{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ep#194 - How Christopher Hitchens Can Save The Left - Matt Johnson","description":" This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@Gspellchecker) welcomes author Matt Johnson. They will be discussing Matt\u2019s new book \u2018How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment\u2019. Video Version on YouTube: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o6a4Ccp9zhQ 0:00 Intro&amp;nbsp; 0:29 Why focus on Christopher Hitchens to make the points in your book? 2:59 Why does \u2018the left\u2019 need saving? 5:55 Leaving the left for the right and Dave Rubin. 09:36 What is meant by \u2018the counter-enlightenment\u2019? 11:30 Trump and the right\u2019s hypocrisy on free speech 14:10 Richard Seymour\u2019s terrible book on Christopher Hitchens (\u2018Unhitched\u2019) 18:36 How much did \u2018The Rushdie Affair\u2019 impact the life of Christopher Hitchens? 22:04 Has freedom of speech improved where Islam is concerned since the death of Christopher Hitchens? 25:20 Would it help for people to simply admit they are scared to criticise Islam for safety reasons? 28:57 Stephen Knight\u2019s debate with Chris Hedges about Islam 30:28 What explains the Putin apologism from the American right? 33:34 Christopher Hitchens\u2019s support for the invasion of Iraq 40:12 What did Christopher Hitchens think about identity politics?&amp;nbsp; 45:18 What is \u2018fearless liberalism\u2019? How can it be applied? 49:16 The legacy of Jeremy Corbyn 56:34 Disappointment with Hitchens\u2019s dislike of Sci-fi and preference for limericks over puns. 01:00:14 Sensationalist Youtube Thumbnails Stephen Knight\u2019s Substack: www.sknight.substack.com Buy Matt Johnson\u2019s Book:  https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Hitchens-Save-Left-Rediscovering-Counter-Enlightenment\/dp\/1634312341 Support the podcast at http:\/\/www.patreon.com\/gspellchecker Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube &amp;amp; Spotify.   &amp;nbsp; ","author_name":"The Godless Spellchecker Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/gspellchecker.wordpress.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/27570186\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/27570186"}