Thinking Class

Alan Macfarlane is a historian and anthropologist who taught at the University of Cambridge for 34 years. He is now Professor Emeritus of Anthropological Science and a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. His comparative work spans England, Nepal, Japan, and China, with a particular focus on the origins and nature of the modern world.

In this conversation, Alan and I think out loud about the history of the English people's relationship with money, how this compares with China, the cyclical nature of civilizations, whether Alan thinks China will suffer a collapse, the effectiveness of China's political system (and its surprising meritocracy), the historical nature of class relations in England and why our view of the aristocracy is not quite right, and the historical context of gender relations, specifically women's freedom and rights, and much, much more.

My first conversation with Alan 

My Second conversation with Alan 

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

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You can find Alan’s work here:

• Alanmacfarlane.com
• Ayabaya - YouTube
• Books

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack:

Ben Cobley is a journalist, former Labour Party activist, and author of The Tribe: The Liberal-Left and the System of Diversity and The Progress Trap: The Modern Left and the False Authority of History. He has written for The Spectator, UnHerd, The Critic, Quillette, and The New Statesman, and appears regularly on Sky News. You can find him on X @BenCobley and on Substack at Existential Politics.

In this conversation, Ben and I think out loud about the relationship between progressivism and Christianity, how the spirit of progressivism leads to forms of colonization, which is ironic when progressives are decolonisers at heart, why progressivism and capitalism go naturally together, what technocracy is and how the expert class plays a significant role in the political life of a place, while simultaneously reducing the space for political debate, why each of us is called to engage in the world rather than simply believing that things will turn out alright in the end, why the foundational beliefs of the United States make it inherently progressivism, why we can still feel the influence of 17th-century liberalism on modern policies, particularly immigration and much, much more.

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

You can find Ben’s work here:

• Unherd.com
• @existentialpolitics
• X/Twitter
• The Critic

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to on Substack.

Adam Williams is the Leader of the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, the SDP, in the UK.

In this conversation, Adam and I think out loud about what motivated his journey into politics, why decline is all he's ever known and why he wants to change this, his experiences knocking on doors in local elections, the challenges of political branding for the SDP, how the public know very little about the scale of issues facing the country, the future of the SDP's political strategy in the UK and what happens if the party does not achieve electoral success, what Labour's recent shift towards more conservative immigration rhetoric might mean, the electoral implications of Britain's policy to allow immigrants from Commonwealth countries to vote in elections, the potential for the Lib Dems to appeal to middle England, why the lack of depth in politics has led to economically-focused and inhumane policies and Britain's biggest issues, why politicians need to connect heritage and history to current political discourse, the importance of engaging younger generations in political processes and much, much more.

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

You can find Adam’s work here:

• Adam’s Facebook Page
• SDP Website
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack.

Driss Ghali is a political author and speaker. Driss was born in Morocco and educated in Europe. He graduated from prestigious French universities and spent a lot of time in a corporate career focused on high-tech companies. Driss is an intellectual and observer of human nature as it is: ugly and splendid at the same time. Since 2017, he has written books about Violence and Identity. He frequently appears in French media to talk about immigration, diversity, the Middle East and French politics. One of his books has been translated into English titled, A Counter-History of French Colonization.

In this conversation, Driss and I think out loud about the nature of French colonization, how the conventional narrative portrays France as a genocidal country, how his grandfather's time as a colonial soldier influenced his perspective on the relationship between France and its colonies, why there is significant rift between immigrants and native French and what drives it, why France is experiencing reverse colonization, the significant cultural differences between Islam and Christianity are significant, the potential for civil war in France, why open discourse about immigration and identity is necessary and how the future of France depends on addressing these issues and much, much more.

Enjoy the show classmates.

You can find Driss’s work here:

• Driss’s website
• Driss’s books
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

This is a compilation episode focused on the themes of England and Britain's history at home and abroad, the making of its social, political, and cultural life. You can expect to hear from the likes of Peter Hitchens, Connor Tomlinson, Charlie Downes, David Starkey, Nigel Biggar, Robert Tombs, Paul Embery, Lionel Shriver, Douglas Carswell, Neema Parvini, Alan MacFarlane, & many more.   

There are huge problems facing England and Britain. People can feel it, and they might have different reasons for it, but this is the view of the guests that I've had on the show, and I wanted to. Give a full and frank discussion of those whilst also putting some emphasis on embracing our past and who we are, and that doing this is important if we're going to retain a sense of the nation and its fruits in a period of unprecedented change.

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

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack.

Dr. Bijan Omrani is a classicist, historian, and Oxford-educated barrister. His research explores questions of religious history and cultural identity, spanning from ancient Roman Greece to Afghanistan and the Silk Road. He has taught Classics at Eton College and Westminster School, is a former editor of Asian Affairs, and currently serves as a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. He is also a churchwarden.

