The Sceptic

Breaking the Blob | The Sceptic Ep.83

Charles Talbot on how the Blob is stifling democracy in Britain and turning the state against itself.
In Episode 83 of the Sceptic, guest host Michael Murphy speaks to Charles Talbot, author of the new Cambridge Circus Research report ‘Breaking the Blob’, about how a sprawling ecosystem of activist charities, quangos and captured institutions exerts a powerful chokehold on British political life, undermines government policy and leaves Britain feeling increasingly like a state at war with itself.
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Read ‘Breaking the Blob’ here.
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.
 
00:00 Intro
00:00:47 Charles Talbot on the Blob
00:03:35 The Blob's Left-Wing Bias
00:05:16 A State at War with Itself
00:07:41 Why Government Funds Its Own Opponents
00:10:17 How the Blob Kills Policies it Doesn't Like
00:14:15 The Rwanda Scheme
00:16:17 Can Any Policy Survive the Blob?
00:18:19 Laws That Must Change
00:20:20 The Funnel Model & Weak Regulation
00:24:37 Charity vs Political Activism
00:27:12 Should Government Track Undermining Spending?
00:29:11 The Media’s Role in Aiding the Blob
00:36:08 What a Serious Government Must Do
00:39:05 Radical Reforms
00:42:29 Conspiracy or Ideological Alignment?
00:45:52 Future Work from Cambridge Circus Research
00:52:15 Where to Find the Report

Britain: Island of Strangers | The Sceptic Ep.82

Dr Ben Jones on how 30 years of mass migration have created the conditions for rising unrest, and Dr Gwythian Prins on why green zealotry weakens Britain in a dangerous world.
In Episode 82 of the Sceptic, host David Shipley speaks to Dr Ben Jones, Director of Cases at the Free Speech Union and author of Island of Strangers, on how 30 years of mass migration and hyper-diversity have transformed Britain into a fragmented “society of societies”, eroded free speech, fuelled cancel culture and created the conditions for two-tier policing and rising unrest.
And for our premium subscribers, David speaks to Dr Gwythian Prins, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics and convenor of the Hartwell Group, on the fatal technical, economic and security flaws of Net Zero, why climate models are fundamentally broken, the impossibility of a renewables transition and how this green madness weakens Britain in a dangerous world.
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Read Gwythian’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.
 
00:00 Intro
00:01:36 Ben Jones on His New Book 'Island of Strangers'
00:03:23 The Link Between Multiculturalism and Free Speech Restrictions
00:06:41 How US Woke Ideology Invaded UK
00:09:02 Why Are the Elite So Wedded to These Worldviews?
00:12:36 What Is the Solution to UK’s Free Speech Crisis?
00:15:44 Two-Tier Policing and Division
00:19:56 Prof Gwydion Prins on the Problems With Climate Modelling
00:24:32 Why Renewables Cannot Power a Stable Grid
00:28:27 The Security Implications of Net Zero
00:32:33 Can Sanity Return?

Britain’s Anti-White Police | The Sceptic Ep.81

Ex-cop Paul Birch on the gross failures of the Nowak arrest and Jack Hadfield on the protests. Plus: Blair’s shameless green U-turn.
In Episode 81 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Paul Birch, former Metropolitan Police officer and commentator, on the police’s gross failures over the arrest of Henry Nowak after he was stabbed – and exactly how anti-racist ideology warps day-to-day policing.
Jack Hadfield, independent journalist, on the fierce protests and political fallout over the Nowak outrage and whether there’s more to come.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Ben Pile, journalist and Daily Sceptic regular, on Tony Blair’s latest intervention criticising Net Zero, his baleful legacy and why our dimwitted political class, incredibly, still takes him seriously.
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Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.
00:00 Intro
00:02:24 Paul Birch on Henry Nowak Arrest
00:05:03 Why Was Henry Nowak Handcuffed?
00:09:20 Did Anti-Racism Training Shape the Response?
00:14:46 Individual Failures or Institutional Culture?
00:20:58 Poor Training and Woke Ideology
00:23:51 Will the IOPC Deliver Real Accountability?
00:28:59 What Real Police Reform Looks Like
00:34:00 Jack Hadfield on Southampton Protests
00:39:35 Disorder and Crowd Sentiment
00:43:54 Wider Protests This Summer?
00:46:53 Should Henry Nowak’s Murder Be Politicised?
00:51:24 Ben Pile on Blair’s Net Zero Intervention
00:55:44 Why Blair is Shameless
00:59:42 Ideological Roots of Failures

