Thinking Class

Warren Smith is the founder of YouTube channel The Secret Scholar Society (@SecretScholars ). He lives in Massachusetts, USA, where he is a volunteer firefighter. 

In this episode Warren and I discuss his transition from teaching to becoming a full time YouTuber with his channel and why that 'career-change' happened at all, and we think out loud about the importance of critical thinking, the nature of truth, how to navigate political discourse and media narratives, and why storytelling helps us understand reality and the impact of societal taboos on open discussions, how to recognise objective truths in a world filled with competing narratives, how fragile belief systems can be, the threats to freedom of expression, whether the USA is feeling different following Trump's victory in the presidential election, how to achieve personal growth, and find the courage to challenge one's own beliefs, and why we need to engage in difficult conversations to navigate the unknown, and much, much more. 

Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.

You can find Warren’s work here:

• Warren’s website
• Secret Scholar Society
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube

Sam Bidwell is the Director of the Next Generation Centre at the Adam Smith Institute and has worked as a Parliamentary Researcher, and as a Press and Research Consultant for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. His writing on foreign affairs has been published internationally, including in Australia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and he was a contributor to the 2023 Commonwealth Security Review. Sam is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he studied Law at Sidney Sussex College, specialising in public law, jurisprudence, and legal history.

In this episode, Sam and I think out loud about whether Britain's political class are NPCs, the implications of immigration on the social contract in Britain, particularly in light of recent waves of migration, the disconnect between public sentiment and political action, the structural changes needed in immigration policy, and the cultural implications of demographic shifts, why Britain needs a more coherent immigration strategy that aligns with the expectations of the British public and addresses the challenges posed by changing demographics, what cultural transfer is and why it's important, the political influence of diverse communities on governance in Britain, why Britain has economically stagnated, the implications of immigration on questions of citizenship, the crisis of legitimacy in governance, and the need for economic growth to support cultural preservation and much, much more.

Enjoy the show, Classmates, and don't forget to subscribe.

You can find Sam’s work here:

• Adam Smith Institute
• The Critic
• The Telegraph
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

And you can watch the show on YouTube.

Harrison Pitt is a writer at the European Conservative and a fellow at the New Culture Forum. 

In this episode, Harrison and I think out loud about the problem in talking about British values and why they cannot be reduced to bullet point summaries, the philosophical underpinnings of national identity and cultural heritage, the impact of mass immigration on British culture, whether integration in a diverse society is possible, the implications of multicultural policies in a historically homogeneous nation, the moral implications of diversity in Britain, why 're-migration' is becoming popular across Europe, the political will needed to address immigration issues, why cultural restoration is needed if the UK is to remain recognisable and much, much more.

You can find Harrison’s work here:

• Youtube
• The European Conservative
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube.

Ed West is a British author, journalist, and blogger known for The Wrong Side of History on Substack and his work with UnHerd, The Catholic Herald, The Spectator, and more. His books include Small Men on the Wrong Side of History, The Diversity Illusion, and Tory Boy.

Paul Morland is one of the world’s leading demographers, exploring how population trends shape our world. A former research fellow at Birkbeck and senior member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford, his books include The Human Tide, Tomorrow’s People, and No One Left. Together, Ed and Paul host The Canon Club podcast. 

We discuss the importance of the Western canon and why we must understand it if we are to maintain our cultural heritage, the effects of technology on artistic expression, changing cultural interests in modernity, whether great art is still possible in a distracted age, cultural optimism vs. cultural pessimism, the role of elites in shaping culture, how the BBC has become low-brow, why British culture has declined so much, and much more.

I’ve loved my previous conversations with Ed and Paul, and this three-way discussion was even better. Their insights, humour, and camaraderie make this a must-listen.

Don’t miss The Canon Club series for deeper dives into cultural heritage, from Macbeth and Anna Karenina to Caravaggio and overlooked architectural styles.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can find Ed’s work here:

• Substack
• The Spectator
• The Canon Club

You can find Paul’s work here:

• PaulMorland.co.uk
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube 

Professor Robert Tombs is Professor Emeritus of French History at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John’s College. Robert is the author of That Sweet Enemy (2006, co-written with his wife Isabel), The English and Their History (2014), and the Sunday Times bestseller This Sovereign Isle: Britain In and Out of Europe. 

In this episode, Robert and I think out loud about whether England and Britain are in decline, how England's national identity was formed, England's historical stability and contributions, why we should beware the rise of radical ideologies that seek to rewrite history, the importance of recognizing England's rich past in the current cultural and political landscapes, the complexities of the British constitution and whether we need a written constitution to safeguard ancient liberties, the cultural kinship between the Anglosphere and France, why we need to make a conscious effort to preserve cultural heritage, and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can find Robert's work here:

• Academic work
• Published books

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube 

Professor Alan McFarlane is a renowned anthropologist, historian, and Professor Emeritus of King’s College, Cambridge. Author or editor of 20 books and countless articles, Alan has spent his career exploring the origins and nature of the modern world. Alan is also the creator of the YouTube channel  @ayabaya.

