the United Kingdom and a member of the advisory board for Restore Britain. In this conversation, William Clouston and I think out loud about the current state of British politics, focusing on the disconnect between government promises and actual governance. We explore:The need for a cultural and civilisational vision beyond economicsThe challenges posed by mass immigration for social democracy and defining remigrationThe importance of governing in the national interest and what the national interest isWhether Western European nations will be forced into ending mass immigration by the United States' National Security Strategy 2025Lessons William Clouston has learned since entering politicsFollow William Clouston on X here.You can watch and listen to my first conversation with William here:Watch: How Britain Began To Decline & Why Its Leaders Won't Fix ItListen: How Britain Began To Decline & Why Its Leaders Won't Fix ItAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at The University of Buckingham and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science. He directs Buckingham’s new MA in the Politics of Cultural Conflict and PhD in Cultural Politics as well as its open online course on Woke: the Origins, Dynamics and Implications of an Elite Ideology. He is the author of Taboo: How Making Race Sacred Produced a Cultural Revolution, Whiteshift: Immigration, Populism and the Future of White Majorities, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth, The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America, The Orange Order and one other book. He is co-editor, among others, of Political Demographyand editor of Rethinking Ethnicity: Majority Groups and Dominant Minorities. In addition to 45 peer-reviewed articles, he has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Review, New Statesman, Financial Times, UnHerd and other outlets.Dr Paul Morland is an author and broadcaster who writes and speaks about population and the big demographic trends across the world, both contemporary and historic. Described as the ‘UK’s leading demographer’ and ‘one of the world’s pre-eminent demographers’ (Mercator), Paul has written four books: No One Left, Tomorrow’s People, The Human Tide and Demographic Engineering and his work has been translated into nine languages. He has written for and been interviewed in many of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines including the Financial Times, the Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Toronto Globe and Mail, Der Spiegel and the Jerusalem Post. He has broadcast on many outlets including BBC Radio 4.In this episode, Eric, Paul and I think out loud about the significant demographic changes occurring in the UK, particularly the decline of the white British population, which is due to become a minority in the country by the 2060s. We explore:the implications of these shifts on society, politics, and culture.theories of ethnic conflict and what the future might hold for the United Kingdomthe roles of assimilation and intermarriage the impact of DEI policies and woke culture on social trustthe future of political ethnicity and nationalism the potential for remigration, the cultural shifts necessary for societal cohesion, and much much more.Dr Paul Morland:Follow Paul on XBuy Paul's books Visit Paul's websiteWatch my other conversations with Paul here: 'Forget Politics, Make Babies' and 'Why Rediscovering Our Cultural Heritage Can Save The West' Professor Eric Kaufmann:Follow Eric on XBuy Eric's booksSubscribe to Eric's SubstackVisit his websiteWatch my other conversation with Eric here: 'Resisting Woke Taboos Will Restore Cultural Flourishing'About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show fe

Stephen Balogh is the Chairperson for the Social Democratic Party. Stephen is also active in non-profit and public policy organisations that promote the flourishing of society through the thoughtful application of socially responsible, small-c conservative politics. Following a 30-year business career, he now devotes his time to initiatives aimed at community building from local neighbourhood to international levels, whether by means of social, political or commercial exchange. Stephen has also acted as New Culture Forum’s National Organiser, helping to establish a network of “NCF Locals” groups around Great Britain and he has acted as contributing author to two NCF publications.In this episode, Stephen and I think out loud about whether democracy is working, why people across Europe are so dissatisfied in politics and beyond, why traditional cleavages between people in politics have broken down and party loyalties are changing, how the body politic has been eroded by the elite and sections of the left and the right, and what people of Britain need to rediscover if we are to flourish, and much much more.Follow Stephen on X here.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Driss Ghali is a political author and speaker. Driss was born in Morocco and educated in Europe. He graduated from prestigious French universities and spent a lot of time in a corporate career focused on high-tech companies. Driss is an intellectual and observer of human nature as it is: ugly and splendid at the same time. Since 2017, he has written books about violence and identity. Driss frequently appears in French media to talk about immigration, diversity, the Middle East and French politics. One of his books has been translated into English titled, A Counter-History of French Colonization.In this episode Driss and I think out loud about:the reasons behind rising violence and civil unrest in Francewhy an increasing number of French Muslims are supportive of Islamist positions and Sharia Law over