David Betz is Professor of War in the Department of War Studies at King's College London where he heads the MA War Studies programme. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Prof. Betz's most recent book, The Guarded Age: Fortification in the 21st Century, is published by Polity.

In this episode, David and I think out loud about the role of political institutions in civil conflict, the impact of demographics on politics & how the election of Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of New York City and continued election of Sadiq Khan for the Mayor of London are instructive about the future of Anglophone countries, whether the white British are displaying an anger and spiritedness following suppression and dismissal of their national identity, what Britain looks and feels like if it descends into inter-tribal civil conflict, how the elites have betrayed the British people, why Britain’s youth are discontented, the rival visions and consequences for Britain’s future, and what David has changed his mind on and much, much more.

• Follow David on X
• Buy David's book here

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

Enjoy the show class mates.

Nina Power is a philosopher, writer, and author of books including What Do Men Want?: Masculinity and Its Discontents. Nina runs philosophy courses with Verdurin and is also the author of the Substack Nina Power and the host of the podcast The Lack.

In this episode, Nina and I think out loud about whether the end of liberalism is real, whether post-liberalism is a dead end, why lots of English people keep invoking Tolkien and the scouring of the Shire, whether there's an England left to be saved, what a restoration of Britain would like beyond deportations, the re-Christianising of Britain, the influence of the elites on how the masses think, why Britain needs to be clear and confident about its heritage in the face of challenges from foreign cultures and religions, how far the Overton Window on acceptable political discourse will shift, why societal collapse would see the death of ideology and the rise of violent factionalism, why therapy will only take you so far and much, much more.

• Follow Nina on X
• Subscribe to Nina on Substack
• Buy Nina's book here

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

Enjoy the show class mates.

Philip Cunliffe is Associate Professor of International Relations at the UCL, where he researches and teaches on the topics of international order, multinational military intervention, and conflict management. He has 20 years of academic experience, having previously worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent and a Temporary Lecturer at the UK’s Joint Services Command and Staff College. He obtained his PhD in War Studies from King’s College London. He has also worked as a contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

He is a prolific author and editor, having published eight books and numerous academic articles and chapters on many aspects of international politics and security. His recent books include Taking Control: Sovereignty And Democracy After Brexit (2022), authored with George Hoare, Lee Jones, and Peter Ramsay. Philip is the author of The National Interest (2025).

In this episode, Philip and I think out loud about the importance of politicians and citizenry alike thinking in terms of the national interest, how our political class came to be globally-minded and neglectful of it, why the rolling up of the American Empire will force other nations to think in the national interest, whether liberalism and its assumptions undermine and subvert it, whether the conception of the British national interest will undergo change due to the massive demographic change of recent decades that's accelerating and which will see Britain become less than 50% white British by 2050, why Philip thinks Britain has the political institutions to forge a new nation that sees people of immigrant heritage give up their diasporic connections and pledge fealty to this nation alone and natives give up their internationalist ideals, why John challenges the likelihood of success, and how Philip came to begrudgingly see that academic freedom could only be protected by the state and not self-policed and much, much more.

Follow and subscribe to Philip on Substack
Follow Philip on X/Twitter

Buy Philip's latest book here: The National Interest: Politics After Globalisation

Discover Philip's other books on Amazon

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

• X/Twitter
• YouTube
• Substack

Enjoy the show class mates.