And Finally…
In this week’s episode of London Calling, James and I announce we’re taking a break and when we return in October it will be for a monthly show in which we confine ourselves to an amicable conversation about what we each got up to the previous week, including the films and TV shows we’ve seen and books we’ve read. That may sound a little too sedate, but we’ve decided we cannot continue to have the same heated argument about whether the world is going to hell in a hand cart because of folly and incompetence – my theory – or as a result of the diabolical machinations of a cabal of evil billionaires – James’s hypothesis. We’re clearly never going to convince each other and I doubt we’re convincing any of our listeners either. In this, the final episode of London Calling in its present form, James shares his conspiracy theory about the wildfires in Maui and I refuse to engage, telling him he should write a book called The Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory. In Culture Corner, I praise Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part 1 and James says he’s gone back to reading Gogol’s Dead Souls.
You can listen to the podcast here and subscribe on iTunes here, so as not to miss our return in October.
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Good decision. I used to be a big fan of James, but in recent weeks and months, he has clearly gone off the deep end in a big way.
Having said that, I do think Toby does too often take the Establishment party line. There is almost certainly more to the current situation than simply c*ck-up. Thank goodness DS is more sceptical than Toby’s personal public position.
“…the world is going to hell in a hand cart because of
[1.]
folly and incompetence – my theory – or
[2.] as a result of the diabolical machinations of a cabal of evil billionaires – James’s hypothesis.”
It’s BOTH!
Agreed! I don’t see why the two have to be separate.
Toby once proudly mentioned an article that explained the allure of London Calling, the fact that it reflected a conversation going on in thousands of households about whether we lived in a conspiracy or cock up. And that the secret of the podcast’s success was showing how that conversation could be had in a civilised manner.
The debate about conspiracy or cock up will continue around the world and it’s really not a bad way to reflect in what is going on in the news.
Perhaps the fact that Toby and James can no longer have that conversation in a civilised way is a reflection of our times. Society does seem to be dividing ever more sharply into those who are waking up and get it and those who refuse to accept that our systems and institutions are totally corrupt and not fit for purpose.
It remains to be seen whether these two camps in society will follow suit and just agree to disagree and elect to talk about something else to each other, or whether it will end up being something far more acrimonious.
Yes it has certainly become more acrimonious recently, but I think the reason for this decision also reflects the fact that it is tedious for listeners to hear the same arguments week after week. Its simply run its course.
I used to be team James and am still so broadly, but have lost patience with some of his sillier views, cranky diets and, frankly the religious stuff. It gives us all a bad name.
I probably won’t be listening to the new show as I rarely want to watch any of the films/TV that is discussed.
I reckon ther would be scope for that debate to go on. It’s a prism through which to look at current events. However, I do think they would probably need to do a bit more prep to substantiate their positions a bit more robustly. And my impression is that they kind of do it off the hoof. Probably that’s all they have time for.
But the pod was a beacon during covid. For that alone I’ll always be thankful to them.
No, we should not stop talking about these things. We need to be able to have these conversations in a civilised way. It is a reflection of our uncivilised society that we have trouble with this. The answer is to be more civilised, not to stop talking about these things.
Yes James has gone a bit OTT. But having said that, I do rather remember Toby being very resistant to the assertion the mRNA vaccines are bad and thinking anyone saying they are is something of a nutty conspiracy theorist. Yet now we have the very well founded evidence from Prof Norman Fenton showing there has been misclassifications hiding injury and death (mostly due to the 21 day before designating a recipient vaccinated rule). He has also shown, as a matter of mathematical proof (a geometric fact) that the 21 day rule leads to a false view of efficacy such that even a placebo shows a similar degree of efficacy if the same rules are applied, We also now have, beyond Bridgen, Ester McVey bringing the rather excellent Prof Carl Heneghan into a Covid vaccine assessment meeting and setting the attendees straight with facts that prove Andrew Bridgen was right all along. from what I’ve read, I think Toby’s view on this topic has changed somewhat. I wonder if Toby now knows the straightforward and documented fact the mRNA vaccines were designed prior to the pandemic, or that both Pfizer and the NIH were perfectly aware they are inappropriate for… Read more »
Well put , if Toby can’t see the wood for the trees then it’s no wonder others of his ilk can’t either ! As you say James has gone a bit off piste but for Toby to stick to cock up only could mean he’s in denial .
I don’t think he’s in denial at all. His stance on these ‘vaccines’ has shifted slowly, but surely over the last 6 months or so. He’s the only person on the planet that I know of that, as time has passed, now thinks they’re safer than he first believed. A conclusion that is pretty much impossible to come to given the mounting catalogue of evidential harm. Something stinks to high heaven and I can’t help but feel betrayed.
Oh I’ve not been listening to the podcast that often and wasn’t aware he has moved “the wrong way.” From what I remember him writing/saying a while ago I had the impression he was shifting more towards understanding the vaccines have problems. There has certainly been enough published on this website, his own baby, contrary to the direction of travel you’ve described. Surely there must be an element of winding up James for the sake of it to any contrary movement.
