This week I talk about: The dispiriting nature of the lockdownThe disputed science around the Covid-19 threatLord Sumption’s piece in the Mail On SundayWhy Liberty is not an optional extraFreedom, fulfilment and citizenshipWill the lockdown cha

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep154 - Red Pill and Propaganda

Apr 20th, 2020

This week I talk about: Liberty, citizenship and flourishingOwning my basic white guy-nessHumanism and civil libertiesNihilism and wokenessHuman nature and grand statementsMy problems with the red pill movementGood Trump/Bad Trump reflectionsPr

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep153 - Coronavirus and Aldous Huxley

Apr 13th, 2020

This week I talk about:Why I have had a break in podcastsWatching the UK become a ‘command society’Democratic audit and hysteriaHow Fear Works by Frank Furedi (book)Hysteria and public consentPeter Hitchens contra mundumAldous Huxley on propaga

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep130 - Bill Burr, Handmaid’s Tale and picking your battles

Nov 4th, 2019

This week I talk about:Avoiding reactive Culture War clashesPresenting your own world view robustlyPicking your battlesFeminism and Handmaid’s Tale hysteriaTrue gender oppression in Islamic dictatorshipsBill Burr’s new specialPolitical correctn

Fear of A Black Planet - Ep129 - Tulsi Gabbard, alarmist media and individuality

Nov 4th, 2019

This week I talk about:My recent gig Good songwriters vs showoff musosSome interesting songsCultivating individualityMill, Wilde and eccentricityTulsi Gabbard (hot) and free speechIdentity politics and alarmist mediaThe real enemy is not Trump

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep128 - The beginning of the end for woke

Nov 3rd, 2019

This week I talk about:Dave Chappelle’s new specialSpeaking truth to powerHow the woke types became a new aristocracy The loss of religionDivided times and wokenessDouglas Murray on mob outrageThe moral vacuum and ideology

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep127 - Elvis, personhood and sneering hipsters

Nov 3rd, 2019

This week I talk about:Bank holiday bohemianismCreative routinesIntroverts and extrovertsPersonhood and relationshipsThe modern tendency to undermineElvis and perfect imperfection

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep126 - Ancient history and the EU

Nov 3rd, 2019

This week I talk about:My weekend in BradfordProvincial architectureA run-in with a train attendantFinding some old books from uniThe Delian League of ancient GreeceThe Athenian ‘Empire” and the EUPlans for more musicForthcoming book review

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep125 - Art and anxiety

Sep 24th, 2019

This week I talk about:Different creative processesThe chaos of the artistic lifeAnxiety and fearJordan Peterson on fear and sufferingThe role of art and belief systemsChaos, order and being in the zone

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep124 - The dangers of ideology

Sep 21st, 2019

This week I talk about: More Beatles geeking outJordan Peterson’s impact on meIdeological thinking vs authentic thinkingReactive culture and nuanceAmerican shootings and ideological reaction

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep123 - Boris, whining vs dissent and George Harrison

Sep 11th, 2019

This week In talk about:Some good things about BorisWhat Boris should be talking aboutThe difference between whining and true dissentHuman reason and flourishingThe meaning of true liberalismFame, success and the nervous systemGeorge Harrison a

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep122 - The Beatles Anthology

Sep 11th, 2019

This week I talk about:Conversations with political disagreementsTrump’s rally and the chantsNuance and outrageThe Beatles rabbit holeStrawberry Fields ForeverBeing in a shit bandCliche and originality

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep121 - Marianne & Leonard

Sep 11th, 2019

This week I talk about:Nick Broomfield’s new film on Leonard CohenThe bohemian life and it’s paradoxes Creativity and the museBeauty and catalysts of art Narcissism and artTrump and the establishment

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep120 - Simon Armitage vs Bob Dylan

Jul 23rd, 2019

This week I talk about:The definition of poetryThe Faber&Faber policeSimon Armitage on Dylan’s Nobel PrizeThe role of poetry Poetry and human natureSnobbery vs populism The ballad traditionCliches and tropes in song

Fear Of A Black Planet Ep119 - Poetry, heroes and the Gallaghers

Jul 23rd, 2019

This week I talk about:The supposed split in poetryElitism vs democratisationStylistic preferences vs genuine critical standardsMarketing and creativityThe importance of heroesMisunderstanding artistsLiam and Noel Gallagher’s festival sets

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep118 - Hong Kong and redefining success

Jul 23rd, 2019

This week I talk about: More Leonard CohenCreative successGetting over bitternessBeauty and what it means to be humanHong Kong and democracyHypocrisy of the western left

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep117 - Leonard Cohen and creativity

Jul 8th, 2019

This week I talk about:Gratitude to nasty commentsIf you have to ask you’ll never knowTravelling in GreeceHydra - romantic weddingLeonard Cohen in HydraDeath of bohemiaLeonard Cohen on the ‘tyranny of right thinking’

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep116 - Shockwave

Jul 8th, 2019

This week I talk about:Liberalism vs identity politicsQuillette’s hatchet on Dave RubinThe basis for human rightsCivilisation and human reasonPlato, Socrates, AristotleLiam Gallagher’s new singleRock n roll humanism

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep115 - I like Trump

Jul 8th, 2019

This week I talk about:Trump’s state visitConstantly having to justify your right to an opinionTrump and racism and speculative claimsWhat Trump has done for minoritiesGetting tense during performancesSharing your creativity in these timesFight

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep114 - The Aristocracy Of Spin

Jul 8th, 2019

This week I talk about: The EU election resultsDisillusionment in public lifeThe empty, risk aversion in political dialogueIndividuality and communityThe liberal traditionAgency and moralityThe spin doctoring elitesScandal, platitudes and bland

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep113 - Eurovision and nihilism

May 20th, 2019

This week I talk about:The title of this podcastThe old school hip hop attitudeA cultural battering ramSafe and risk-free art todayEurovision and narcissism The enemies of the true liberalRobust humanismDon’t try it on with meI am the countercu

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep112 - Danny Baker and human rights

May 20th, 2019

This week I talk about: Fake freedom rhetoric Liberty and the individualWhat it means to be humanShady pc tacticsFree speech and online harmBohemia and creative environments Raif Badawi and western values

Fear Of A Black Planet - Ep111 - Liberalism: a definition

May 20th, 2019

This week I talk about:The real meaning of liberalismHow liberalism has been distortedUniversal rights vs identity politicsPluralism vs multiculturalism Defining the human beingAgency, choice and valueEdinburgh and the New Town

Fear of A Black Planet - Ep110 - Dave Rubin

May 20th, 2019

This week I talk about:Why Dave Rubin mattersBeing politically exiledGood consensus vs dangerous consensusNuance in political discussionFreedom vs JusticeIdentity politics vs free thinkingSpiritual individuality vs conservative individualism

Fear Of Black Planet - Ep109 - Camille Paglia

Apr 29th, 2019

This week I talk about:Protest vs shrill moaningCounterculture and dissentPaglia’s theory of cultureSexual personae and natureMisrepresenting dissenting viewI Am The Counterculture