Hearts of Oak Podcast

Montgomery Toms, founder of Freedom Watch GB, joins Peter to describe the organisation’s work recording public debates on free speech, immigration, national sovereignty and related issues in universities and on the streets. He recounts the Brighton incident in which a crowd damaged equipment and attacked the team over its positions on mass deportations and sovereignty, with police intervening, and notes similar hostility during filming in Paris amid protests, including tear gas and physical confrontations. Toms discusses the erosion of common-law protections, the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights by later legislation, mixed experiences with police, and concerns over speech-related arrests, digital ID, surveillance and the Online Safety Act. He argues for continued open debate despite rising threats, rejects violent revolution in favour of political organising and electoral action, and expresses support for Restore Britain while criticising Reform UK for inconsistency on immigration, national identity and free speech. Montgomery Toms is the founder of Freedom Watch GB, a youth-focused group that records street and campus debates on free speech, immigration, sovereignty and government overreach. He began campaigning against lockdowns at age 14 and now works at the headquarters of Restore Britain, the party led by Rupert Lowe. His work centres on public engagement, defence of civil liberties and opposition to digital surveillance and mass migration. Connect with Montgomery... X                                              @MontgomeryToms  https://x.com/MontgomeryToms WEBSITE                                  montgomerytoms.com LINKTREE                                linktr.ee/montgomerytoms FREEDOM WATCH                     freedomwatchgb.com linktr.ee/montgomerytoms Connect with Hearts of Oak. . . 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/   *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin  

Greg Swenson, chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, joins Peter to examine the scale of Republican midterm losses, including Democratic gains in Texas statewide offices and the legislature, alongside continued Republican strength in states such as Florida and Tennessee. He identifies the Iran conflict and higher fuel prices as primary drivers of voter backlash, tied to affordability concerns, and argues that President Trump should acknowledge the economic effects, demonstrate empathy, and outline corrective steps. Swenson reviews the administration’s response to the results, including the Senate’s failure to advance the Save America Act, the emphasis on loyalty within the team, and constraints on military options in Iran. He discusses the difficult 2028 Senate map, the need to focus messaging on the cost of living and economic policy, lower fuel prices as a key priority, and J.D. Vance’s proposed agenda, endorsing three of its four points while raising reservations about altering the U.S. relationship with Israel. Greg Swenson is chairman of Republicans Overseas UK and founding partner of Brigg Macadam Ltd, a London-based emerging-markets investment banking firm. He previously held senior roles at HSBC Global Banking and Markets and Lehman Brothers, with more than twenty years of experience in banking, alternative investments, and global markets. He holds a BA from Boston College and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, divides his time between the United States and the United Kingdom, and regularly comments on markets, economics, and politics. Connect with Greg... X                                    @_GregSwenson  https://x.com/_GregSwenson WEBSITE                        gregswenson.org   Connect with Hearts of Oak... 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                 heartsofoak.org/shop/ DONATE              givesendgo.com/heartsofoak                             donorbox.org/hearts-of-oak-fundraising *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Professor Norman Fenton returns to discuss his book The Capture of Academia, exploring how universities use EDI (DEI) policies, research funding requirements, and peer review to enforce ideological conformity and silence dissent. Drawing on his own career in mathematics and risk assessment, he recounts mandatory DEI statements for grants (even in hard sciences), unconscious bias training, and the dominance of identity politics over merit. He also covers the corruption of peer review—illustrated by his experiences challenging COVID-19 narratives and a high-profile Lancet paper—alongside broader issues of antisemitism, anti-Israel double standards, climate change orthodoxy, and the long-term capture of institutions by cultural Marxism, globalism, and allied ideologies. Norman also shares personal background from his family’s Holocaust and post-war experiences to his disillusionment with hard-left politics while a student at LSE. The Capture of Academia by Norman Fenton