Hi, it's Brendan here. I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas so far. We've got a really special

episode coming up for you today. The legendary historian David Starkey is back on the show,

and even better, he joined me live on Zoom with an audience. Spike supporters were able to attend

this event for free. They were also given early bird tickets with plenty of notice,

so if you never want to miss a spiked event and trust me, we have some really exciting ones coming

up in the new year, then make sure you sign up to become a spiked supporter. Anyone who gives five

pounds or more a month or 50 pounds or more a year is eligible to become a spiked supporter,

and you can get access to a whole range of perks. You can become a spiked supporter by signing

up at spikedhyphenonline.com slash supporters. That's spikedhyphenonline.com slash supporters.

Sign up today and have a very Merry Christmas. Hello, everyone. Welcome to this live recording of

the Brendan O'Neill show with me, Brendan O'Neill, and my very, very special guest, David Starkey.

David, as I'm sure you're all aware, is a renowned historian. He is one of the great historians

of Tudor England. He is also the author of countless books about the history of this country. He's

a seasoned broadcaster. He's a social commentator. And he's someone who is not afraid to speak his

mind even if it occasionally lands him in a spot of bother. I've always thought of David as

inhabiting a very interesting no man's land between being a pariah and a national treasure.

And I'm not sure which of those he'd rather be, but maybe we'll find out in the course

of the next hour. David, welcome to the show. Well, Brendan, thank you. I mean,

I think that makes me sound as I'm transitioning. It is a thought too awful to contemplate.

Maybe, maybe viewers will help me decide which I am. In the genes anyway, it's...

We might talk about transitioning later on as one of the woke issues that is

tearing this country apart. But to begin with, I want to ask you a broad question to kick things off.

...