the laws of the Republichow mass immigration has precipitated an identity crisis amongst immigrants and host populationsthe perennial question of assimilation and integrationwhether civil war is possible in the event of a government led by National Rally (Jordan Bardella or Marine Le Pen); and the need for a bold leader and a new vision for France's futureListen to my first conversation with Driss here.Follow Driss Ghali on X: https://x.com/drissghalibooksYou can find Driss Ghali's work here:Driss’s websiteDriss’s booksAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Neema Parvini is the author of nine books including Applied Elite Theory, The Prophets of Doom, The Populist Delusion, The Defenders of Liberty, Shakespeare's Moral Compass. He has also written dozens of chapters and articles in scholarly publications and the media. Neema is the Director of Academic Agency, which he set up to focus on core academic skills and knowledge areas which can help students and learners of all ages to achieve both academic excellence and improve communication and research skills in the workplace. He runs the YouTube channel Academic Agent and the Substack The Forbidden Texts.In this episode, Neema and I think out loud about how the Iron Law of Oligarchy explains how populist movements are co-opted and this can be seen in America, what ‘the regime’ is and why Tony Blair represents the human embodiment of it, what the 'Boomer Truth Regime' is and how it has dominated since the Second World War, why politics is like pro-wrestling, how multiculturalism often masks the interests of multinational corporations and mercantile government policy as well as advancing ethnic preferences and interests, why Neema thinks Reform UK is a containment strategy for the regime rather than a solution and why a Great Man of History and a cleansing fire is needed to see off the current crop of elites, why Neema does not subscribe to Professor David Betz’ predictions of civil war in Britain, why Neema grew disillusioned with the online right, how the modern information landscape disincentivises searching for truth, and much more.You can find Neema's work here:Neema’s YouTube channelNeema’s booksX/TwitterAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Alexander Chula is a medical doctor and writer working in London. His first book, Goodbye. Dr Banda was published 2023.In this episode, Alexander and I think out loud about what an African dictator can teach the West about itself, how multiculturalism impacts conceptions of personal and national identity, the perceived cultural openness of modern society compared to the past and why engagement by middle-class Westerners on with foreign cultures on their travels are superficial in their nature, why this is a quick contrasts this with the more profound respect and curiosity exhibited by earlier generations, including those we thought were regressive or non-progressive, why British Victorian missionaries were more influential and had a greater, more positive impact than modern NGO- and aid-workers in Africa, and much, much more. Follow Alexander on X: https://x.com/alexanderchulaBuy Alex's book here: https://amzn.to/3XlUmLLAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Martin Sellner is an Austrian activist, author and political organiser and his "goal is to save the identity and soul of [his] nation & Europe". He is author of several books in the German language, one of which, "Regime Change From The Right", is now published in English, while another, "Remigration", will be published in English early 2026.Martin Sellner joins John Gillam to address the sensitive topic of remigration and national identity in contemporary Europe. Placing demographic shifts and political identity in historical perspective, this conversation explores why questions about cultural cohesion and national futures are increasingly central across European societies.This episode explores:the demographic pressures shaping European political discourse,how identity and belonging interact with state policy,and what “remigration” means in broader civilisational terms.Listeners will encounter one of the most contested issues of our time framed as a structural dilemma rather than a polemic.Follow Martin on XBuy Martin's booksListen to the other episodes in a mini-series for alternative views on 'what is to be done' about the issues facing Britain and Europe today. #099 - Paul Embery - Why Diversity Is Britain's Greatest Challenge & How The Labour Party Is Punishing Britain#100 - Philip Cunliffe - Britain's Future Now Globalisation Is Dead: Demographics, Identity And The National Interest#101 - Nina Power - Beyond Deportations: The Restoration Of Britain's Soul#102 - David Betz - Tribes At War: The Sectarian Battle For Britain's Future & Its Grim RealityAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

David Betz is Professor of War in the Department of War Studies at King's College London where he heads the MA War Studies programme. