Is Britain in Denial About the Far Right? With Harry Shukman

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What is happening behind closed doors in Britain’s far right movement? On today’s episode, we’re joined by journalist Harry Shukman, the journalist who spent over a year undercover investigating the British far right. Drawing on his new book, Year of the Rat, Shukman sheds light on the secret meetings, pub gatherings, political canvassing, and neo-Nazi conferences at the heart of the extreme right-wing activity in Britain. Through his investigations, Shukman has effectively exposed the mechanics of how far-right ideologies – from eugenics to Holocaust denial – are being normalised across the country, often with surprising allies in big tech, government, and the mainstream media. Harry Shukman is a researcher at HOPE not hate, an anti-fascist organisation. Formerly a journalist, he worked as a news reporter for The Times and then a writer and editor for the Manchester Mill. Joining him to discuss the book is Carl Miller, the journalist, co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos, and host of crime podcast Kill List. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey Spotify, is Dampson Idris here to celebrate Tommy Hill Figures' Apex GP collection.
0:06.0	Fuelled by the thrill of speed and the power of style,
0:09.0	Tommy Hill Figures capsule collection merges performance-driven design with limitless confidence.
0:13.0	This isn't just a lot. It's the uniform for those on a journey to achieve their dreams.
0:18.0	Discover Tommy Hilfiger's limited edition Apex GP collection, inspired by F1 the movie,
0:23.4	only in cinema's June 25th.
0:28.6	Last year, Amazon was the world's largest corporate buyer
0:33.2	of renewable energy.
0:35.4	Feeling full and more of our energy comes from wind bombs like this one.
0:42.3	Guys, what happened to recording that the solar bombs?
0:46.3	To learn more, visit about amazon.com. At UK forward slash sustainability.
0:57.8	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:02.0	I'm producer Mia Serenti.
1:04.3	What is happening behind closed doors in Britain's far right movement?
1:08.6	On today's episode, we're joined by journalist Harry Shookman,
1:11.6	who spent over a year undercover investigating the British far-right. Drawing on his new book,
1:17.4	Year of the Rat, Shickman sheds light on the secret meetings, pub gatherings, political canvassing,
1:22.6	and neo-Nazi conferences at the heart of the extreme right wing in Britain.
1:28.0	Through his investigations, Shugman has effectively exposed the mechanics of how far-right
1:32.1	ideologies, from eugenics to Holocaust denial, are being normalized across the country, often
1:37.5	with surprising allies in big tech, government, and the mainstream media.
1:42.3	Joining him to discuss the book is author and researcher Carl Miller.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Intelligence Squared, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Intelligence Squared and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.