In this episode, Bijan and I think out loud about his book God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England, and the profound role Christianity has played in shaping English identity, culture, and ethics; how the faith helped form the national character, the cultural cohesion it has historically fostered, and the dangers we face in moving away from this heritage; the consequences of Christianity’s decline in public life, the importance of understanding and preserving England’s spiritual and historical roots, and the figures Bijan believes to be the five most influential in the story of English Christianity and nationhood, why the literary canon remains ever relevant, and Bijan offers personal reflections on faith, tradition, and the need for a revival of cultural and spiritual imagination—and much, much more.

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

You can find Bijan’s work here:

• Books
• The Critic
• The Spectator 
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack.

Prof. Tim Lang is the emeritus professor of food policy at City University London Centre for Food Policy. He was professor of food policy at Citi from 2002 to 2021 and had founded the Centre in 1994 at Thames Valley University, now the University of West London. After a PhD in social psychology at Leeds University in the early seventies, he became a hill farmer in the forest of Boland Lancashire, which shifted his attention to food policy. 

In this episode, Tim and I think out loud about the pressing issue of food resilience in Britain highlights the fragility of the food system and the historical context that has led to its current state, why Tim believes we need to take a public health approach to food security, the role of supermarkets and the importance of preparing for potential crises, why food policies and practices needs to be re-evaluated, what the pressing issues are around. 

Enjoy the show Classmates. 

You can find Tim's work here:

• University Of London
• ResearchGate
• Google Scholar
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube

Dr. Mario Trabucco della Torretta is a classical archaeologist trained in Sicily and Athens. Mario's expertise covers classical Greek architecture and sculpture, ancient Athens and the Elgin Marbles. He tweets @Mario_Trabucco and runs the YouTube channel @ElginMarbleGames⁩.

In this episode, Mario and I think out loud about how museums acquire artefacts, the contested nature of certain items, the historical context of ownership, particularly of the Elgin Marbles, Greek public opinion regarding the return of the marbles and the popular narratives that shape these debates. We also talk about the challenges of historical interpretation, the implications of reshaping historical narratives for national identity or its dissolution, the commercialisation of museums and the potential dangers of propaganda in cultural institutions and much, much more. 

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

You can find Mario’s work here:

• The Critic
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube

Douglas Carswell was a member of the British Parliament for 12 years. He also co-founded Vote Leave the Official campaign that won the 2016 Brexit vote in Britain. The author of five books, Douglas has written widely about bank reform and monetary policy, as well as publishing a libertarian history of human progress. 

In this episode, Douglas and I think out loud about his plan to save Britain, why advocating for remigration is a necessary step to restore the country's identity, why the United Kingdom needs to undo Tony Blair's legislative legacy, why politicians, slogans are empty and the country needs detailed plans to fix its issues, why the US' poorest state, Mississippi, is richer than the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom should re-evaluate its global alliances and focus on the anglosphere, how the country evolved into a nanny state, how personal responsibility and gratitude foster the conditions for a free society, what the UK does better than the US and vice versa, and how human nature impacts politics and culture and much, much more.

In the exclusive Substack Q&A, we also discuss Douglas's views on on UK politics, digital freedom, and the future of the political establishment.

You can find Douglas's work here:

• The Telegraph
• Books
• X/Twitter

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch/listen to it on Substack

Charles Cornish Dale, otherwise known as Raw Egg Nationalist, is a writer and owner of a popular X/Twitter account. Charlie is the editor of the Mans World Magazine and the author of four books, Raw Egg Nationalism in Theory and Practice; Three lives of Golden Age Bodybuilders; Draw Me a Gironda and Raw Egg Trilogy. His fifth book is The Last Men: Liberalism and The Death of Masculinity. He has written for The Spectator, The American Mind, and The Daily Caller.

In this episode, Charlie and I think out loud about his journey from academia to becoming a prominent voice in health and nutrition advocacy, why low testosterone levels in men is a political issue, why we should resist the corporate takeover of the food supply and shun plant-based diets, how ancestral diets are optimal for health, why the West's addiction to growth will be the death of it, and why a spiritual malaise is behind declining birth rates and that's why economic incentives won't fix it and also why replacement immigration is not a solution and much, much more. 

In the exclusive Substack Q&A, we discussed Charlie's views on what we should eat for optimal health and how men can boost their testosterone. Subscribe in the links below. 

You can find Charlie’s work here:

• Mansworldmag
• X/Twitter
• Books

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

You can watch the full show on YouTube or you can watch it here on Substack.