The Sceptic

David Frost: Repeal the Hate-Speech Laws

Welcome to episode 21 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests:
 
David Frost, lead Brexit negotiator under Boris Johnson, Conservative peer and Telegraph columnist, on how to restore free speech in Britain, the grim reality of Starmerism and what Kemi Badenoch must do as Tory leader.
 
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Nick Dixon, comedian and broadcaster, on that mad woke Jaguar advert, the Trump win and what they both mean for the culture war.
 
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Read his article on Starmerism here. 
Read Nick’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
And follow Nick on X. 
 
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Matt Ridley on the Farmer’s Revolt

Welcome to episode 20 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests:
I speak to Matt Ridley, the acclaimed science writer and peer in the House of Lords, on the farmers’ revolt over inheritance tax changes that rocked Westminster this week.
Writer and former parliamentary researcher James McSweeney, for a deep dive into Britain’s political class and why it gets so much so wrong – especially on Net Zero.
And for our premium subscribers, I’m joined by Connie Shaw, an outspoken gender-critical student at Leeds University, who earlier this year experienced what trans activists say is myth – a man in the women’s bathroom.
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Read James’s article here. 
And follow him on X. 
Read Connie’s article on Leeds University here. 
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Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Douglas Carswell: “America just got SERIOUS”

Welcome to episode 19 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests:
Douglas Carswell, former UKIP MP and now the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, on what Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory means for America – and Britain.
Will Jones, Editor of the Daily Sceptic, on the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Eugyppius, the pseudonymous commentator and author of Eugyppius: a plague chronicle, on the collapse of the German Government.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie is joined in the studio by Michael Murphy, writer for the Daily Telegraph, who gives us an exclusive inside look at his new documentary with Outpost Studios: Guardians of Israel.
 
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Read eugyppius’s article here. 
Read Will’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Subscribe to Outpost Studios and watch Michael’s documentary here.
Watch Chuck Norris’s video here: https://ChuckDefense.com/Daily
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Labour’s Anti-Growth Budget

Welcome to episode 18 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:
William Atkinson, Assistant Editor at Conservative Home, on Kemi Badenoch’s victory in the Tory leadership election and her prospects as leader.
Jon Moynihan, Conservative peer, venture capitalist and author of Return to Growth, on Rachel Reeves’s tax-bonanza budget and why it’s taking us in the wrong direction.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Harry Miller, former police officer and founder of Fair Cop, who gives us his frank assessment of the Chris Kaba case and why unfounded witch hunts against officers are so damaging for police morale.
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Get your copy of Jon Moynihan’s book, Return to Growth: Volume One: How to Fix the Economy, here.
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Watch Chuck Norris’s video here: https://ChuckDefense.com/Daily
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

C.J. Hopkins: Germany Persecutes Political Satirist

Welcome to this special episode of the Sceptic with C.J. Hopkins, playwright, novelist and political satirist.
C.J. Hopkins has long written about authoritarianism lurking in Western societies. Now, as if to prove him right, he’s being persecuted by the German authorities for doing just that. In 2022, he criticised German government Covid measures by tweeting an image of a Swastika on a Covid mask – the cover of his book, The New Normal Reich. This was enough to see him dragged through the German courts in a Kafkaesque witch hunt that is still ongoing today. He’s currently crowdfunding an appeal at Germany’s highest court – and should he lose, he faces prison.  
C.J. joins Laurie on this episode to tell his story, offering a chilling insight into the censorious state tyranny gripping Germany – and the West.
Follow C.J. on X.
Order his books here.
Donate to his legal defence fund here.
And find him on Substack.
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Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

James Esses: How I Fought the Trans Mob and Won

Welcome to this special episode of the Sceptic with James Esses, writer, campaigner and co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists.
Back in 2021, James was a hard-working part-time master’s student in psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute in London. In his spare time, he was also raising concerns online about the impact that transgender ideology – and the so-called gender-affirming approach to care – was having on vulnerable children. He never imagined that doing so would lead to him being kicked off his course without so much as an appeal. Three years later, he’s taken his college and the U.K. Council for Psychotherapy to court for that – and won.
James joins Laurie on this episode to tell his story. They also speak about his research into how our institutions have been infiltrated by trans ideology; the impact of the Cass Review; the threat trans ideology still poses to kids; and why it’s up to adults to protect them; and much more.
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And find him on Substack.
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Produced by Richard Eldred. 
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

David Starkey: Tony Blair Destroyed the Old Britain

Welcome to this special episode of the Sceptic with Professor David Starkey, the renowned and pugnacious historian, author and broadcaster. 
Host Laurie Wastell speaks to Professor Starkey about New Labour’s constitutional revolution; why Margaret was mistaken to view Tony Blair as her heir; the problem with “human rights” and the ECHR; the disaster of devolution; why the Southport rioters were right to be angry; when Sir Keir Starmer called for him to be jailed; his prognosis for the Labour Government; the need for a post-Blair restoration; why David Lammy is a national embarrassment; and why the facts of life are conservative.
Find David Starkey on YouTube here.
And order his books here.
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Produced by Richard Eldred. 
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

One Year After the Pogrom – with Brendan O’Neill

Welcome to episode 17 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following guests:
Brendan O’Neill, Chief Political Writer at Spiked, on the anniversary of the October 7th pogrom against Israel – and his powerful new book on how the West failed this moral test.
Jess Gill, student and political commentator, on how mass immigration has made London less safe for women like her.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to lecturer and journalist Ralph Schoellhammer, on the success of the populist-Right Freedom Party in Austria’s recent elections.
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Follow Laurie on X.
Get your copy of Brendan’s book here. 
Follow Jess on X here. 
Follow Ralph on X here. 
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Who Funds the Left-Wing Blob? – With Charlotte Gill

Welcome to episode 16 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:
Charlotte Gill, journalist, author of the Woke Waste substack and the Daily Sceptic’s newest columnist, on the Labour MPs involved in the Left-wing activist group, Hope Not Hate.
Freddie Attenborough, Director of Digital Communications at the Free Speech Union, on the Irish Government’s U-turn on its draconian hate-speech bill.
David Turver, Daily Sceptic regular and author of the Eigen Values substack, on Ed Miliband’s green cronyism.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to freelance writer and confidence mentor Joanna Gray, on the difficulties of navigating the culture war – and how we can disagree with the woke warriors in our lives without starting a flaming row.
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Follow Laurie on X.
Read Charlotte’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Read Freddie’s article here.
Read David’s articles here, here and here.
And read Joanna’s article here.
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Labour’s Islamic Blasphemy Law – with Andrew Doyle

Welcome to episode 15 of the Sceptic! On the show this week, host Laurie Wastell speaks to the following Daily Sceptic contributors:
 
Andrew Doyle, comedian, broadcaster and author of Free Speech and Why It Matters and The New Puritans, on how Labour’s plans for an “Islamophobia” definition could bring a blasphemy law to Britain.
 
Eugyppius, the pseudonymous commentator and author of the Substack, Eugyppius: a plague chronicle, on Germany’s recent state elections and how the rise of the AfD is upending the politics of migration in Europe. 
 
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to journalist and Daily Sceptic regular Ben Pile, on David Lammy’s recent claim that Britain’s biggest foreign policy threat is climate change – and the Foreign Secretary’s bizarre endorsement of ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan.
 
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Follow Laurie on X.
Read Andrew’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Read Eugyppius’s articles here and here. 
And read Ben Pile’s articles here and here. 
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.