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Prof. Betz's most recent book, The Guarded Age: Fortification in the 21st Century, is published by Polity.In this episode, David and I think out loud about the role of political institutions in civil conflict, the impact of demographics on politics & how the election of Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of New York City and continued election of Sadiq Khan for the Mayor of London are instructive about the future of Anglophone countries, whether the white British are displaying an anger and spiritedness following suppression and dismissal of their national identity, what Britain looks and feels like if it descends into inter-tribal civil conflict, how the elites have betrayed the British people, why Britain’s youth are discontented, the rival visions and consequences for Britain’s future, and what David has changed his mind on and much, much more.Follow David on XBuy David's book hereAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Nina Power is a philosopher, writer, and author of books including What Do Men Want?: Masculinity and Its Discontents. Nina runs philosophy courses with Verdurin and is also the author of the Substack Nina Power and the host of the podcast The Lack.In this episode, Nina and I think out loud about whether the end of liberalism is real, whether post-liberalism is a dead end, why lots of English people keep invoking Tolkien and the scouring of the Shire, whether there's an England left to be saved, what a restoration of Britain would like beyond deportations, the re-Christianising of Britain, the influence of the elites on how the masses think, why Britain needs to be clear and confident about its heritage in the face of challenges from foreign cultures and religions, how far the Overton Window on acceptable political discourse will shift, why societal collapse would see the death of ideology and the rise of violent factionalism, why therapy will only take you so far and much, much more.Follow Nina on XSubscribe to Nina on SubstackBuy Nina's book hereAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Philip Cunliffe is Associate Professor of International Relations at the UCL, where he researches and teaches on the topics of international order, multinational military intervention, and conflict management. He has 20 years of academic experience, having previously worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent and a Temporary Lecturer at the UK’s Joint Services Command and Staff College. He obtained his PhD in War Studies from King’s College London. He has also worked as a contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit.He is a prolific author and editor, having published eight books and numerous academic articles and chapters on many aspects of international politics and security. His recent books include Taking Control: Sovereignty And Democracy After Brexit (2022), authored with George Hoare, Lee Jones, and Peter Ramsay. Philip is the author of The National Interest (2025).As globalisation tightens and geopolitics returns, “national interest” stops being a slogan and becomes a necessity. Philip Cunliffe argues that Britain must relearn statecraft—what it is, how it’s justified, and how it can command loyalty in a changed demographic and moral landscape.In this conversation:What “national interest” means (and what it isn’t)How Britain’s political class became post-nationalSovereignty, democracy, and the limits of liberal categoriesDemographic change and political legitimacyCan institutions forge shared loyalty—or only manage pluralism?Where to find Philip Cunliffe's work:Follow and subscribe to Philip on SubstackFollow Philip on X/TwitterBuy Philip's latest book here: The National Interest: Politics After GlobalisationDiscover Philip's other books on AmazonAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Paul Embery is a firefighter, trade union activist, writer and broadcaster. Paul has been a member of the Labour party since 1994 and active in the wider labour movement for most of his adult life. He has served on the executive council of the Fire Brigades Union and as the national organiser of Trade Unionists Against the EU.Paul has written extensively about working-class politics and culture, including for UnHerd, The Huffington Post, The Spectator, Spiked and Compact. His first book is Despised: why the modern Left loathes the working class, which was published in 2020.In this episode of Thinking Class, Paul Embery and John Gillam analyse why cultural, economic, and identity pressures are reshaping British politics and society — and why mainstream political parties, especially Labour, often find themselves at odds with the concerns of working-class voters. Paul reflects on his lifelong experience in the Labour movement to explore how cultural identity, economic insecurity, and political alienation intersect in contemporary Britain.They examine why diversity has become a central challenge for national cohesion, how political elites have misread public sentiment, and what a renewed sense of community and responsibility might require.Where to find Paul Embery's work:Follow and subscribe to Paul on SubstackFollow Paul on X/TwitterBuy Paul's book: Despised: Why The Modern Left Loathes The Working ClassYou can listen to my previous conversation with Paul here.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Lord Nigel Biggar is Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Pusey House, Oxford. He holds a B.A. in Modern History from Oxford and a PhD in Christian Theology and Ethics from the University of Chicago. In 2021, he was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for 'services to higher education'.Nigel is the author of several acclaimed works, including Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny of Guilt, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, What’s Wrong with Rights?, In Defence of War, and Between Kin and Cosmos: An Ethic of the Nation. His writing has appeared in publications such as The Financial Times, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Critic, Standpoint, The Glasgow Herald, The Irish Times, UnHerd, and Quillette.His most recent books are Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny Of Imaginary Guilt; Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (2023), What’s Wrong with Rights? (2020), In Defence of War (2013), and Between Kin and Cosmopolis: An Ethic of the Nation (2014). In the press he has written articles for the Financial Times, the (London) Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, the (Glasgow} Herald, the Irish Times, Standpoint, The Critic, The Article, Unherd and Quillette.  