Thinking Class

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 episode, David and I think out loud about his remarkable life journey: from a career in corporate finance to serving time in prison for fraud, and ultimately becoming a leading advocate for prison reform, how the prison system has morally decayed, why this decline reflects the wider influence of a morally relativistic, hyper-liberal, non-judgemental culture, and what real rehabilitation might look like in practice, why David supports the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United Kingdom, the dangers posed by Islamic gangs and extremism within prisons, and the daily challenges faced by prison staff, the transformative role of faith in his life, his conviction that England can once again be made safe in an age of rising criminality, and why truth-telling and courage are essential to building a more just society and much, much more. Enjoy the show, Classmates. You can follow David’s work here:X/TwitterDavid’s SubstackDavid’s websiteThe SpectatorThe TelegraphYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

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 WebsiteYou 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:

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 GuardianYou 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:

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.Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.You can find Nathan’s work here:Nathan’s SubstackCompactFirst ThingsYou 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.

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.You 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:

Momus Najmi is a writer, cultural commentator and history enthusiast. He is the author of the Substack, "The World Of Momus" and owner of the popular YouTube channel of the same name.In this episode, Momus and I think out loud about the manifold economic, societal and cultural issues experienced in Britain today, whether the monarchy needs to be reformed, including the need for a change in personnel, why the 2029 election will not see a credible government form, why each one of us should focus onbuilding physical, cultural and intellectual strongholds in the areas in which we live, why the 2034 general election might be the year in which we see true change in the country, why Britain needs to undergo a period of suffering between now and then so that it can find its way again, the importance of finding Christianity, our thoughts on the Catholic church, whether podcasting is worth it, and Momus' change of approach to his public profile, and much much more.To see my previous conversation with Momus in February 2024 follow click here. You can find Momus’s work here:WebsiteYouTube X/TwitterInstagramYou 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:

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.In this conversation, Father Benedict and I think out loud about the persecution of Christians in the middle East and Nigeria, the day-to-day struggles faced by Christians in predominantly Muslim countries, the nature of Christian persecution in Britain and what's behind it, why the media pays little attention to the ongoing atrocities against Christians, the future of Christian and Islamic relations in Britain and whether adherents of the two faiths can coexist peacefully, whether it is possible to be a Christian and patriot, the impact of aggressive secularism on political life, the importance of hope and the role of faith in overcoming despair, and much, much more.Enjoy the show Classmates and don't forget to subscribe. You can find Fr. Benedict’s work here:Nasarean.orgYou 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

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