Thinking Class

Philip Pilkington is a macroeconomist and investment professional, and he's also the host of the Multipolarity Podcast. In this episode, Phil and I talk about why European nations are struggling so much economically, and why the macroeconomic environment shows that we're in for a scary ride, how the European Union and the European Central Bank are intervening in national elections, why central banks are increasingly intervening in democratic elections or political office, what is stopping the UK and European nations from re-industrialising, potential pathways to re-industrialisation, how to address labour shortages and low birth rates without giving more immigration than people can live with, and why Phil keeps changing his mind on the European Union and much, much more. Enjoy the show class mates. And don't forget to subscribe.You can also check Philip out at:X/TwitterUnherdSubstackYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Peter Hitchens is a columnist for the Mail on Sunday and a contributor to many other publications. He has published several books, mainly on aspects of what he regards as a cultural revolution which has transformed Britain for the worse in the last half century, and these include The Abolition of Britain and The Rage Against God. Peter has been a journalist for nearly 50 years, has reported from 57 countries, and was a resident correspondent in Moscow and Washington. Peter is a former revolutionary Marxist, who now describes himself as a socially conservative social democrat. In this episode, Peter and I talk about why being right and searching for the truth is not one in many friends, how British people are becoming less proud of their nation, why the First World War set in train a moral revolution in the British Isles, the rise of what Peter calls selfism, Why we are left guessing about how our leaders measure right and wrong now that the Christian faith is no longer our guiding ideal, how Britain courts economic catastrophe, and why the moral and political issues facing the country suggest a bleak future. We also talk about the need to be precise in our language so as not to inadvertently inflate an issue. And much, much more. Enjoy the show class mates.You can also check Peter out at:X/TwitterThe Mail On SundayAmazonYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Charlie Downes is the co-founder of the think-tank Centre for Migration Control, which is "committed to controlling and reducing immigration to the United Kingdom". In this episode, Charlie and I talk about why there is only a hair's breadth between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party on immigration policy; how the negative impacts of mass immigration can be seen in the crime statistics, the performance of the National Health Service, living standards, the tax bill of Britain's, and the changing landscape; how a combination of mass immigration and multiculturalism has left young British people without a sense of identity, and why this explains the rise of the 'Anglo-Zoomer'; how the Overton Window on how to respond to legal and illegal immigration has radically shifted now that deportation programs are being spoken of in the mainstream; and why Zoomers on the right do not buy into the doomerism that Britain is done and that their rise is inevitable, and much, much more.Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.You can also check Charlie out at:Twitter/XCentre for Migration ControlYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

