# Nigel Biggar - There's Something VERY Sinister About Mehdi Hassan!

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-daily-heretic-7574275/nigel-biggar-there-s-something-very-sinister-about-mehdi-hassan
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-daily-heretic-7574275/nigel-biggar-there-s-something-very-sinister-about-mehdi-hassan.md
Podcast: [The Daily Heretic](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-daily-heretic-7574275)
Published: 2026-07-13T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/OTEP4665612719.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/OTEP4665612719.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-daily-heretic-7574275/episodes/nigel-biggar-there-s-something-very-sinister-about-mehdi-hassan
Duration seconds: 617

## Resource

Has modern political debate become more about moral grandstanding than honest discussion? In this explosive conversation, Oxford ethicist Nigel Biggar joins Andrew Gold to explain why he believes prominent commentators like Mehdi Hasan have helped create a media culture driven by outrage, ideological certainty, and highly selective moral arguments. 👉 Subscribe to The Daily Heretic now for fearless conversations: https://www.youtube.com/@hereticsclips/videos Nigel Biggar is one of Oxford University’s leading professors of ethics and public theology — but after arguing that British history contains reasons for both “shame and pride”, he became one of the most controversial academics in Britain. In this focused discussion, Biggar examines what he sees as the growing problem of ideological debate replacing intellectual honesty inside media, academia, and political discourse. Why do certain public figures dominate conversations by framing opponents as morally suspect rather than engaging with their actual arguments? And has modern political commentary become increasingly performative and tribal? The conversation explores free speech, cancel culture, British history, colonialism, race politics, media narratives, ideological activism, academic freedom, and the widening divide between honest debate and online outrage culture. Biggar reflects on the backlash he faced after publicly challenging simplistic narratives surrounding empire, slavery, and British history. From online petitions to publishing pressure and reputational attacks, he describes what happens when academics refuse to conform to fashionable ideological assumptions. What makes this discussion particularly compelling is Biggar’s insistence that ethical debate requires nuance, humility, and intellectual consistency…

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## Transcript

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