UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers brings together two leading voices on the decline of reading and the future of literacy: Times columnist and cultural critic, James Marriott, and YouTuber and philosopher, Jared Henderson.Marriott has written extensively about what he calls the dawn of a “post-literate society.” For him, the slow death of English literature and the retreat from serious reading mark a cultural crisis, with far-reaching consequences for politics, education, and civic life. He argues that without books and deep reading, society risks becoming shallow, distracted, and dangerously unserious.Henderson agrees and sees the problem through a different lens. On his YouTube channel he has chronicled the “male reading crisis” in American colleges, showing how boys and young men are abandoning reading altogether. But rather than mourning literature’s decline, he focuses on practical ways to reignite reading habits, from choosing the right books to rebuilding attention in an age of screens.In this discussion, Freddie Sayers asks: Is literacy truly collapsing, or simply evolving into new forms? As AI, smartphones and digital media reshape our minds, is the future of reading one of decline — or reinvention? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Ukraine: Realist vs Idealist
UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers brings together two starkly opposed voices on the Ukraine war and the future of world order: John Mearsheimer, University of Chicago professor and leading realist, and Matthew Syed, Sunday Times columnist, broadcaster and author.Mearsheimer has long argued that NATO expansion and Western policy blunders set the stage for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. From a realist standpoint, he warns that Russia’s position is essentially non-negotiable and that Ukraine must cut a deal now if it is to avoid further devastation. For Mearsheimer, ignoring the hard facts of great-power politics and clinging to Western rhetoric risks only catastrophic escalation.Syed sees things very differently. In a recent Sunday Times column, he criticised the West’s handling of Ukraine, from the failed Alaska summit. He accused Western governments of failing Ukraine and directly attacked Mearsheimer’s realist position as “morally deranged” and fatally weak. For Syed, only moral clarity and Western resolve — not accommodation with Putin — can change the course of the war.In this debate, Freddie Sayers asks: Is realism just disguised defeatism? Is idealism dangerously naïve in the age of Trump, Putin and Xi? And, after the White House summit with Zelensky, does the West finally have a coherent strategy — or is Ukraine still being left to fight alone? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Tim Cook: Genius or villain?
UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers speaks with journalist and author of new book Apple in China, Patrick McGee – who was the Financial Times’s principal Apple reporter from 2019 to 2023 – about the man at the centre of Apple’s China story: CEO Tim Cook.On August 1st, Cook quietly became Apple’s longest-serving leader, overtaking Steve Jobs — a milestone that came days before a high-profile White House appearance in which he warmly praised Donald Trump. The move was widely seen as a calculated bid to secure political goodwill as US–China tensions threaten Apple’s business.Before becoming CEO, Cook built Apple’s vast Chinese supply chain — training millions of workers and investing billions in infrastructure — giving the company unmatched manufacturing power but also a deep reliance on China’s authoritarian system. Now, McGee says, he is scrambling to shift production elsewhere while navigating Washington politics. His book, Apple in China, charts how Cook’s choices drove Apple’s rise — and its vulnerabilities — as speculation grows over his future and who might replace him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Richard Dawkins: Why men and women are different
UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers interviews renowned evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins about the enduring biological differences between men and women — and why recognising them remains essential in the face of growing ideological pressure. Dawkins lays out the evolutionary and genetic foundations that distinguish the sexes.He addresses the growing influence of gender ideology and the way it has infiltrated scientific institutions, education, and public discourse. From the redefinition of sex to the silencing of researchers, Dawkins warns that a once-clear understanding of biology is being sacrificed to political orthodoxy — and makes the case for defending scientific truth against the encroachment of dogma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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DEBATE: Is Israel’s war in Gaza moral?
Journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon and UnHerd US Editor Sohrab Ahmari discuss the MAGA pivot against Israel in recent weeks and the reasons for waning support for Netanyahu's war from the American Right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Freddie Sayers from online magazine UnHerd seeks out top scientists, writers, politicians and thinkers for in-depth interviews to try and help us work out what’s really going on. What started as an inquiry into the pandemic has broadened into a fascinating look at free speech, science, meaning and the ideas shaping our world.Due to popular demand here is a podcast version of our YouTube — available to watch, for free here or by searching ‘LockdownTV’.Enjoy! And don't forget to rate, like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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