Nigel Biggar joins John Gillam to discuss one of the most contentious historical and moral debates facing Britain today: whether the nation should pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Drawing on history, moral philosophy, and institutional analysis, they explore why the question matters, what reparations would mean in practice, and how a nuanced understanding of Britain’s past can inform responsible action today.This episode situates the reparations debate within broader questions about historical responsibility, collective identity, and the challenges of reconciling past injustices with present political realities.Join us for more episodes that take history seriously and engage deeply with the moral and cultural issues shaping the West.You can follow Lord Biggar's work here:BooksWebsiteXAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Andreas Svanlund is Chief Commercial Officer at Safe Clean, a Norwegian hydrocarbons company. Formerly an officer in the Norwegian Armed Forces, Andreas later joined the defence industry as a business developer with a focus on NATO and Europol special forces. He has also supplied combat uniforms and equipment to the Norwegian military, working closely with national counter-terrorism and organised crime units.In this episode, Andreas and I think out loud about the critical importance of energy resilience for Western nations in today’s multipolar world. We discuss why the much-vaunted “energy transition” to renewables has not only failed but arguably never truly begun, and what this means for national security. Andreas explains the risks of relying on foreign energy supplies, how the rapid growth of AI data centres will actually increase demand for fossil fuels, and why governments will be forced to adapt their energy policies as a result.We also explore the deep connections between energy resilience, economic prosperity, and domestic political stability and what is at stake if these connections are ignored.You can follow Andreas’s work here:Andreas’s SubstackAndreas’s LinkedInAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Dominic Frisby is a financial writer, broadcaster, and comedian. He is the author of Life After the State, Bitcoin: The Future of Money, and Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future. He writes regularly for MoneyWeek and has performed stand-up comedy in the UK and internationally.In this episode, we think out loud about the long and revealing history of gold — and what humanity’s relationship with money tells us about power, honesty, and civilisation itself.We discuss why gold has been desired, hoarded, stolen, regulated, and demonised throughout history; why it has repeatedly re-emerged as a store of value when trust in institutions collapses; and why Dominic argues that “gold is honest money — and is therefore disliked by dishonest men.”The conversation ranges from ancient civilisations and gold rushes to the British Empire’s reliance on gold, and the costly short-termism of the British state’s decision to sell its gold reserves at the bottom of the market in 2010. We also examine how fiat money enables excess government, regulatory overreach, erosion of privacy, and bureaucratic expansion — and why monetary systems shape not only economies, but moral behaviour and political incentives.You can follow Dominic’s work here:Dominic’s booksDominic’s SubstackDominic’s websiteInstagramX/TwitterAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

David Shipley is a writer, campaigner, has worked as a consultant prison inspector, and is the author of the Substack Shipley Writes. David's work has appeared in The Spectator, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph. In this conversation, we think out loud about the moral and institutional collapse of Britain’s justice system — and what meaningful reform would actually require.David reflects on his extraordinary life journey: from a career in corporate finance, to imprisonment for fraud, to becoming one of the most forthright critics of Britain’s prison regime. We discuss how the prison system has deteriorated not merely through incompetence, but through the influence of a morally relativistic, hyper-liberal culture that has abandoned judgement, responsibility, and truth-telling.We examine what genuine rehabilitation should look like in practice; the daily realities faced by prison officers; the dangers posed by Islamic gangs and extremism within prisons; and why David supports the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United Kingdom. We also explore the role of faith in his own transformation, and his belief that England can once again become a safer, more just society — but only if it regains the courage to uphold moral standards and enforce the law.This is a serious conversation about justice, punishment, mercy, and order — and about whether a civilisation that no longer believes in moral truth can hope to remain free.You can follow David’s work here:X/TwitterDavid’s SubstackDavid’s websiteThe SpectatorThe TelegraphAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Lorenzo Warby, is a writer of the Substack Lorenzo from Oz and a regular contributor to Helen Dale’s Not on Your Team, but Always Fair, a Substack-recommended publication.In this episode, Lorenzo and I think out loud about the idea of institutional capture, how Western institutions have been overtaken by fashionable ideologies, and how this has led to the rise of unaccountable classes within