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In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with historian and Middle East scholar Raymond Ibrahim for a deep historical examination of the Crusades, the centuries long conflict between Islam and Christianity, and the moral framework of just war.

We challenge the modern narrative that portrays the Crusades as unprovoked Christian aggression, and instead trace the centuries of Islamic expansion that preceded them, from the conquest of the Levant and North Africa to the fall of Christian territories across the Mediterranean. Ibrahim lays out the theological, military, and political realities of the era, arguing that the Crusades were understood at the time as defensive wars within a Christian just war tradition.

The conversation explores jihad doctrine, papal authority, pilgrimage routes, the Byzantine appeal for help, and the brutal realities of medieval warfare on all sides. We discuss how both Christian and Muslim chroniclers recorded atrocities, enslavement, and religious violence, and why sanitised or selective readings distort the period.

We also examine how the Crusades are invoked in modern political rhetoric, why historical memory shapes contemporary tensions, and whether the West has lost confidence in telling its own story honestly.

A rigorous and unfiltered discussion about faith, war, civilisation, and what the Crusades really meant in their own time.

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WATCH THE EXTENDED CONVERSATION HERE: https://open.substack.com/pub/winstonmarshall/p/heroic-the-uncensored-history-of?r=18lfab&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:09 The 7th Century Islamic Conquests and Europe’s Shock

07:30 How Early Christians Interpreted Islam

11:41 Jihad: Faith, Plunder, or Both?

16:57 Just War Theory and the Theology of Violence

20:00 The Rise of the Seljuk Turks and New Atrocities

23:35 The Destruction of the Holy Sepulchre

27:48 Pacifism vs Defence: What Did Christ Teach?

31:36 The “Two Swords of Christ” Explained

41:16 Medieval Honour vs Modern Materialism

47:37 Pope Urban II and the Call to Crusade

49:12 The People’s Crusade and the Rhine Pogroms

52:32 The Professional Crusaders March East

58:42 Why They Fought: Holy Land and Christian Solidarity

1:00:07 The Capture of Jerusalem

1:03:35 The Birth of the Knights Templar

1:18:00 Saladin and the Loss of Jerusalem

1:48:00 How the Crusades Are Misunderstood Today

2:01:00 Did the Crusades Ultimately Fail?

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In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with science writer and sceptic Michael Shermer to debate truth, morality, atheism, and whether reason alone can ground a moral system.

We examine David Hume’s is-ought problem, the foundations of human flourishing, and Shermer’s argument that survival and well-being provide a rational basis for ethics. I challenge him on whether this is simply a different kind of leap of faith, and whether Enlightenment liberalism ultimately rests on inherited Judeo-Christian assumptions about the individual, the soul, and human dignity.

The conversation explores empiricism, pragmatism, evolution, and the limits of reason, alongside debates about Christianity, secular humanism, and whether religion provides measurable social benefits. We also tackle the legacy of New Atheism, the rise of woke ideology, environmentalism as a quasi-religion, and whether the moral arc of history truly bends toward justice.

A wide-ranging and philosophical exchange about faith, reason, truth, and whether the modern West can defend its moral foundations without returning to religion.

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To see more exclusive content and interviews consider subscribing to my substack here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/

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FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

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Chapter

00:00 – Can You Derive Morality from Science?

01:28 – Hume’s Is–Ought Problem Explained

05:00 – Why Human Flourishing Is the Moral Starting Point

08:04 – Survival vs Death: The Ultimate Moral Question

12:27 – Christianity vs Enlightenment Morality

19:25 – Do Religious People Live Longer?

23:04 – Empirical Truth vs Religious Truth

25:00 – The Resurrection: Literal or Literary?

28:14 – Can Reason Justify Reason?

30:00 – Is Religion “Pragmatically True”?

35:15 – New Atheism & the Rise of Wokeism

38:06 – Environmentalism as a New Religion

45:06 – Does History Bend Toward Justice?

47:47 – Grooming Gangs, Slavery & Modern Injustice

50:00 – Trans Ideology, Moral Reversal & Vigilance

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I want to see you in New York for Dissident Dialogues! Get your tickets HERE : https://dissidentdialogues.org/

In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with novelist and cultural critic Lionel Shriver for a wide-ranging conversation on immigration, national identity, childlessness, and the psychological roots of progressive politics.

We begin with the backlash to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claim that Britain has been “colonised,” and explore why immigration has become the most morally charged issue in Western politics. Shriver argues that debates over borders, demographic change, and the so-called “great replacement” divide societies into irreconcilable camps, and that mass migration touches deep anthropological instincts that elites refuse to acknowledge.

The discussion moves beyond economics into culture and psychology, examining performative guilt, self-righteousness, and what Shriver calls the narcissism at the heart of modern progressive ideology. We explore why national identity has been hollowed out, why anti-border politics often coexists with hyper-individualism, and how the collapse of religious faith has left a moral vacuum filled by activism.

We also debate falling birth rates, the status of motherhood, childlessness, and whether Western societies can survive demographic decline without either restoring cultural confidence or radically transforming themselves. Shriver argues that a civilisation unwilling to reproduce itself cannot expect to endure.

A provocative and deeply philosophical conversation about immigration, identity, family, and whether the West still believes in itself.

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WATCH THE EXTENDED CONVERSATION HERE:: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/

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FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Substack: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/

X: https://twitter.com/mrwinmarshall

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/winstonmarshall

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/winstonmarshall

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Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

02:17 Has Britain Been “Colonised”?

05:38 The Great Replacement: Theory or Demographic Fact?

08:15 Why Immigration Became a Moral Absolute

11:29 White Guilt, Vanity & Progressive Psychology

14:35 The Nation State vs Borderless Ideology

18:06 Self-Obsession & the Progressive Mindset

23:31 The White Saviour Complex Explained

26:39 Do the Left Even Believe in Countries?

31:35 From Liberal to Conservative: Shriver’s Turning Point

35:49 Women, Motherhood & the Politics of Immigration

41:08 Childlessness, Status & Cultural Decline

49:01 Radical Individualism & the Loss of Norms

57:40 If We Don’t Have Children, We’ll Be Replaced

1:12:38 Immigration Rage, Identity & What People Really Feel

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.