Cancelled comedians and whistleblowers (E408)

It is often the case that books they try to ban go straight to the top of the bestseller list. This seems to have happened with the comedian Dave Chappelle and his current show on Netflix. He is the latest victim of ‘cancel culture’, after discussing transgender issues. So, we invited Leo Kearse to help us understand the role of comedians – from their position as modern-day court jester playing with ideas and theories, to the current trend of shutting them down and silencing their voices.

Tara Reade worked as staff assistant in Joe Biden’s Senate office back in the 90s. When she filed a harassment complaint in 1993 against him, she found herself ‘cancelled’. Liberal political groups on Capitol Hill who would ordinarily circle around and support whistleblowers turned their back, refusing to believe her account. Since then, she has campaigned for whistleblowers around the world. And, as Julian Assange went back to court this week (albeit by video-link only), we invited Tara Reade onto the show to tell us about her campaigns and work raising awareness.

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