This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) is joined by Dr. Lyell Asher. Dr. Asher is an American English teacher and has become increasingly concerned about the stifling of free expression on American campuses and the spread of illiberal ideologies. He’s recently fronted a documentary titled ‘Why colleges are becoming cults’ which can be found on YouTube. You can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube: www.youtube.com/gspellchecker Watch ‘Why colleges are becoming cults’ on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAqDwn_Q-QQ 0:00 Intro 0:18 About Dr Lyell Asher 2:13 Why take the risk of speaking up publicly? 5:28 Which incidents inspired action? 08:37 The ‘N-word’ and a focus on ‘impact’ over ‘intention’. 15:31 How are you defining ‘woke’? 19:53 Why is progress not being acknowledged? Why is there a new obsession with race? 25:56 Why are students imposing speech codes and illiberal ideology on themselves? 30:49 How do we know we aren’t just grumpy old men that need to get with it? 36:31 Do you use social media? 38:16 Authoritarian tactics and redefining words as violence. 42:03 Have the right taken ownership of defending free speech? 46:32 American speech rights compared to UK ‘hate speech’ laws. 52:19 The importance of which method of reading is taught in schools. Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.    

This week on Taking The Myth, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) and Iram Ramzan of sedaa.org (@Iram_Ramzan) discuss all the big topics. 0:00 Intro 0:27 Finally blocked by Owen Jones on Twitter 2:49 Reports of a school girl bullied for disagreeing with gender ideology 13:36 Covering a feminist free speech event in Manchester, death threats, counter-protests. 20:31 The Netflix memo: Has Netflix decided to push back to ‘woke’ employees? 26:00 The impending release of Ricky Gervais’s ‘Supernature’ special on Netflix 29:53 The white supremacist mass shooting in Buffalo, USA. 45:28 Should a terrorist’s manifesto be published by the news media? 47:43 The Taliban orders women to cover their face. 54:05 New UK police chief pledges to concentrate on real crime and not to be the ‘thought police’. 01:00:00 Audience Questions: Andrew Doyle’s new book? Elon Musk Twitter takeover? 01:04:19 A suspicious increase in Twitter followers for conservative and controversial accounts? Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.

This week on Taking The Myth, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) and Iram Ramzan of sedaa.org (@Iram_Ramzan) discuss all the big topics. 0:00 Intro 0:20 Iram and suspicious kitchen activities. 1:08 Stephen finally gets Covid 4:16 Will Smith assaults Chris Rock at The Oscars 11:12 Trans female police officers are authorised to strip search biological women. 22:21 Man gets suspended jail sentence for ‘offensive’ video of Grenfell Tower model 28:20 Women’s clothes shop Monsoon apologies for refusing a non-binary customer access to the changing rooms. 37:39 Elon Musk and the Twitter takeover bid 47:51 Islamist terrorist convicted for the murder of MP David Amess 58:20 Audience questions: Is Putin ill? What does Boris Johnson need to do to lose his job? Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.  

This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) is joined by Katy Montgomerie (@KatyMontgomerie) and Debbie Hayton (@DebbieHayton). Katy is an LGBT and atheist activist and Debbie is a journalist and physics teacher. They are both are transgender women; however they have very different opinions on the major talking points related to gender and trans rights. 0:00 Intro 1:11 What is a woman? Is there an objective definition? Should we be invoking intersex people in this argument? 21:34 Is sex binary? 23:20 Is Katy male or female? 29:06 What rights would trans people lose if they identified as ‘gender non-confirming’ instead of the opposite sex?   31:47 Why does this conversation always focus on women? Are women justified to fear an encroachment on their rights? What are the safeguarding concerns? 37:27 Can you change your sex? 40:12 The problem of men talking about what it means to be female 41:02 Is it mostly men that have concerns with self-ID/trans issues? 43:34 The WDI declaration and use of women’s spaces. 50:52 India Willoughby, misgendering and the chilling effect on free speech. 1:02:53 Final questions to each other Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.    

This week on Taking The Myth, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) and Iram Ramzan of sedaa.org (@Iram_Ramzan) discuss all the big topics. 0:00 Intro 0:16 The Weather…. 1:38 The Russian invasion of Ukraine 9:36 Jussie Smollett sentenced for hate crime hoax 16:28 Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas winning competitions 30:05 Maajid Nawaz continues down the conspiracy rabbit hole with Ukrainian ‘crisis actors’ tweet. 41:35 Ofsted downgrades school for too much of a focus on ‘social justice’. 44:59 The New York Times podcast series on the Islamist ‘trojan horse’ school controversy in the UK. 55:13 Ofcom banning Russia Today in the UK Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.