bureaucracies. We discuss how these unaccountable elites influence policy and norms across both politics and private institutions, what Lorenzo means by the “feminisation of institutions,” and why governance and accountability have been so badly weakened.We also explore the role of dissent, why it is so often suppressed, and how this undermines the possibility of reform. Lorenzo points to Australian political structures as examples of how accountability can be done better, and we reflect on what lessons they might hold for Western societies more broadly.This is Lorenzo’s fourth appearance on the show, and as ever it’s a wide-ranging discussion full of diversions, references, and tangents that ultimately connect to a bigger picture of how we arrived at our current political and institutional malaise.Follow Lorenzo on X: @lorenzofromYou can find Lorenzo’s work here:Substack - Lorenzo from OzSubstack - Not On Your Team, But Always FairYou can listen to our previous conversations here:#029: Forget The War Of The Sexes, Men & Women Were Made To Complement Each Other#040: Why Our Genes & Cultures Undermine Our Quest For Equality#068 - Why Economists' Predictions Go Wrong, The Roman Empire Fell, And Why You Should Never Give Bureaucrats Moral ProjectsYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack

George Owers is an editor, writer, and author of the newly released The Rage of Party: How Whig Versus Tory Made Modern Britain. In this episode, George and I think out loud about the origins of party politics in Britain, tracing how the Whigs and Tories emerged out of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, how the Whigs’ eventual dominance led to the creation of many of Britain’s most enduring institutions, shaping political life up to the present day, how the parties’ contrasting relationships with the monarchy and their religious differences deepened the divide, and why today's culture wars continue to echo those same historical tensions, whether today's Britain’s political discourse, so often centred on “British values,” can really make claim to a coherent set of values at all, and why a cohesive national identity is essential for sustaining both social democracy and the welfare state and why mass immigration is threatening these and much, much more. This is a rich and informative discussion — a history lesson in the first twenty minutes, followed by a wide-ranging exploration of how the wounds opened 350 years ago are still being re-litigated in today’s political culture.You can find George's work here:Follow George on X Buy his book hereRead his work on The CriticYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist, writer, a former Anglican priest, the host of the YouTube channel Plato's Podcasts and the author of the Substack A Golden String with Mark Vernon. Mark holds a PhD in Ancient Greek philosophy as well as degrees in theology and physics. He is the author of A Secret History of Christianity, Jesus: The Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps, and most recently Awake: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination.In this episode, Mark and I think out loud about the enduring relevance of William Blake’s vision in the modern world, why Blake’s critique of the industrial mindset was so prescient, why the industrial mindset remains the root of much discontent today, how our deep need for a more meaningful engagement with life often goes unfulfilled, why there can be no progress without contraries, how forgiveness and transformation can open the door to a more enchanted existence, why Blake’s distinctive interpretation of Christianity offers individuals a way to reconnect with the divine, and why Dante still has the power to save lives, and much, much more.This is a rich and demanding episode, not business-speak reduced to bullet points, but a conversation that invites us to widen our perceptions and glimpse life more fully, at the depths of our humanity and our place in the universe. For those familiar with the work of Dr Iain McGilchrist, there will be much here that resonates.You can find Mark’s work here:Mark’s WebsiteAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Reverend Fergus Butler-Gallie is a writer, priest, and current Vicar of Charlbury in Oxfordshire. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, he has ministered in parishes in Liverpool and Central London, and spent time living and working in the Czech Republic and South Africa. Fergus is the author of Touching Cloth—a Times and Mail on Sunday Book of the Year—as well as Priests de la Résistance! (a Spectator Book of the Year) and, most recently, Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings that Made Christianity. He also writes widely for publications including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Church Times, The Critic and The Fence, and won the 2022 P.G. Wodehouse Essay Prize.In this episode, Fergus and I think out loud about his new book, exploring the paradoxes at the heart of Christianity through the stories of twelve remarkable churches. We discuss how events such as the Salem Witch Trials reveal the complexities of faith, the role of power in Christianity exemplified by Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and the Church’s central part in the abolition of slavery. Fergus also reflects on how managerialism has almost—but not yet—killed the Church of England, why it must be rooted out, and how he himself came to faith after a period of teenage unbelief and much, much more.You can find Fergus’s work here:Fergus’s booksThe CriticThe GuardianAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Nathan Pinkoski is a senior fellow at the Centre for Renewing America. He has written for