It’s a shame, still at least before it ended I learnt that dinosaurs didn’t exist, the earth’s flat and evolution is a lie.
in fairness it was a good podcast before the nasty fights, both sides are too well entrenched now and there wasn’t much give and take.
There is a good deal of evidence from Anglo Saxon and other records that creatures resembling dinosaurs existed into recent times (see After the Flood by Bill Cooper). I’m disappointed also that James, who calls himself a Christian, doesn’t seem to be aware of the description of Leviathon in Job 41. Bible commentators have tried to say it describes a hippo or a crocodile or some other such creature, but from the description there is no creature today that it could possibly be, the only explanation is that it is a type of dinosaur. Job is believed to have lived around 2000 BC.
Too late – I shan’t be resubscribing to listen to a man who think that dinosuars (and the Apollo moon landings) are faked.
Yes, they are remarkably stupid positions for an otherwise intelligent man. Does he think the current space missions are faked?
Nooooooo don’t take a break, and don’t stop discussing these things! When we can no longer discuss opposing viewpoints with good friends disaster is not far off… For the sake of free speech and healthy communication you need to keep going!
James needs to stop being so arrogant and rude, and actually listen to and respect Toby. And Toby needs to go and watch the UK Column News which presents loads of evidence for all James’ “conspiracy theories”.
There’s plenty of evidence that he’s wrong about an awful lot …. we could start with the moon landings and the dinosaurs, and evolution, and…………………….
It’s interesting that some of the Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, are very much into the UFOs / aliens-on-the-moon stuff and actually claimed to have seen such things while on the moon. I don’t buy any of that stuff myself. Presumably, you’d also consider those astronauts as being wrong?
Yes, let me correct myself. Not “all” of James’ “conspiracy theories” but rather that the death jabs are just that and that there is a global elite pulling the strings behind all we’re seeing happening. Definitely not cock-up.
There is no evidence for molecules to man evolution. That we evolved from monkeys is a lie on the same scale as “the covid vaccines are safe and effective.”
I don’t agree with James about dinosaurs. I think there is archaeological and historical evidence that creatures like dinosaurs existed into recent times.
For the moon landings to be faked far too many people would have had to be in on it and for what purpose? It seems very far fetched.
If they do start the car again I think they need to do more prep and perhaps Toby could listen to one of JD’s podcasts he suggests and JD read a TY article; that has a similar ballpark Focus.
Then discuss.
I would subscribe again in hope that they could discover nearly the complicated truth together, god knows we need all the help we can get because there are some sinister things going on that do not have the normal masses best interests at heart !!! This is both ‘cock up’ and ‘by design’ both.
So on a positive note thanks for keeping me company during nutty damaging covid authoritarian diktat times. I will listen to both JD and TY now separately and try join the dots myself until October!
James Delingpole, like many Conspiracy Theorists, is far too thin skinned. I started following him on Telegram and I made one polite comment about agreeing with him that Covid was a scam BUT showing that viruses exist and he blocked me. I love a good conspiracy. I supported David Icke for 20 years, bought most of his books, paid a monthly subscription to him, watched him live at Wembley for 10 hours and donated money to his TV project The Peoples Voice. For about 6 months, I politely debated with people on his forum about Covid being a scam and that the extreme view that viruses do not exist was harming the sceptics fight against the scam. And one of his administrators, Grumpy Owl, blocked me. Years ago having been “moderated” by The Guardian for my “below the line” sceptical comments I was one of the first to follow OffGuardian. Two years ago I politely agreed with them that Covid was a scam but SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, does indeed exist. One of their administrators, Sophie2, blocked me. It seems that if you do not agree 100% with these “Conspiracy Theorists” on every subject then they ban you from any… Read more »
Yes, blocking polite objections is not the sign of robust ideas. Some of the really loony ones seem more like a poor man’s way of belonging to an exclusive club.
Have you read Mark Bailey’s A Farewell to Virology? A Farewell To Virology (Expert Edition) – Dr Mark Bailey (drsambailey.com)
Sam Bailey, Mark Bailey, Christine Massey, Tom Cowan, Andrew Kaufman, Alec Zeck, Stefan Lanka et al are charlatans preying on the gullible and all have been totally debunked.
Mike Yeadon’s phrase comes closest – “convergent opportunism”.
The misdeeds of Fauci, Gates, WEF alumni like Trudeau and Ardern, Matt Hancock, Pfizer et al are provably thought through and go way beyond incompetence, so Toby is cuckish on cock-ups, but James’ notion that these people fly in on their private jets to gather on a mountain side in Switzerland and say things like ‘You will own nothing and be happy’ is silly.
I see why but I must praise you both for keeping it up so long. These debates, irritating as they often were, were the most keenly argued i have heard in many years. Apart from the occasional “you would say that wouldn’t you” from James (disappointingly petulant) your insistence on asking for evidence and his inability to remember any and redirecting you to a book to “educate yourself” pushed me further team T. But I never stopped enjoying it and admired you both for the genuinely gladiatorial fights which helped, by their authenticity and conviction on both
sides, clarify some of these issues. In a world where everyone shies away from real argument I enjoyed these for their awkward moments, your “anyways” and James’s barely concealed wrath. I take my hat off to you both for keeping it going this long. They are wonderful examples of real attempts to reach the truth through rational argument (instead of the confected “debates” we have grown used to in the media or the mutual agreement podcasts where everyone is on the same side,) Thank-you both
Hear hear.
