In this episode, Mike sits down with Melanie Phillips, the journalist, author and columnist, for a wide-ranging conversation about patriotism in Britain and across the West.
What does it mean to love your country today, and why has that become such a contested idea? Mike and Melanie explore how attitudes to national identity have shifted, what holds a shared culture together, and whether pride in Britain’s history and institutions can sit comfortably alongside an honest reckoning with its past.
The conversation also turns to one of Melanie’s central arguments: that the left has come to see itself as the side of humanity itself, and that this framing casts those on the right not simply as political opponents, but as morally suspect. Mike presses her on where this idea comes from, how it plays out in politics, the media and public debate, and what it means for a society’s ability to disagree well.
Whether you share Melanie’s views or challenge them, this is a conversation about some of the biggest questions in British public life right now: who we are, what we value, and how we talk to each other across political lines.
Watch & Listen to the full episode now, and let us know what you think in the comments.