In this episode, we Alan and I discuss England’s unique national character and its influence on politics, language, law, economics, and literature, the origins of English individualism and how it shaped the modern world, why England was capitalist long before the Industrial Revolution, how England’s history of mobility and lack of clan structures set it apart for over 1,500 years, women’s legal rights emerging earlier than often thought,  contractual nature of English society,  the errors of the anthropological worldview of Karl Marx and Max Weber, why modernity is more than just technological progress, and whether the English and British are becoming a landless peasantry today, and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can find Alan's work here:

• Youtube - Professor Alan MacFarlane - Ayabaya
• Published books

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

Tom Rowsell is a historian and an independent film maker, director and editor, known for From Runes to Ruins (2014) and his YouTube channel Survive the Jive, which includes documentary films about pagan religion and ancient European cultures.

In this episode, Tom and I delve into the genetic ancestry of the British peoples and how Genetic studies reveal the stability of Northwest European ancestry over time, the significance of ancient monuments, and national myths such as those surrounding King Arthur, the impact of Christianity on Germanic cultures and the evolving narratives that shape British identity, the complex history of Christianity's spread in the British Isles and Europe more broadly, the nuances of the relations between Celtic and Anglo-Saxon peoples, and why modern pro-immigration narratives in the context of mass immigration obscure Britain's development in the context of historical migrations and ancestry and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can also follow Tom and his work at:

• Youtube - Survive The Jive
• Youtube - Jive Talk
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

David Goodhart is a British journalist, commentator and author. David is the Head of the Demography, Immigration and Integration Unit at the think tank Policy Exchange and the founder and a former editor of Prospect magazine. David has authored four books, including The British Dream: Successes and Failures of Post-War Immigration, The Road to Somewhere: The Populist Revolt & The Future Of Politics, Head, Hand, Heart: The Struggle For Dignity And Status In The 21st Century, and most recently, The Care Dilemma: Caring Enough In The Age Of Sex Equality.

In this episode, we talk about David's latest book, the tension between the trade-offs in pursuing freedom over demands of care for dependents, how many government policies undervalue domestic roles and the negative impacts of this on society, children and mental health, how family policies have been driven by care egalitarians rather than care balancers and why this matters, the implications of low fertility rates on our ability as a society to care for our families in future, the paradox of female happiness despite advancements in women's liberation, the challenges men face in a changing socio-economic landscape, the political blind spots regarding family dynamics, and why David is calling for a re-evaluation of family policies to support stability and address the demographic shifts we are experiencing and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can follow David and his work at:

• X/Twitter
• Care Dilemma: Caring Enough In The Age Of Sex Equality
• Policy Exchange - Policy Exchange

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube

Philip Kiszely is a cultural historian, an academic, an author, a political commentator, and senior fellow at the New Culture Forum.

In this episode, we talk about the evolution of British culture, media, and education from the post-war era to the present day, why we have seen significant shifts in the media's treatment of Britain and its history, how British comedy has changed, how social media has impacted cultural identity, the decline of traditional music and comedy, our changing relationship with cultural heritage and what this means for youth culture today, the profound cultural shifts occurring in Britain, particularly in relation to identity, education, and societal values, the impact of mass immigration, the changing landscape of higher education and the policy choices and politics that have changed the fabric of our educational institutions, what the future of British identity amidst these transformations, what the country's response to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day tells us about our culture, why there are glimmers of hope for a resurgence of traditional values and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can also follow Philip and his work at:

• X/Twitter
• Substack
• New Culture Forum - Website
• New Culture Forum - YouTube

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube

 Professor James Clark is Professor of History at the University of Exeter and has published widely on medieval monasteries and their place in the medieval world and he was historical advisor on the BBC TV series Tudor Monastery Farm. His book, The Dissolution of the Monasteries: A New History was published in 2022 to widespread acclaim.  

In this conversation, James and I talk about the impact of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in England, its historical significance, cultural impact, and the common misconceptions surrounding it, how important the role of monasteries were in everyday life, and the gradual impact of their dissolution on local communities,  why oversimplified narratives don't appropriately convey the depth of this pivotal moment in English history, and how society, spirituality, and community identity changed. 

James was erudite and lucid, even without heavy preparation, lots of  His responses came from the heart as well as the head. There were several moments where his answer took me down a thought process I haven't really been down before and it's those moments that you cherish in life.

Enjoy the show classmates. And don't forget to subscribe.

You can also follow James and his work at:

• X/Twitter
• James’s book

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:  

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the show on YouTube