James Esses is a social commentator and writer, the co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists and the coordinator of the Declaration for Biological Reality. In this episode, James and I talk about why he was expelled from a Masters in Psychotherapy three years ago, the personal consequences he suffered for airing his gender critical views, the extent of ideological capture of Britain's largest institutions, what compelled James to speak up and the nature of bravery, how the Overton window on transgenderism has shifted, but not for everyone, the need for CEOs and leaders of corporations to de-politicise their business, and why James changed his mind on the usefulness of psychotherapy, and much, much more. Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe. You can also check James out on:SubstackTwitter/XYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Lorenzo Warby writes the substack Lorenzo from Oz, and he contributes regularly to one of Substack's recommended publications, Helen Dale’s Not On Your Team, But Always Fair.In this episode, Lorenzo and I talk about what hereditarianism is, and whether it is compatible with our notions of equality, the pitfalls of making political decisions based on people's genes, cultures, and environment over considerations of equality, the current problems with making political decisions based on equality alone, why social justice ideals are so prevalent within our institutions, the core tenets of Western civilization and where they came from, and whether Western civilization has been subverted and the prospects of a restoration, and much more. This is the second time Lorenzo has joined Thinking Class, and it won't be the last. You simply can't get bored of speaking with a polymath. We cover some serious ground here, and as in episode 29 when Lorenzo last joined me, He delivers. Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.You can also check Lorenzo out on:SubstackYou can follow Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Benjamin De Rebel is an Anglo-futurist and runs a popular X account. In this episode Ben and I talk about what Anglofuturism is and why it is becoming popular, what opportunities Anglofuturism offers the Anglosphere for cultural renewal, and how Anglofuturism may give those in the Anglosphere a positive identity and help cure the dislocation caused by multiculturalism, how the social contract has broken down between the elite class and those they govern, and the transformative effect of fatherhood, and much more. Benjamin is an endearing chap and is certainly trying to put some meat on the bones of a philosophy that currently only really exists in the dark corners of the internet. Yet, has certainly piqued the interest of the social commentators out in the real world. Whether this can turn into something practical and something usable, we don't know - here are rich resources from the history of the Anglosphere for Anglofuturism to draw upon - and besides, it's a lot of fun. Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.You can also check Benjamin out on:X/TwitterYou can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Dr. John Rapley is a political economist at the University of Cambridge and a senior fellow at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Studies. His books include Understanding Development, Globalization and Inequality, and most recently, Twilight of the Money Gods, Economics as a Religion, and How It All Went Wrong.Dr. Peter Heather is a British historian of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Peter is Chair of the Medieval History Department and Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. His many books include The Fall of the Roman Empire, Empires and Barbarians, Migration, Development, and the Birth of Europe, The Restoration of Rome, Rome Resurgent, and most recently, Christendom.John and Peter are co-authors of Why Empires Fall: Rome, America, and the Future of the West. In this episode, John and Peter tell us what a close reading of history has taught them about how empires end and why they are victims of their own success, the impact of poor financial health on maintaining empire and civilisation, why western nations should worry about spending more on national debt interest than on the military, and why it is just as important to look at rising levels of personal and corporate debt.We also talk about international students in the United Kingdom and student visa issuance, and whether anything can be done to slow down and reverse civilisational decline, and whether it's about birthing the new. We also discuss why China is so strong and whether Chinese dominance is inevitable, and why we do not need to see rising world powers as a zero-sum battle. Finally, we speak about Peter's changing views on the importance of demographics and John's change of heart on the prospects of technological advances and AI being all they're cracked up to be.Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe. You can also check John out on:BigthinkThe globe and mailX/TwitterYou can also check Peter out on:King's College LondonWaterstonesYou can follow Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Chris Martz is a meteorology student who interns at CFACT, the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, runs a hugely popular x profile, and writes the climate blog chrismartzweather.com. In this episode Chris and I talk about his passion for climate science and meteorology began and how he was concerned about the increasing talk of climate change, how his mind began to change as he was exposed to more data sets, how data shows a disconnect between the narrative on all-time high temperatures in the U S and the reality of historic weather data, the red herrings within renewable energy policy, why he disagrees with climate hoaxers, how policy goals to combat climate change are environmentally harmful in their own ways and how in some way may have even contributed to increasing temperatures, and the motivations and ideologies behind the climate crisis narrative, and much, much more. Chris is only 21, and he is very impressive. He's clearly got a big future ahead of him, from what I can see and hear from his rapidly growing public profile. While Chris challenges the perceived wisdom and climate change using data, I wouldn't describe him as a partisan per se, nor someone who is a climate denier to use common parlance, but rather someone who'd rather engage in scientific endeavour rather than following the more partisan position of following the science.If you can't research and present data that challenges and critiques policy and interpretation of data, then you're not really doing science. So I think we need more people like Chris.Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe. You can also check Chris out on:Chrismartzweather.comCfact.orgX/TwitterYou can follow Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Tobi Emonts-Holley is a husband, a dad of six, and a CEO of Tipareth, a nonprofit organisation that provides support and opportunities to people with learning disabilities. In this episode, Tobi tells us what being a father has taught him about his relationship to time and, well, death; how parenting taught him the wisdom of the ages without having to read philosophy or theology from the last few thousand years; the importance of slowing down at work and at home, how becoming a father taught him what he should pay attention to and what he shouldn't; how his relationship to technology changed after the birth of his first child; the impact of screens and technology on children, and how he and his wife approach the use of technology in their household; why exposing children to the elements is important for character formation and makes them happier; the challenges and rewards of parenting, and why building meaningful relationships is important to get on in life, and much, much more!.Tobi is a true inspiration. He's not a dad who is solely about productivity and high performance outside of being a dad, but places being a good dad and husband above all else and just so happens to be a high performer and highly productive. To see someone gather such a large following online in an age where demographic decline is so widespread, perhaps suggests more people would like children than we think.And Tobi doesn't sugar-coat parenting, but nor does he make it look like it gets in the way of life. Instead, he speaks about how it enriches his life and how he thrives off his duties and obligations.  We need more people like Tobi. Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe. You can also check Tobi out on:forgingbalance.comSubstackX/TwitterYou can follow Thinking Class on:  X/TwitterYouTubeSubstack

Hilary White is the creator of the Sacred Images Project, which you can find on Substack, and which explores the Christian life, thought, history, and culture through the lens of the first 1, 200 years of sacred art.In this episode, Hilary and I talk about what classifies as sacred art and why it is so important, how the Renaissance led to sacred art's (and the West's) decline when man became the measure of all things (and lots of Florentine bankers money was thrown around in the 15th century onwards to support it), how Cosmo de Medici would have embarrassed the pharaoh and Elon Musk with the size of his wealth, the long term impact of the renaissance values to the current day, what Christians are supposed to do with sacred art and its links to theology, how Catholics and Anglicans lost their own sacred art over the centuries and are now inviting orthodox art into their churches, Hilary's loss of faith in the institution of the Catholic Church and public institutions more broadly, and the ideological reasons behind our shift from 1900 years of crucifixes and biblical scenes, to to, well, modern art like unmade beds, toilets, and buckets of sand, and much, much more.Hilary has spent her adult life immersed in art history and sacred art, and she has honed the ability to tell stories about the waxing and waning of popular ideas, values, and ideologies, and the loss of faith on people and societies through the ages, and how they contribute to examples of social and moral decay we see today.This was a really enjoyable conversation and Hillary is inspiring and being driven by a sense of loss in the hope that we might regain something that benefits future generations.Enjoy the show Classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.You can find Hilary's work at her online shop: https://ko-fi.com/hilarysacredart You can find also check out what Hilary's up to at:SubstackOpenpeterfiveX/Twitter