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Daniel James Sharp

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Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
As seen in: The Freethinker, Facebook, Issuu, Soundcloud, Substack, Buzzsprout Podcast Community, Quillette, Areo Magazine, Arc Digital, The Student (Edinburgh), Merion West and
Covers:  Pretty much anything interests me- literature, history, science, philosophy, politics, religion, some pop culture, foreign affairs.
Doesn't Cover: Sport!
Writer. Editor @FreethinkerMag. @NatSecSoc Council. Senior ed. Free Inquiry @center4inquiry. ✍️ in @AreoMagazine, @SpectatorOz, @merionwest & more. Substacker.
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Free speech for all: lessons from Hong Kong

Free speech for all: lessons from Hong Kong

The New Taboo - Free Speech Champions zine — As part of my work at Free Speech Champions, I was involved in the launch of our new zine, The New Taboo, in October 2021. It’s a publication designed to inspire young people, particularly students, about the principles of free speech. I’ve taken over as editor from the formidable Rob Lownie for the second edition. This article from the launch issue (Autumn 2021) can be found on page 7 of the flipbook viewer at the link.
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China's Uyghur Prison-State

China's Uyghur Prison-State

Areo Magazine — Genocide is a crime that has recurred throughout history, but that-one would hope-enlightened humanity would have put far behind it by now. But of course this is not the case. In the last decade of the twentieth century various ethnic groups were yet again corralled into concentration camps, and in some cases massacred.
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A Conversation with Daniel Sharp

A Conversation with Daniel Sharp

Modes of Inquiry Podcast with Mathew Giagnorio — I spoke with Mathew Giagnorio on his Modes of Inquiry podcast about many things, including: dissidence in Islam, woke culture, free speech, and Free Speech Champions.
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On Islamic Fascism: Reflections on 9/11 Twenty Years On - Areo

On Islamic Fascism: Reflections on 9/11 Twenty Years On - Areo

Areo Magazine — Where were you on 9/11? Few events are accorded such status in public memory: there is an expectation that, if you are old enough, you will remember to the second where you were and what you were doing when the planes hit.
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Literary Censorship in the 21st Century with Lionel Shriver & Tomiwa Owolade

Literary Censorship in the 21st Century with Lionel Shriver & Tomiwa Owolade

Free Speech Champions Online Drop-Ins — I was a member of the panel questioning Lionel Shriver and Tomiwa Owolade for a Free Speech Champions drop-in on literary censorship. The event took place on July 26 2021; the video was uploaded on August 9.
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Defending Truth from Trolls and Cancellers: In Conversation with Jonathan Rauch

Defending Truth from Trolls and Cancellers: In Conversation with Jonathan Rauch

Free Speech Champions Online Drop-Ins — I co-hosted, with Inaya Folarin Iman, a Free Speech Champions drop-in with the writer and activist Jonathan Rauch, in which we discussed trolls, disinformation, free speech, cancel culture, and more, inspired by his new book 'The Constitution of Knowledge'. The event took place on July 6 2021; the video was uploaded July 28.
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Naming the Unnameable: Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens and the Defence of Free Speech - Areo

Naming the Unnameable: Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens and the Defence of Free Speech - Areo

Areo Magazine — Part of Areo's free speech special issue.
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Important Announcement Regarding Areo by Two for Tea Podcast

Important Announcement Regarding Areo by Two for Tea Podcast

Two for Tea Podcast — In which I guest host Areo Magazine's companion podcast to chat with its usual host Iona Italia about some upcoming changes at the magazine.
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The Trick of Evocative Science Writing: "Books Do Furnish a Life" by Richard Dawkins

The Trick of Evocative Science Writing: "Books Do Furnish a Life" by Richard Dawkins

Areo Magazine —
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A Feminist Hero: "Prey" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

A Feminist Hero: "Prey" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Areo Magazine —
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Something Worth Fighting For: 'Let's Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education' by...

Something Worth Fighting For: 'Let's Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education' by...

Areo Magazine — Readers of this magazine are probably familiar with the depressing situation on American campuses: the ideologues, disinvitations, deplatformings, policies detrimental to free speech and free enquiry and so on. It might be tempting to consider those universities a lost cause, doomed to consume themselves in cycles of ever-increasing hysteria and persecution. But it would be wrong.
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Not Quite the Satire You're Looking For: 'Somewhere in Europe' by P. J. Vanston

Not Quite the Satire You're Looking For: 'Somewhere in Europe' by P. J. Vanston

Areo Magazine — "It's like a cross between Catch-22 and Lucky Jim for the Brexit generation," declares a blurb on the back cover of P. J. Vanston's 2020 comic novel Somewhere in Europe . Unfortunately, this is a promise which Vanston mostly fails to keep.
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The Quiet Erasure of David Hume Tower

