Andrew Doyle on GB News and Mermaids

[Mollyollydolly]

I think this deserves a thread of its own.
Everyone should watch it.
Say what you like about GB News, and there's a lot I dont like but 'Free Speech Nation' is superb.
I share his disgust at how BBC, ITN, Sky and Ch 4 News still don't report on this issue, even after the last two weeks. Cowards all of them.
twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1579176529598324737

Just watched Free Speech Nation from last night - I think I'n even more hopelessly in love with Andrew Doyle. So cute and so very clever!

Yes, if I ever meet him, I will have stop myself giving him a hug.

I don't think JS is an intelligent satirist. A lot of what he says is ultimately as shallow as his views on gender topics. Some of the stuff he has said about anti-racism is moronic and embarrassing, in particular.

Posted too soon - I think part of his problem is that to do good satire, you really have to understand the ideas and logic of the thing you are satirizing. If you miss the mark it's just not funny.

I totally agree @MangyInseam . JS, Colbert, John Oliver, all have the same shallow take and all pedal the left wing mantras of CRT and CGT unthinkingly. I guess we have to remember that they are all, in fact, actors, not the great social thinkers that we are led to believe they are due to the political nature of their TV programmes, and that their words are crafted by a huge group of staff writers. Doyle is, I think, much more of the genuine article: a highly educated individual who produces his own material and manages to be extremely funny whilst making serious political points.

Of the US satirists, Bill Maher is pretty sound.

Oops, forgot the link: m.youtube.com/watch?v=mMBzfUj5zsg

Bill Maher does get it, but it took him a long time to stop pussy footing around the matter and really speak out. He's only been truly vocal since the Netflix/Chappell debacle. I've been disappointed in him, since he's the one that constantly criticises religious thinking, and even made a film poking fun at organised religion. He's a huge admirer of Leah Remini and her exposure of Scientology. He must be aware that TRA dogma has the qualities of cultish religion. He's also been the victim of cancellation for plain speaking (his old series from the 1990s was cancelled). I am very grateful that he is speaking out now, don't get me wrong, but it's off the backs of braver people than him.

I agree Maher seems the best of the lot. But only by a little.

I don't know if it's been lack of bravery or not really stepping back and looking at his own assumptions. The comparison to being critical of religion may not apply so much, for a person on the secular left that is almost the default position and doesn't necessarily represent any serious insight. There's lots of bad satire about religion.

I hope whatever happens to GB News, AD can carry on with FSN on Youtube.

Agree with this.

Really had everything crossed Jon Stewart would be more informed on this issue. When his opinion on JKR blew up it was looking hopeful. I've watched him for years and can never remember him being so petulant and dismissive with an interviewee - the way he shut down the conversation in that clip was actually quite shocking to me. It wasn't a Daily Show style piss take, trying to make someone look stupid for laughs; the look away and dramatic exhale was pure contempt.

Watching that clip he struck me as someone with skin in the game.

I don't know if you've ever seen some of his rants on CRT type stuff, but they are basically the same. You can see he is kind of enraged and dismissive.

Perhaps it's defensive. Perhaps he knows deep down it's all bullshit. Maybe the defensiveness comes from knowing that, the minute the interviewee would be able to cite some evidence/studies against transitioning children, he'd have nothing to say in response. I thought his interviewee held her own and was very calm and sensible sounding, but wish she'd been able to cite some authority. Then again, if she had, he'd probably have never broadcast it. I wonder what her brief was for the interview? I can't help contrasting him with Matt Walsh, whose interviewees came out with some absolute batshittery, whilst MW managed to stay unemotional and just keep asking questions calmly.

Jon Stewart was very vocally supportive of Caitlyn Jenner when there was a hoo ha all those years ago about CJ's Vanity Fair cover. Did an item about it on the Daily Show repeatedly declaring, "This is a woman". And, to be fair, also did a pretty funny observation that CJ was already being treated as a woman by the press in the objectifying language used to describe CJ.