on Amazon amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HBGCDQHG# Norman Fenton is Professor Emeritus of Risk at Queen Mary University of London. A mathematician and a pioneer in the use of Bayesian networks, he has spent decades researching risk, uncertainty, and decision-making, helping governments, businesses, and courts apply probabilistic reasoning to complex real-world problems. He is the author or co-author of eight books and more than 300 peer-reviewed publications. His work spans maths, medicine, law, forensic science, computing, finance, and public policy. Since 2020 he has written extensively on COVID-19 data, scientific evidence, and public policy, becoming well known for his independent analyses and advocacy of open scientific debate. His latest book, The Capture of Academia, draws on nearly half a century in higher education to examine how ideological activism, funding incentives, and institutional pressures have transformed academic culture and, he argues, weakened the pursuit of truth. Connect with Prof Fenton... 𝕏                       https://x.com/profnfenton?s=20 WEBSITE           https://www.normanfenton.com/  SUBSTACK        https://wherearethenumbers.substack.com/   Connect with Hearts of Oak... 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                 heartsofoak.org/shop/ DONATE              givesendgo.com/heartsofoak                             donorbox.org/hearts-of-oak-fundraising *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Brian of London - Israel Election: High Arab Turnout Complicates Netanyahu Coalition Formation Brian of London joins Peter to unpack Israel’s latest election results and the messy path to a new coalition. He describes the unusually high turnout (including a packed polling station in his local school), the gap between exit polls and the final count that left Likud ahead but without an easy majority, and why the campaign boiled down almost entirely to “Bibi or not Bibi.” Brian covers the surge in Arab turnout, the absence of a clear successor to Netanyahu, ongoing security realities in Gaza and Lebanon, the decline of the old two-state mindset, and domestic flashpoints such as the judiciary, army service, and demography. He also reflects on why the world remains so fixated on Israeli politics and how the country is quietly reducing its dependence on external support while still facing perpetual threats. Brian of London completed a PhD in Computational Fluid Dynamics just as the Web was emerging. But then he left academia to do management consulting and eventually moved to Israel to do business. Brian's working on the cutting edge of the new Podcasting 2.0 to make sure this relic of the early web, stays free from capture by the centralising forces of Web 2.0 and their dangerous desire to turn us all into dairy cows. Brian was also the admin on Tommy Robinson's Facebook account that had over a million followers before it was nuked! In his spare time, he assists with a gigantic class action lawsuit in Australia on behalf of the entire crypto industry.   Connect with Brian... 𝕏 @brianoflondon https://x.com/brianoflondon   Connect with Hearts of Oak... 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                 heartsofoak.org/shop/ DONATE              givesendgo.com/heartsofoak                             donorbox.org/hearts-of-oak-fundraising *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Callum Smiles joins us once again after filming the recent protests and clashes in Paris. He talks about separating real footage from misleading videos circulating online, what he actually saw on the ground (student-led socialist/communist marches that drew in other groups, organised violence, and targeted shop-smashing), the police response, the heavy rain that eventually shut things down, and the broader mood of tension and anti-Macron feeling. We also cover Marine Le Pen’s rising odds, France’s political and financial pressures, and why Callum thinks similar scenes are unlikely to play out the same way in the UK. Callum Smiles is an independent British journalist, formerly with Rebel News UK and now working under Callum Smiles Media while being lead reporter for Vox Populi. Known as “the unconventional journalist,” he specialises in on-the-ground reporting of mass migration, the World Economic Forum in Davos (where he has confronted figures including Tony Blair, Larry Fink and Greta Thunberg), and related issues across Europe and beyond. Based in the south of England, he self-films and edits his own work. Connect with Callum... 𝕏              @FranklySpeakP  x.com/FranklySpeakP                  @vpopulimedia   x.com/vpopulimedia WEBSITE     callumsmilesmedia.com Connect with Hearts of Oak... 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                 heartsofoak.org/shop/ DONATE              givesendgo.com/heartsofoak                             donorbox.org/hearts-of-oak-fundraising *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin