Episode
Is the Woke Era Over? Brendan O’Neill on the vibe shift
- Podcast
- Switzerland with Tom Switzer
- Published
- Feb 18, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3413
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/switzerland-with-tom-switzer-7650433/episodes/is-the-woke-era-over-brendan-o-neill-on-the-vibe-shift/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/switzerland-with-tom-switzer-7650433/is-the-woke-era-over-brendan-o-neill-on-the-vibe-shift.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Is the Woke Era Over? Brendan O’Neill on the vibe shift Is Western culture undergoing a major shift? In recent years, cancel culture, identity politics, and ideological conformity reshaped public debate across universities, media, corporations, and politics. Supporters saw long-overdue social progress. Critics warned of growing intolerance toward dissent. Now, some observers argue the tide is turning. In this episode of Switzerland, Tom Switzer speaks with British writer Brendan O’Neill -- one of the most prominent critics of cancel culture and identity politics -- about whether a genuine “vibe shift” is underway, what’s driving it, and what it means for free speech, democracy, and intellectual pluralism. Brendan O’Neill’s new book is called Vibe Shift: The Revolt Against Wokeness, Greenism and Technocracy (Spiked publications). Join Tom’s Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom’s Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.