This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) welcomes Dr. Sohom Das (@Dr_S_Das). Sohom is a Consultant forensic psychiatrist. They talk about mental illness and ideology. 0:00 Intro 0:22 What does Sohom do? 1:30 What is schizophrenia? 3:07 Can people recover from schizophrenia? 4:08 The difference between psychologist and psychiatrist. 5:50 Psychiatry as a science and its dark past 8:17 Society’s attitudes to mental illness 11:25 Why pursue this type of career? 14:11 Religious ‘delusion’ and mental illness. 16:33 Mental illness and suicide bombing. 19:52 How does our understanding of mental illness inform concepts of ‘free will’? 25:42 Spice: Drug use and mental health 28:36 Cannabis and mental health issues. 36:04 The ‘insanity please’. 39:40 Personal safety when assessing patients 45:03 What is the notorious Broadmoor Hospital like? 46:46 Conspiracy theorists 49:28 Soham’s upcoming book ‘In Two Minds’. Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/ gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify. Order ‘In Two Minds’ book: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/dr-sohom-das/in-two-minds/9780751583786/ Dr Sohom Das’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPR1k3dnTWhSfezRnDHEJKg  

This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) welcomes Zara Kay (@ZaraKayk). Zara is an Australian, ex-Muslim human rights activist. In 2020, she was detained in her birth country of Tanzania for seemingly political reasons. 0:00 Intro 0:22 London Pride 2020 and a foiled terror attack. 2:31 Is it getting more difficult to have public conversations? 4:17 About Zara Kay and her relationship to Islam 8:24 When did Zara start questioning Islam? 13:22 Why speak out against Islam? 18:08 Has the modern feminist movement gone missing on the issue of Islamic patriarchy? 21:45 How does Zara view western progressives and ‘woke’ activists? 26:20 Why did Zara get arrested in Tanzania? 36:10 How long was Zara in Jail? What were the conditions like? 42:27 How did Zara get out of Tanzania? 43:19 Why were the Australian authorities so unhelpful? 45:31 Can Zara ever return to Tanzania? 46:22 What was the infighting amongst ex-Muslims all about? 55:21 About ‘Faithless Hijabi’. Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Faithless Hijabi Website: https://www.faithlesshijabi.org/     Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.

  This week on Taking The Myth, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) and Iram Ramzan of sedaa.org (@Iram_Ramzan) discuss the big topics. 0:00 Intro 0:59 Reporting from the Covid related protests in London 5:22 Vaccines becoming part of the culture war 10:53 Alleged lockdown Tory drinks ‘parties’. 19:19 Harry Miller legal victory over ‘transphobic tweets’ and ‘non-crime hate incidents’. 25:37 The gender debate and the impact on free speech 32:18 Edward Colston statue toppling court verdict 43:34 Maajid Nawaz gets fired from LBC Radio 51:23 How can you tell if people are playing to their audience rather than being objective? 55:06 Handling a sudden increase in audience size 1:00:00 Angela Rayner playing the ‘working-class northerner’ card. 1:13:00 Texas synagogue hostage taker was from Blackburn, UK Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.  

This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) welcomes Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens (@AMHitchens). Alexander is a Lecturer in terrorism at King's College London and the author of ‘Incitement: Anwar al-Awlaki's Western Jihad'. They discuss radicalisation, terrorism, and the influence of al-Awlaki on modern Islamic extremism. 0:00 Start 0:35 About Alexander 1:51 The approach and style choice when writing about Anwar Al-Awlaki 5:35 Who was Anwar Al-Awlaki? 11:09 Foreign policy versus religious ideology? 19:08 Is the doctrine of Islam a special case when it comes to extremism? 26:33 Should Islamist and Jihadi sermons remain on platforms such as YouTube? What role do digital platforms play in radicalisation? 34:27 The government response to the killing of UK politician David Amess at the hands of a suspected Jihadist. 39:39 Are counter-terror organisations better prepared than our politicians? 45:58 The public opposition to linking Islam with violent extremism 52:05 The ‘reactionary wave’: Similarities between salafi-Jihadists and white supremacists. Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify.  

This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) welcomes James Esses (@JamesEsses). James was a trainee psychotherapist and children’s counsellor until he was expelled for publicly expressing his opinions on gender ideology and transitioning. James is now taking legal action against his former place of study on grounds of discrimination. 0:00 Start 0:17 About James and his background 1:41 What is Childline? 3:26 Where was James studying before being expelled? 4:41 When did James first start taking an interest in the issue of gender dysphoria? 6:59 What is ‘gender dysphoria’ 8:07 Gender dysphoria vs. social contagion 13:02 Parents with ‘trans babies’. 16:51 How do we separate the bigots from the genuine concerns? 20:25 James’s online petition to the UK government. 24:56 ‘Conversion therapy’ in the context of transgenderism 27:33 ‘Watchful waiting’: Do most people with gender dysphoria ‘desist’ if given time? 28:43 Getting expelled from his psychotherapy course. 30:59 Has academia been captured by gender ideology? 34:38 Taking legal action 38:02 Updates on the legal action 39:46 James’s relationship with his employer 41:26 Any precedents that provide hope for successful legal action? 43:47 Legal action as a last resort Support the podcast at http://www.patreon.com/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube & Spotify. James’s article in Quillette: https://quillette.com/2021/03/11/replacing-one-kind-of-conversion-therapy-with-another/ Support James’s legal action: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/expelled-university-free-speech/