Will Trump Destroy NATO? | The Sceptic Archive

Doug Stokes on whether peace is possible in Ukraine, America’s fading global dominance, the future of NATO and why Britain’s rush to rearm could spell trouble for Net Zero.
The Sceptic is away this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from the archive.
In May 2025, host Laurie Wastell caught up with Doug Stokes, Professor of International Security and Strategy at Exeter University, Senior Advisor at the Prosperity Institute and author of books including Against Decolonisation: Campus Culture Wars and the Decline of the West.
Professor Stokes’s insight into the undercurrents to America’s changing global position remain as relevant as ever. Doug and Laurie discuss whether peace is on the cards in Ukraine, the effect of the war on Russia’s geopolitical position, whether MAGA is right to lament America’s position as global superintendent, the future of NATO and what the war means for Europe and Trump’s trade war and whether it will spell the end of dollar hegemony.
They also consider the long-term possibility of detente with Russia, whether the need to re-arm will mean the end of the Net Zero here in Britain and the roots of the free-speech crisis in Britain's universities.
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Follow Laurie on X.
Follow Doug on X.00:00 Intro00:40 Ukraine Ceasefire07:03 Russia and China07:25 NATO’s Future11:04 Europe and Dependency18:57 Trump’s Trade War23:14 Europe’s Role27:19 Rearming Europe27:31 Nord Stream Fallout38:26 Defence and Net Zero40:58 Britain’s Industrial Decline41:13 Free Speech Crisis46:54 Kathleen Stock Case47:19 Universities and Trans Ideology

The Truth About Palantir | Andrew Orlowski The Sceptic Ep.80

Andrew Orlowski on Palantir, AI and the truth about UK phone signal. Plus: vaccine injuries in Canada.
In Episode 80 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Andrew Orlowski, business and technology columnist at the Telegraph, on the truth about Palantir and the NHS, the latest AI stumbling blocks and the real problem with Britain’s phone signal.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie catches up with Canadian filmmaker Dean Rainey, on his latest documentary outlining the overlooked effects of vaccine injuries.
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Watch Why Can’t We Talk About This? Parts 1 & 2 here.
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Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Boys Are Not Misogynists | Joanna Gray The Sceptic Ep.79

Are British schools waging a quiet war on boys? Plus: the UAE's dramatic departure from OPEC.
In Episode 79 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Joanna Gray – writer, confidence mentor and Daily Sceptic regular – on what the modern world gets wrong about gender. They discuss Jess Phillips’ proposed “anti-misogyny” lessons for schoolboys, the female domination of teaching, the lack of male role models and why pathologising normal boyhood is damaging a generation of young men.
And Tilak Doshi, the Daily Sceptic’s Energy Editor, on the UAE’s shock departure from OPEC – what it means for the cartel, global oil markets and geopolitics in the Middle East.
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Read Tilak’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Climate Alarmism “Implausible”, UN Admits | Chris Morrison The Sceptic Ep.78

UN scientists admit that central assumptions of the climate alarmist agenda are “implausible”. Plus: the woke madness of “trans time”.
In Episode 77 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Chris Morrison, the Daily Sceptic’s environment editor, on the sensational admission by UN scientists that widely reported climate alarmist forecasts are “implausible” – and how it blows apart decades of green fearmongering.
And Steven Tucker, author and Daily Sceptic columnist, on the wacky woke world of “trans time”, and the curious case of the “garrulous” non-verbal author.
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Read Chris’s article on the Daily Sceptic here.
Read Steven’s articles on the Daily Sceptic here and here.
Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Terror in Golders Green | David Shipley The Sceptic Ep.77

J. Sorel on Keir Starmer’s reign of sleaze. Plus: the Golders Green attack and the climate activist lawsuit against Shell.
In Episode 77 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to J. Sorel, commentator and historian, on the Peter Mandelson scandal, the myth of Keir Starmer the “technocrat” and the truth about his reign of sleaze.
David Shipley, journalist and commentator, on the shocking Golders Green knife attack and the grim wave of migrant crime hitting Britain.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to James Graham, Senior Researcher on Financial Freedoms at the Prosperity Institute, on the Filipino disaster survivors suing Shell Oil about the weather – and why London has become the global capital of vexatious green litigation. 
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Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

Why Britain is Corrupt | Michael Rainsborough The Sceptic Ep.76

Michael Rainsborough on Britain’s state corruption and why inquiries never work. Plus: the BBC’s Net Zero U-turn.
In Episode 76 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Michael Rainsborough, Daily Sceptic contributor and Professor of Strategic Theory and Director of the Centre for Future Defence and National Security at Deakin University, Victoria, about British state corruption. Michael explains how our frequent public inquiries, in hock to misguided liberal proceduralism, hold no one to account for state failure. Instead, he argues the current national grooming gangs inquiry should follow the model of Hong Kong’s highly successful Independent Commission Against Corruption.
And for our premium subscribers, Laurie speaks to Ben Pile, journalist and Daily Sceptic regular, on the BBC’s activist ‘climate editor’ Justin Rowlatt and his brass neck U-turn on the cost of Net Zero.
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Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.
 

Britain's Muslim Sectarianism Problem | The Sceptic Special Episode

Four Sceptic guests on the growing problem of Muslim sectarianism in Britain and why the state can't address it.
In this special episode of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell brings together four different perspectives on the growing problem of Muslim sectarianism in Britain. Guy Dampier of the Prosperity Institute shows how Pakistani clan structures led to the grooming gangs; researcher Daniel Dieppe highlights how the London Borough of Tower Hamlets fell to Bangladeshi-Muslim electoral corruption; the Critic's Chris Bayliss looks at how state authorities responded to Birmingham's banning of Israeli football fans; and journalist David Shipley and Laurie discuss what the Labour Government's latest social cohesion plan shows about how it's approaching multiculturalism's pathologies.
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Produced by Richard Eldred.
Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.