Thinking Class

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