On this episode of Family Matters, Simon interviews legendary comedian, satirist, playwright, and author Andrew Doyle who is currently visiting New Zealand as a guest of the Free Speech Union. From ‘what is woke’ to the importance of satire, the need to push back against calls for blasphemy laws to why all idea must be open to criticism – this is a wide ranging and entertaining podcast.
Andrew starts by sharing comedy’s role in sustaining humanity and democracy by deflating power and enabling hard truths to be told. Andrew criticises “woke” ideology as humourless and reductive, arguing it views art and life through group identity and seeks equity of outcome through authoritarian means, cancel culture, and compelled speech. In short, woke ideology sucks the life of living!
Andrew argues the woke movement peaked around 2020, yet can still lash out as it declines. He also points out how some are implying there could be a woke version 2.0.
Simon and Andrew’s conversation covers gender-identity ideology being undermined in the UK through the likes of the Cass Review and UK Supreme Court ruling, and in Australis through the efforts of Sall Grover and others. They talk about the fundamental issues that arise once law is detached from reality. They also dive into the calls to reintroduce blasphemy laws in New Zealand, with Andrew arguing offense is inevitable and yet beliefs must remain open to criticism. He also critiques “Islamophobia” as effectively a nonsense, with it deliberately conflating anti-Muslim hatred (such as the horrific attacks in Canterbury) with legitimate criticism of Islam.
Andrew then shares how there have been over 62,000 arrests in the UK in the last five years for offensive online speech – with not actual measure of what offensive is! Simon and Andrew also discuss how political rhetoric and language manipulation are harming our democracies. With people being shouted down as ‘fascist’ or ‘bigoted’, or people using empty-head slogans such as ‘trans women are women’, reasoned debate is pushed to the side drawing clear parallels to the warnings of George Orwell and others. The podcast concludes with Andrew sharing a little of where he sees comedy in the UK, sadly as being ideologically captured and so encouraging self-censorship, box-ticking, and propaganda over jokes. #familymatters #familyfirstnz
