Should we shift to electric in all motor sports? Are we too sensitive these days? 

These are the two big questions your co-hosts Stuart ‘The Wildman’ Mabbutt and William Mankelow discuss in today’s episode of The People’s Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. 

On this podcast we never see the questions before we press record. They are presented to us on the spot, often challenging and always unexpected. We like to give you an ad free experience. We also like our audience to be relatively small and engaged, we’re not after numbers.

Our first of two listener questions for today’s episode comes from Elodie, Brittany, France - “Do you think that all forms of current motor racing, including motorcycle racing, develop into and be replaced by electric versions in the pursuit of environmental sustainability?”

Stuart states he has no objection to electric racing and sees it as an interesting experiment, noting that Formula One already uses hybrids. He argues though, that introducing electric or hybrid alternatives would likely draw a different, and maybe even new audience, with only some current fans switching over, as they can feel something is being lost from their experience, and not being replaced or enhanced within the electric versions.

William questions whether using finite resources to power motorsport is justified at all, noting that fuels like methanol likely still come from oil.

Stuart feels that with few young fans being attracted to some of these current sporting models anyway, they must become more interactive and engaging too. Removing the visceral experience as you are with electric versions, makes it even less attractive to some people, so electrification is not enough on its own.

The second listener question comes from Paul, Queensland, Australia - “Is it wrong for comedians to laugh and ridicule the disabled, vegans and environmentalists? Are we too sensitive these days? Is something not funny because we don’t like the person telling it or is the essence funny whatever?”

William states that people can be overly sensitive, treating feeling offended as more significant than it actually is. He observes that if someone is offended, then they are simply experiencing that feeling, nothing more.

Stuart questions whether laughing or using humour is inherently wrong, noting that humour can highlight the absurdity of situations rather than ridicule people. He illustrates this with a café incident where he joked about not being able to “run away” in his wheelchair, showing that humor can simply acknowledge reality, without mocking anyone.

William explains that he challenges his own bias by listening to favourite musicians as if they are new to him and approaching unfamiliar musicians as if he already knows their work. He applies the same mindset to comedians he dislikes, giving them fair attention to see whether it is the material or his own bias shaping his reaction.

During this conversation, William mentions a stand up routine by British comedian Peter Kay talking about the British TV series Crimewatch, here a link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPsu-PCubvs

What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠[email protected]

This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice. 

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