What else can he do? He's been a big shining start for the left for years now. The progressive left is utterly incapable of brooking any criticism. The minute he questions CRT etc, he'll be toast. The liberal networks won't touch him. It feels like if he keeps desperately shouting about it enough, they'll think he's ok, and it will be ok, just keep saying the mantras. I don't know if any of you followed the Scientology sagas, but it does remind me a little of the last days of Mike Rinder as a Scientology big wig. He had a massive to-do with a BBC Panorama journalist investigating scientology, went off on one in defence of them on camera. He was told off by his superiors for still not doing it well enough (because you an never do enough). He defected the org about 5 minutes later.

The States is much more far gone than we are here in the UK. But individual states are fighting back and gaining purchase. The November midterms may end up being a disaster for the Democrats. Perhaps the progressives see the writing on the wall and desperation is setting in - hence the doubling down - maybe 🙏

Maybe. I tend to think he is a True Believer. At least in progressivism. And he's experiencing a really intense cognitive dissonance.

which is to say I think at some level he must be aware of how weak his positions are. If you saw the discussion he did with Andrew Sullivan on race, it was the same problem, he clearly had only a very surface understanding of the things he was talking about.

I watch FSN most weeks and think Andrew Doyle is fab, but this might be the best episode yet. Thanks and well done Mr Doyle, please do keep up the good work

I seem to remember Andrew Sullivan was very unhappy with his treatment on that show and claimed that he had been ambushed/mislead about what was entailed (although the show's production team denied that).

Yes, he said they had told him it would be just him chatting with JS, not a panel debate.

Either way what was really notable to me (aside from the weird guest who charged suburban white women $5000 to come to dinner and be told they were racists) was the way JS seemed to just say things as if they were a given, or quite rude things to Sullivan, and the audience would clap. It wasn't really about a discussion. It reminded me a bit of a tent revival meeting. I wished they'd asked someone like John McWhorter but there is no way JS would be that brave!

I'd forgotten those details, Mangy - it was a very shoddy episode. McWhorter (or Glenn Loury) would have been good although they are "the wrong kind of black", as McWhorter has put it.

I've just watched a few clips of the episode with Andrew Sullivan. Ii was pretty laughable. 4 white people arguing over CRT. One of whom is a white woman who charges other white women to come to dinner to talk about their white guilt. What a grift! JS wouldn't have had the balls to invite a conservative African American on the ask them their opinion on this self serving self flagellation.

Anyway, Sullivan was on the Megyn Kelly podcast yesterday, and got a chance to critique Jon Stewart. It's not flattering!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say we will be making the Gay Men's Network response to this consultation public so if anyone needs the relevant law they can get it from there, it will also summarise the objections I raised on GB News - should be up next week once we finalise it.

All the best

Dennis

Wow, Bitoss, she really goes off about JS!

I find the way American journalists sound so invested a little off-putting. But it's an interesting interview overall.

Nice to see Andrew Sullivan. I enjoy his podcast The Dish Cast.

I wish there were such good left-leaning podcasts which haven't given into to gender extremist ideology; I listen to various feminist podcasts, plus The Rest is Politics and The NewsAgents, but I'd love more good lefty podcasts to balance out the (small c) conservative ones I have on rotation atm. Blocked & Reported offers a nice balance (and they're funny) - any more like that?

@BirdinaHedge Do you watch the Marshall Matters interviews on the Spectator channel? The interviewer is the chap from Mumford & Sons, Winston Marshall, who was cancelled for tweeting in support of Andy Ngo. He's done some great interviews, Imo. The earlier ones came from the standpoint of him being a bit of an ingenue, trying to get to grips with why people were being cancelled. He's been noticeably more clued up lately, but still seems to approach it all from a place of wishing to understand, rather than anger. He did an interview with the absolutely lovely, very articulate and on the ball James Dreyfuss the other day.

ooo thanks for that. Another excuse to procrastinate ...