First Things, Compact, Perspectives on Political Science, and The Claremont Review of Books. His forthcoming book, Actually Existing Post-Liberalism, explores the transformation of the West since 1989 and is due to be published by Basic Books. He is also translating Éric Zemmour’s bestseller The Suicide of the French into English for Encounter Books.In this episode, Nathan and I think out loud about Nathan's academic journey, why Alasdair MacIntyre was one of the most important philosophers of our age, why modern moral discourse is so fragmented, how technological change significantly influences political discourse and how it has reshaped humanity itself, why one of the most taboo books of the 20th century is now back in print, why we need a common moral language for societal unity, why it is abundantly clear that multiculturalism presents challenges to national identity and cohesion, why the future of political philosophy may require abandoning liberal categories, how Nathan lost trust in society's key institutions, what comes next after the collapse of political consensus and much, much more.You can find Nathan Pinkoski's work here:Nathan’s SubstackCompactFirst ThingsXAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

This is a compilation episode about the state of boys and families in Britain, the ideological crusades that have undermined them, why the loss of faith and hyper-liberalism are to blame for this, and what may be required to save our individual and collective souls.You can expect to hear from Ed Davies of the Centre for Social Justice, Lois McClatchie Miller from the Alliance for Defending Freedom, Connor Tomlinson of Courage Media, Neema Parvini a.k.a. Academic Agent, the philosophers Carl Trueman and Ryszard Legutko, Father Benedict Kiely, Philip Pilkington and Bijan Omrani.Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.About Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Momus Najmi is a writer, cultural commentator, and history enthusiast. He writes The World of Momus on Substack and runs a YouTube channel exploring Britain’s cultural, political, and civilisational predicament.In this conversation, we think out loud about a question many sense but struggle to articulate: has Britain lost its way and if so, what would genuine reform actually require?We explore: why Britain’s problems are not merely economic or political, but cultural and spiritual; whether the monarchy and wider institutions are capable of reform; and why the next general election is unlikely to resolve the country’s underlying crisisthe possibility that Britain faces a prolonged period of stagnation or decline before any meaningful renewal can take place; and what individuals can do in the meantime.Our conversation ranges across the importance of building local, cultural, and intellectual strongholds; the role of Christianity in sustaining civilisation; reflections on Catholicism and institutional faith; the limits of podcasting and public commentary; and Momus’ own reassessment of how to participate in public life.To see my previous conversation with Momus in February 2024 follow click here. You can find Momus’s work here:WebsiteYouTube X/TwitterInstagramAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Father Benedict Kiely is a priest of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the founder of nasarean.org, a charity that supports and advocates for persecuted Christians across the Middle East and beyond, offering practical aid to displaced families and small businesses.Christian persecution is one of the world’s most underreported realities—and its neglect tells us something about Western moral attention. Fr Benedict Kiely describes the realities facing Christians abroad, and reflects on what aggressive secularism and moral fashion mean for public life at home.We think out loud about:What persecution looks like in daily life (Middle East, Nigeria)Why media attention is selective—and what it revealsChristian–Muslim relations and prospects for coexistencePatriotism, faith, and public courageWhy hope matters when institutions lose moral clarityEnjoy the show Classmates and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Fr. Benedict’s work here:Nasarean.orgAbout Thinking Class:Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.New episodes every week.▶️ Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Follow on Spotify📰 Read on Substack🐦 Follow on X

Tom Jones is a writer and a councillor for Scotton and Lower Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. He is the author of the Substack, The Potemkin Village Idiot and has written for The Spectator, The Critic, Conservative, Home, CapX, UnHerd and The Guardian.In this conversation, Tom and I think out loud about the dramatic shift in British political discourse since 2024, why public trust in institutions is at an all-time low, and what it means to say Britain is now operating under an “anarcho-tyranny”, why there is a growing public scepticism toward the judicial system and the implications of this, why Britain’s political culture is beginning to resemble that of South Africa, and what the consequences of mass immigration and communal politics may be for national cohesion, the Conservative Party’s identity crisis, the deep structural problems facing the British state, and why he believes radical political reform is not only necessary, but urgent, and much, much more. If you missed our first conversation from February 2024, I’d recommend going back and giving that a listen too.Enjoy the show Classmates and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Tom’s work here:Tom’s SubstackX/TwitterYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack

