82: The free-speech wars in comedy

Mark Birbeck, co-founder of the Our Fight campaign, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban, what the public-health lobby gets wrong about alcohol and why even the anti-Israel bigots deserve free speech. Find out more about spiked’s internship programme here: spiked-online.com/interns  Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Stand-up comedian Josh Howie joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss the revelations from the Cass Review, the World Health Organisation’s fake news about vaping and how wokeness has divided the comedy industry. Find out more about spiked’s internship programme here: spiked-online.com/interns  Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

John O’Connell – chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance – joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss local councils spending millions on diversity officers, Jolyon Maugham’s crusade against ‘Tufton Street’ and why a comedian’s tour posters were banned by the London Underground. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Candice Holdsworth joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss sin taxes on vaping, the call to ban cigars and Michael Gove’s crackdown on extremism. Get your ticket for spiked’s next live event – Brendan O’Neill in conversation with Matt Ridley – on Thursday 21 March at 7pm GMT: https://www.spiked-online.com/events/   Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Mick Hume joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater to discuss Prince Harry’s beef with the tabloids, banning smartphones for under-16s and whether believing in prohibitionism should be a ‘protected’ belief. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Harrison Griffiths joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater to discuss Rishi Sunak’s crusade against vaping, the tyranny of the World Health Organisation and Chris’s campaign for an extra day of summer. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Rob Lyons, science and technology director at the Academy of Ideas, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss just how bad a Labour government will be for freedom, the public-health plot against large wine glasses and the sinister rise of Brummiephobia. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Lou Perez, comedian and author of That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss the rise of anti-woke comedy, the hypocrisy of the health-food lobby and the joys of Wetherspoons. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

The Spectator’s Kate Andrews joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. In this special end-of-year round-up, they discuss everything from food fads to fag bans to laughing gas to the coming crackdown on the internet. Enjoy!  This episode is sponsored by Magic Mind. Fans of Last Orders can get up to 56% off their first subscription or 20% off a one-time purchase. Just use the code LASTORDERS20 here: https://magicmind.com/products/magic-mind?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=podcasts&utm_campaign=lastorder  Please dig deep for spiked this Christmas.  Donate: https://www.spiked-online.com/donate/ Get a mug: https://www.spiked-online.com/mug/  Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Andrew Orlowski joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss the hysteria over AI, New Zealand’s u-turn on smoking and whether selfies are a public-health risk. Send your postbag questions to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked’s newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked’s shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/