The Quiet Erasure of David Hume Tower

Free Inquiry — Revised/expanded version of my Areo Magazine essay on the topic.
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Correspondence with Danusha Goska on religion, Catholicism, science, fascism, and more

Correspondence with Danusha Goska on religion, Catholicism, science, fascism, and more

Letter —
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God Through Blinkers: 'God Through Binoculars' by Danusha Goska

God Through Blinkers: 'God Through Binoculars' by Danusha Goska

Areo Magazine — Reading Dr Danusha Goska's account of her journey from abused child, suicidal teacher and monastery retreatant to acclaimed author, I was caught between disagreement and admiration. Goska is a Catholic and her book contains many unconvincing arguments in favour of her religion, but she is also a wonderful writer and a resilient, wise, humane and forthright woman.
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In Defence of Argument: 'Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars' by Piers Benn

In Defence of Argument: 'Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars' by Piers Benn

Areo Magazine — In the closing pages of 'Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars', Piers Benn writes: "I was motivated to write this book because there was something that mattered to me, that I felt was under attack from people at opposite ends of the social and political spectrum. This was that human wellbeing requires a 'moral atmosphere', inseparable from an intellectual atmosphere, in which tolerance, thoughtfulness, acceptance of one’s own fallibility, uncertainty, ambivalence, mercy, forgiveness and a desire to find the best in people, can flourish."
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Some end of year reflections: plagues, parties, and penury

Some end of year reflections: plagues, parties, and penury

A Repository of My Own (personal website) — I had intended to write a long, detailed piece about the past year, but to be honest I just can't be bothered. What follows, then, is a mishmash of reflections personal, political and other. Starting personally, despite the inauspicious circumstances 2020 has forced upon us, I've had a pretty decent year.
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The seventeen best books I read in 2020

The seventeen best books I read in 2020

A Repository of My Own (personal website) — As I did last year, I'm compiling a list of the best books I read in the last twelve months or so.
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Lesbians, Witches and Nukes: 'Other Girls Like Me' by Stephanie Davies - Areo

Lesbians, Witches and Nukes: 'Other Girls Like Me' by Stephanie Davies - Areo

Areo Magazine — Stephanie Davies' recent memoir 'Other Girls Like Me' is a moving, deeply personal account of one of the great protest movements against nuclear weapons. Davies was a warrior in her own way, committed to the fight against humanity's stupidest invention.
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Ep 74: Daniel Sharp

Ep 74: Daniel Sharp

A discussion I had on Obaid Omer's 'Dangerous Speech' podcast —
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A world born from mass murder: 9/11 as a turning point in global history

A world born from mass murder: 9/11 as a turning point in global history

culturico.com — People either remember 9/11 or have grown up in its shadow. In this essay, 9/11 shall be considered as a turning point in world history, and it shall be shown that even two decades on we still live in what could rightly be termed the post-9/11 era.
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The Delight of Sentience: 'Inside Story: A Novel' by Martin Amis

The Delight of Sentience: 'Inside Story: A Novel' by Martin Amis

Areo Magazine — Martin Amis opens and closes 'Inside Story' by addressing the reader directly. From the beginning, then, we are confidantes of the author and the implied promise of the book's title is fulfilled- this book really is an inside story. It is deeply personal, often confessional and intensely intimate.
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David Hume Tower: A Tale of Quiet and Shameful Erasure

David Hume Tower: A Tale of Quiet and Shameful Erasure

Areo Magazine — In July, I spoke at a debate hosted by the Black Ed movement, a group that seeks racial justice at the University of Edinburgh, where I study. The debate concerned a petition created by fellow student Elizabeth Lund to rename a university building called David Hume Tower. David Hume was found to be insufficiently pure because of racist comments he made in the eighteenth century. I spoke against the removal of Hume’s name—without success. The university has since quietly announced that the tower will now be known simply as '40 George Square'. This, I assume, is a banal placeholder until the name of someone suitably saintly is found. Though that may take a very long time.
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Conversation, Not War: A Review of 'Making Sense' by Sam Harris

Conversation, Not War: A Review of 'Making Sense' by Sam Harris

Areo Magazine — In July, Sam Harris had a bad-tempered Twitter exchange with geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden over her criticism of Harris for having hosted Charles Murray on his podcast 'Making Sense'. Usually, such social media bust-ups are inconsequential arguments, which leave a bitter taste in the mouth and add little, if any, value to the public square. But Harris and Paige Harden did something quite unexpected—after their spat, they sat down for a two-hour conversation to hash out their differences. It seems to have cleared some of the air and both participants deserve praise for this unusual but welcome departure from social media etiquette.
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