Ryszard Legutko is a Polish scientist and politician, professor of philosophy, publicist, author of over twenty books on socio-political topics, translator and commentator of Plato’s works. He specializes in political and social philosophy, ancient philosophy and the history of philosophy. Ryszard has served as a member of the European Parliament since 2009 and is Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament.In this conversation, Ryszard and I think out loud about revolutionary movements of today, why the fall of communism did not lead to a clear victory for liberalism, why sexuality has been politicised and is central to revolutionary movements along with sexuality, why strong family structures are seen as threats to political revolutions, how conservative media has suffered state persecution in Poland, how the liberal establishment has historically accommodated communist ideologies, why eprsonal growth often involves challenging long-held beliefs and why the current political climate in Poland reflects a generational battle and much, much more.Enjoy the show Classmates and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Ryszard’s work here:Ryszard’s WebsiteRyszard's Youtube channelRyszard's booksYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Mark Walsh is a teacher of embodiment, trauma, education, and resilience. He is the author of Embodiment: Working with the Body in Training and Coaching and Embodied Meditation. Mark also hosts the Embodiment Podcast, which has been downloaded over two million times, and was the founder of the Embodiment Conference, which brought together over 1,000 teachers and half a million participants.In this conversation, Mark and I think out loud about the importance of embodiment, connection, and community in modern life, how modernity leads us to disembodied lives, why we should reconnect to our spiritual nature, why we need to foster healthy relationships to thrive, how cultural dislocation threatens Western societies, what the challenges faced by men are today, the impact of modernity's cultural disconnection from nature and community, the practical steps people can take to reconnect with life, the importance of physicality, nature, what the role of men in society is and much much more.Enjoy the show Classmates and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Mark’s work here:Mark’s WebsiteMark’s BooksYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Ed Davies is Policy Director of the Centre of Social Justice. A veteran of health policy, he has a storied career as a journalist, editor, and policy wonk and has worked for several UK government cabinet ministers during his career. His work has focused on the role of relationships in making us truly happy and healthy.In this conversation, Ed and I think out loud about the issues surrounding family dynamics and breakdown in the UK, the alarming statistics regarding family structures, the rise of fatherless households and the decline of marriage, what cultural shifts have influenced family formation or increasing lack thereof, why family formation and well-being should be prioritised over GDP, the concerning state of boys and young men in society and why they are struggling, the impact of technology on relationships, the need for male-only spaces to nurture boys and men's masculinity, the reasons behind and challenges of worklessness, the role of romantic relationships in employment, the need for reform in the criminal justice system, the housing crisis and much, much more.You can find Ed’s work here:CSJ WebsiteYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Philip Pilkington is a macroeconomist and investment professional. He is the author of a book on economic theory, The Reformation in Economics and his most recent book is The Collapse Of Global Liberalism: And The Emergence Of A Post-Liberal World Order. Philip also runs the Macrocosm substack. Philip regularly writes for a variety of outlets, including Unherd, The Spectator, The Telegraph, The New York Post, Moneyweek, First Things, American Affairs, The Critic, and Postliberal Order. He is co-host of the popular geopolitics podcast Multipolarity. Philip also has a significant following on X @philippilk.In this conversation, Philip and I think out loud about why global liberalism as ruling ideology has collapsed globally, why modern liberalism might have been a phenomenon of the baby boomers, the contradictions in American democracy, why many of the social issues we see today are due to what Philip calls 'hyper-liberalism', why humans resist being seen as economic widgets alone and why the distance between liberal philosophers and those deemed 'far-right' are smaller than you think, why it is liberals and not nationalists that are war-mongers, how the Russia-Ukraine war demonstrates the impotence of the standard-bearers of global liberalism in the West, why the great man theory is true, and much much more.You can find Philip’s work here:BooksX/TwitterUnherdSubstackYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Lois McLatchie-Miller is a Senior Legal Communications Officer for the Alliance For Defending Freedom International. Lois is a writer, speaker, and thinker on issues of bioethics, faith, family and freedom.In this conversation, Lois and I think out loud about abortion, how prevalent it is and how it became so prevalent, the methods used, changing cultural perceptions, why the emotional impacts on women are so high, how men can think about it, the political landscape surrounding abortion, how there are generational differences in attitudes towards abortion, what a post-Christian Britain means for societal views on abortion, why the Barbie film might have been more traditional in tone rather than a longing for feminist utopia that it was perceived as, Lois' changing views on the birth control pill, and much much more.This is a difficult conversation, which contains graphic medical descriptions of the various means abortions. You can find Lois’s work here:X/TwitterADF InternationalThe SpectatorYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack

