Sunday Thoughts: TikTok bans are good for the soul, making London great again, and Britain's new blasphemy laws
Hello class mates.
As usual, you can find a whole raft of stuff I’ve been reading throughout the week. There’s more on the Irish referendum on the family, while you can find a wide range of articles on the impact of immigration from multiple angles. Firstly, from the perspective of modern Britain and its battles with Islamism and, secondly, the impact of immigration on the Roman Empire in its final days with a different twist to the story you may already be familiar with. Below the links of the week, you’ll find links to the latest Thinking Class podcast plus several clips of the most popular episodes so far.
Wishing you the most fulfilling and restful of Sundays.
Culture
The spiritual case for banning TikTok | Esme Partridge in UnHerd
It’s not illiberal to care about falling birth rates | Ellen Pasternack in The Critic
The hypocrisy of the BBC's misinformation war | Simon Cottee in UnHerd
Ireland's referendum was a rejection of Dublin liberalism | Theo McDonald in UnHerd
Banning Islamophobia: Blasphemy Law by the Backdoor – The Free Speech Union
The most important immigration story of all | Peter Heather in UnHerd
The distinctiveness of human aggression | Rob Henderson in The Critic
Government
Labour's 'fake news' plan won't help children - Fred Skulthorp in UnHerd
The 15-minute bait and switch | Alex Klaushofer | The Critic Magazine
A Win for Portugal’s Populists | Compact Magazine
Economy and Civic Life
This week’s podcast
This week I spoke with The Spectator columnist, Lionel Shriver, about her decision to leave Britain. It’s a touching episode at times because you can feel the weight of her love and lament for the country. Expect a confession of guilt followed by a discussion of the impact of mass immigration on society and morale. You can listen to the full episode here or watch the full show here:
Here are some highlights from the show here:
Coming up
This coming Friday I’m speaking with long-time Russia and China correspondent, Ian Williams, while the Friday after next I’m speaking to
from about his experience of leaving Islam and his growing concerns for Britain since he arrived.I’m excited to say that confirmed on the show are Professor Carl Trueman, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self; , co-author of Cynical Theories; David Goodhart, Director of Policy Exchange and author of The Road To Somewhere; Elisabeth Braw, author of Goodbye Globalisation; and Thomas Fazi, columnist for UnHerd.
Most popular clips
On mass immigration with
of fame.Yours truly on the negative impact of AI
And Ed West on the need to stop making history a morality tale.
Lots to look forward to in the coming weeks.
Until next time, class mates.