A typically polite Toby explanation. However, it was becoming obvious that James was going further and further off the deep end with his ‘theories’ and becoming rather obnoxious and unpleasant in the process, despite Toby’s efforts at trying to keep it civil. Best avoid that particular arena.
I’ve always seen it as a corrupt, incompetent political establishment – whose entire membership are backstabbers possessed at the very least of a low cunning survival instinct – and various elitist oligarchies such as the WEF and the Soros Mafia family – who are scheming and power-mad, but are actually incompetent when it comes to them and their acolytes getting to run things, because ideology alone isn’t enough to handle day-to-day life.
In a way, I agree with Ayn Rand’s strategy in Atlas Shrugged: let them win, let them destroy society while the rest of us aim to mitigate the damage while it collapses. This winter, we can expect rolling power cuts. By winter 2024, we can expect the whole country to go dark, possibly for in excess of 24 hours at a time. The people won’t tolerate that for long. Take away their warmth, their ability to cook, their Sky Sports and things won’t hold on for long.
James should write his book, when it fails to get published he can blame his secretive ‘wealthy families who have controlled the world for thousands of years’ rather than the more mundane ‘publishers who want to avoid accusations of ….ism’.
This is not just an issue about two opposing world views. Remember that one side of this view of current events is totally censored, blocked, de-platformed, and gaslit by both state and mainstream media. There is no level playing field for both sides to debate on equal terms. For that reason, it is a pity that JD and TY are going to cease debates on contentious issues. It feels a bit like they are doing the state’s bidding by restricting themselves to discussing books and films – the one bit of London Calling I don’t usually listen to anyway. It doesn’t matter if you don’t agree on everything. In fact the podcast would be quite dull if you did agree all the time. It also seems an odd move coming from head of the Free Speech Union to gag yourselves on all except the blandest of subjects
It’s James’ ‘Paul is Dead’ thing that gets me. Utter nonsense on any level, and not even very relevant to the whole debate. As for Toby, surely he can see there’s quite of a bit of planned malice going on? It’s not all incompetence!
Still, sad to hear. TV and holiday highlights don’t exactly grab me as a future outline. Sounds more like OK magazine stuff!
For old times sake, and for the first time in a long while, I’ve just listened to the last episode. It was actually surprisingly saddening to hear how downbeat they both were. Regardless of my own thoughts on the pair towards the end, they should both be immensely pleased with what they provided in the earlier, less testy days. As far as I’m concerned, the angry, sometimes abusive, exchanges put it well past its sell-by date. I’d happily give it another go if it came back in a different format, but I fear they’re so far apart on everything that anything of interest will get lost in meanspirited exchanges. And I’ve had enough firsthand experience of those over the last few years to last a lifetime.
Very sad really, love them both and I know it’s the old cliche but they have kept me sane over the last 3+ years. Tbh I’m probably team Tames or even team Joby! James goes annoying off the wall sometimes (Paul is dead is one example) but Toby must realise the connections/evil between the WHO, the UN and the WEF. I don’t believe they are as organised/competent as James makes out but they’re certainly in conclusion as the same names keep cropping up and of course everything happens globally now. Pity (but I suppose inevitable having listened to them bickering over the past months) as we’re all fighting the same thing and need unity to stay strong.
I didn’t think this weekly rehash of the same argument could struggle on for much longer and although I would have put myself in the James camp, his theories do seem to have become wilder recently. On the other hand, in a recent edition Toby’s defence for not believing in the conspiracy argument was something along the lines of ‘just because the government have done x, y and z in lockstep with multiple governments on multiple occasions doesn’t mean they are wrong on the Ukraine war.’ Which is actually exactly why they are wrong on the Ukraine war. It’s all the same people doing the same stuff. In any case I wouldn’t have listened again, it was tedious and they were both clearly irritated with each other.
I see the Zelensky fan boy has been here.
I only started listening in the last 3 years, being an avid reader of Lockdown Sceptic and occasional listener to the Delingpod. I was generally disappointed. Like many on here, the “Sceptic” has been a lifeline during my “awakening” to what is going on and I treasure Toby for creating and maintaining what is now Daily Sceptic and, of course, the Free Speech Union. James on the other hand is a great interviewer and I’ve enjoyed many of his podcasts, such as the recent one with Ivor Cummins, including many with less well known people who have an interesting and challenging view of world events. My sense of their debates on London Calling is that they seem contrived. At times Toby appears to have forgotten about evidence published on his own website and seems to be in a state of cognitive dissonance. And James struggles to muster the arguments for his own position appearing petulant and judgemental. I admire them both but have come to the conclusion that neither is a great debater (as opposed to commentator) so probably the podcast has passed its peak.