Alan Macfarlane is a historian and anthropologist who taught at the University of Cambridge for 34 years. He is now Professor Emeritus of Anthropological Science and a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. His comparative work spans England, Nepal, Japan, and China, with a particular focus on the origins and nature of the modern world.In this conversation, Alan and I think out loud about the history of the English people's relationship with money, how this compares with China, the cyclical nature of civilizations, whether Alan thinks China will suffer a collapse, the effectiveness of China's political system (and its surprising meritocracy), the historical nature of class relations in England and why our view of the aristocracy is not quite right, and the historical context of gender relations, specifically women's freedom and rights, and much, much more.My first conversation with Alan My Second conversation with Alan Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.Thinking Class is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You can find Alan’s work here:Alanmacfarlane.comAyabaya - YouTubeBooksYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack:

Ben Cobley is a journalist, former Labour Party activist, and author of The Tribe: The Liberal-Left and the System of Diversity and The Progress Trap: The Modern Left and the False Authority of History. He has written for The Spectator, UnHerd, The Critic, Quillette, and The New Statesman, and appears regularly on Sky News. You can find him on X @BenCobley and on Substack at Existential Politics.In this conversation, Ben and I think out loud about the relationship between progressivism and Christianity, how the spirit of progressivism leads to forms of colonization, which is ironic when progressives are decolonisers at heart, why progressivism and capitalism go naturally together, what technocracy is and how the expert class plays a significant role in the political life of a place, while simultaneously reducing the space for political debate, why each of us is called to engage in the world rather than simply believing that things will turn out alright in the end, why the foundational beliefs of the United States make it inherently progressivism, why we can still feel the influence of 17th-century liberalism on modern policies, particularly immigration and much, much more.Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.You can find Ben’s work here:Unherd.com@existentialpoliticsX/TwitterThe CriticYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to on Substack.

Adam Williams is the Leader of the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, the SDP, in the UK.In this conversation, Adam and I think out loud about what motivated his journey into politics, why decline is all he's ever known and why he wants to change this, his experiences knocking on doors in local elections, the challenges of political branding for the SDP, how the public know very little about the scale of issues facing the country, the future of the SDP's political strategy in the UK and what happens if the party does not achieve electoral success, what Labour's recent shift towards more conservative immigration rhetoric might mean, the electoral implications of Britain's policy to allow immigrants from Commonwealth countries to vote in elections, the potential for the Lib Dems to appeal to middle England, why the lack of depth in politics has led to economically-focused and inhumane policies and Britain's biggest issues, why politicians need to connect heritage and history to current political discourse, the importance of engaging younger generations in political processes and much, much more.Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Adam’s work here:Adam’s Facebook PageSDP WebsiteX/TwitterYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstackYou can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack.

Driss Ghali is a political author and speaker. Driss was born in Morocco and educated in Europe. He graduated from prestigious French universities and spent a lot of time in a corporate career focused on high-tech companies. Driss is an intellectual and observer of human nature as it is: ugly and splendid at the same time. Since 2017, he has written books about Violence and Identity. He frequently appears in French media to talk about immigration, diversity, the Middle East and French politics. One of his books has been translated into English titled, A Counter-History of French Colonization.In this conversation, Driss and I think out loud about the nature of French colonization, how the conventional narrative portrays France as a genocidal country, how his grandfather's time as a colonial soldier influenced his perspective on the relationship between France and its colonies, why there is significant rift between immigrants and native French and what drives it, why France is experiencing reverse colonization, the significant cultural differences between Islam and Christianity are significant, the potential for civil war in France, why open discourse about immigration and identity is necessary and how the future of France depends on addressing these issues and much, much more.Enjoy the show classmates.You can find Driss’s work here:Driss’s websiteDriss’s booksX/TwitterYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack