Dr. Evan Smith is a historian and academic who’s extensively researched the history of the Far Left in Australia and the UK. Last year he released his book No Platforming: A History of Anti-Fascism, Universities and the Limits of Free Speech.
I reached out to Evan last month after the whackiness of the storming of the US Capitol and Trump’s removal from Twitter. We only managed to find some time recently for a chat, but this is clearly still a relevant conversation (as Trump is formally acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial). Evan lays out the history of “no platform” as a political tactic, the moral and political arguments surrounding it, the grey areas and its potential limits as a strategy for the Left.
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My 2021 show is called WE ARE ALL IN THIS – it’s on sale now at the Adelaide Fringe
Evan’s blog, New Historical Express
You can support Evan’s work on Patreon
My interview with Douglas Murray on Tonightly
ARTICLE: Evan reviews Jeff Sparrow’s Fascists Among Us
Cause of the Week: The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (unemployedworkersunion.com)
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