The Sceptic

Welcome to this special episode of the Sceptic with James Esses, writer, campaigner and co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists. Back in 2021, James was a hard-working part-time master’s student in psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute in London. In his spare time, he was also raising concerns online about the impact that transgender ideology – and the so-called gender-affirming approach to care – was having on vulnerable children. He never imagined that doing so would lead to him being kicked off his course without so much as an appeal. Three years later, he’s taken his college and the U.K. Council for Psychotherapy to court for that – and won. James joins Laurie on this episode to tell his story. They also speak about his research into how our institutions have been infiltrated by trans ideology; the impact of the Cass Review; the threat trans ideology still poses to kids; and why it’s up to adults to protect them; and much more. Follow James on X.  And find him on Substack. Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. Follow Laurie on X. Produced by Richard Eldred.  Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

David Starkey, a renowned historian and broadcaster known for his bold perspectives on British politics, dives deep into the seismic shifts caused by Tony Blair's New Labour government. He argues that Blair’s constitutional revolution led to a fractured national identity and diminished governance. Starkey critiques the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights and the rise of quangos, suggesting they’ve undermined British democracy. He also expresses concern over contemporary leadership failures and calls for a post-Blair restoration to restore British values.

Brendan O’Neill, Chief Political Writer at Spiked and author of "After the Pogrom," discusses the October 7th pogrom against Israel, critiquing Western media's response and the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism. Political commentator Jess Gill shares her thoughts on how mass immigration affects women's safety in London, drawing on her personal experiences to highlight societal issues. Together, they emphasize the importance of political activism and the need for solidarity against anti-Semitism while urging informed engagement from young people.

Welcome to episode 16 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors: Charlotte Gill, journalist, author of the Woke Waste substack and the Daily Sceptic’s newest columnist, on the Labour MPs involved in the Left-wing activist group, Hope Not Hate. Freddie Attenborough, Director of Digital Communications at the Free Speech Union, on the Irish Government’s U-turn on its draconian hate-speech bill. David Turver, Daily Sceptic regular and author of the Eigen Values substack, on Ed Miliband’s green cronyism. And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to freelance writer and confidence mentor Joanna Gray, on the difficulties of navigating the culture war – and how we can disagree with the woke warriors in our lives without starting a flaming row. Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. Follow Laurie on X. Read Charlotte’s article on the Daily Sceptic here. Read Freddie’s article here. Read David’s articles here, here and here. And read Joanna’s article here. Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to episode 15 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:   Andrew Doyle, comedian, broadcaster and author of Free Speech and Why It Matters and The New Puritans, on how Labour’s plans for an “Islamophobia” definition could bring a blasphemy law to Britain.   Eugyppius, the pseudonymous commentator and author of the Substack, Eugyppius: a plague chronicle, on Germany’s recent state elections and how the rise of the AfD is upending the politics of migration in Europe.    And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to journalist and Daily Sceptic regular Ben Pile, on David Lammy’s recent claim that Britain’s biggest foreign policy threat is climate change – and the Foreign Secretary’s bizarre endorsement of ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan.   Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. Follow Laurie on X. Read Andrew’s article on the Daily Sceptic here. Read Eugyppius’s articles here and here.  And read Ben Pile’s articles here and here.  Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to episode 14 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests: Ava, a 19 year-old charity volunteer from Liverpool, who tells the shocking story of how she was visited at her home by counterterror police – despite them telling her she hadn’t committed a crime – then questioned over her political views and warned to “bite her tongue” before posting online. Daniel Hannan, journalist, Conservative Peer and former MEP, on why we are failing to learn the lessons from lockdown, Labour’s plans to abolish hereditary peers and his take on the Conservative leadership contest. And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to evangelical journalist Julian Mann, on how Christians are being persecuted around the world – and how the woke Western media is turning a blind eye. Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content: www.dailysceptic.org/donate/ Follow Laurie on X. Follow Ava on X. Read or watch Daniel’s speech to the House of Lords here, on the Daily Sceptic. And read Julian’s article here. Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to episode 13 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:   Sarah Phillimore, barrister and gender-critical campaigner, on how the barristers’ regulator is pushing to make lawyers embrace woke ideology;   Steven Tucker, regular Daily Sceptic contributor and author of Hitler and Stalin’s Misuse of Science, on lefty academics’ mad plans to “decolonise” exams.   David McGrogan, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Northumbria and author of the Uncibal Substack, on Sir Keir Starmer’s liberal authoritarianism – and why it can only get worse.   And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Daily Sceptic’s Editor, Will Jones, on the cynical campaign to silence our sceptical journalism by self-appointed American news reliability index, Newsguard.   Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. Follow Laurie on X. Read Sarah’s article on the Daily Sceptic here. Read Steven’s articles here and here. Read David’s articles here and here. And read Will’s article on here. Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to episode 12 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests:   Ben Sixsmith, Online Editor at the Critic and author of the Zone substack, on Keir Starmer’s miserabilist plan to ban smoking outside pubs;   Len Shackleton, Professor of Economics at Buckingham University and a fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, on the bizarre equal-pay ruling against Next that spells disaster for British business;   Reverend Doctor Bernard Randall, on how he’s been persecuted by the Church of England for delivering an LGBTQ-sceptical sermon in line with Christian doctrine – and how he’s fighting back;   And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Alan Halsall, a leading volunteer in the Vote Leave campaign, on how his life was made a misery by the Electoral Commission because he campaigned for Brexit.   Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content.   Follow Laurie on X: https://x.com/L_Wastell   Read Ben’s article on smoking here.   Read Len’s articles here and here.   Donate to support Reverend Randall’s legal appeal here.   Read Alan Halsall’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.   And get your copy of his book, Last Man Standing: Memoirs from the front line of Brexit, here.   Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to episode 11 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:   Dr. Freddie Attenborough, Communications Officer at the Free Speech Union, on the Labour Government’s chilling social-media crackdown in the wake of the Southport riots;   Andy Collingwood, writer and co-host of the Multipolarity Podcast, on the truth about Britain’s immigration history and why the Left’s claim that Britain has always been a nation of immigrants is just pure gaslighting;   David Turver, author of the Eigen Values substack, on how Britain’s Government of Net Zero-fanatic humanities graduates are running the economy into the ground;   And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to C.J. Strachan, the Daily Sceptic’s resident HR expert and the founder of Fair Job, on the shocking anti-white employment discrimination at Thames Valley Police.   Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content.   Follow Laurie on X.   Read Andy’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.   Read David’s articles here and here.   And read C.J. Strachan’s article here.   Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Welcome to this special episode of the Sceptic, with Professor Nigel Biggar. Nigel Biggar is Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford and the author of Colonialism: a Moral Reckoning. Nigel recently delivered the second lecture of Modern Dissent, a London lecture series challenging established ideas run by the Sceptic’s host, Laurie Wastell. The title of that lecture was “Deconstructing Decolonisation” and that’s the jumping off point for today’s episode. Laurie speaks to Nigel about what’s driving the decolonisers, both as a social movement and as an ideology; their unacknowledged Eurocentrism; the importance of patient, reasoned argument in the face of woke dogmatism; the influence of Christianity on the decolonise movement; whether a liberal-humanitarian defence of the British Empire can successfully counter the woke decolonial narrative, and the merits of a purely self-interested appraisal of colonialism; his views on how to improve the culture in our universities; and the difference the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (now halted by the Labour Government) would have made to campus cancel culture. Watch Nigel’s full Modern Dissent lecture here. Get your copy of Colonialism: a Moral Reckoning Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. Follow Laurie on X. Produced by Richard Eldred.