Time is scarce, information unlimited and Fake News abundant. That’s why Generation Liberty has introduced Read/Watch/Listen – where our Campus
Coordinators give you their pick of the best articles, podcasts, movies, books and videos each week to get you thinking and keep you informed. Up this week is Theodora Pantelich, Campus Coordinator at the University of Melbourne.
Conversations | Professor Geoffrey Blainey | The Importance of Understanding History
John Anderson’s Conversations is one of my favourite podcasts, with guests ranging from Jordan Peterson and Douglas Murray to Jacinta Price and Jim Molan, but this episode with Geoffrey Blainey, Australia’s greatest living historian, is a recent stand-out for me. Blainey is not only brilliant when it comes to documenting and making the past accessible in his books – he brings a wealth of wisdom to the debate on the importance of understanding history, especially for young people, and issues a clear warning on the dangers of ignoring the lessons of past centuries. In a time when it is all too easy to allow yourself to remain trapped in a narrow worldview, let Professor Geoffrey Blainey remind you why such an approach to ideas is fatal.
A Cautionary Tale for Today’s ‘woke’ Movement by John Gray
After you’ve learned about the importance of history from Geoffrey Blainey, make sure to read this fascinating article by English political philosopher John Gray. With the recent uproar caused by Bari Weiss’ dramatic resignation from The New York Times due to its intolerance of diversity of opinion, it seems all too apt that a recent film which delves into the paper’s chequered past is gaining traction. Mr Jones is a fascinating tale of a truth-seeking journalist facing unimaginable odds to expose famine and terror in the USSR, and in this article, John Gray considers the historical detail and the modern-day implications of the media’s attempts to cover up the atrocities being perpetrated in Stalin’s Russia. Likening this shameful cover-up to today’s woke movement, Gray writes, “renouncing the idea of truth for the sake of some hopeful political project isn’t just immoral. It doesn’t work”.
The Book Club: 1984 by George Orwell with Dave Rubin
And finally, if you think our current social and political climate is becoming increasingly Orwellian, but you’re not quite sure how, then this is the podcast for you. Every episode of PragerU Book Club has been excellent so far, but the incredible relevance of 1984 to today’s leftist attempts to re-write history has never been more important. Host Michael Knowles is joined by IPA favourite Dave Rubin in a riveting discussion about why Orwell’s warning against totalitarianism reads more like a newspaper than a work of dystopian fiction, and the connections to everything from tearing down statues to revisionist takes on history will fascinate and concern you. Don’t miss this one!