Summary of #22 - Martin Durkin on updating The Great Global Warming Swindle, and fighting the “new class”

00:00:00 - 00:35:00

Martin Durkin, director of "The Great Global Warming Swindle," discusses the difficulties he faced after the documentary aired and the possibility of updating it by crowdfunding it for free distribution. He also argues that the push for action on climate change is rooted in anti-capitalism and driven by a "new class" of elites who demand more government interventions and public funding. Durkin stresses the need to stand up for working-class people and convey simple arguments for individual freedom, as well as fact-check everything before trusting it. The conversation ends with a note of optimism about people questioning things more and a plan to update Durkin's film on climate change.

• 00:00:00 In this section, Martin Durkin, director of the 2007 documentary "The Great Global Warming Swindle," recounts the backlash and difficulties he faced after the documentary aired. There were a deluge of complaints to Ofcom, a quasi-government organization that takes complaints about broadcasting, and it was the most complained about program in British Broadcasting history at the time. However, the documentary also received a lot of support, and even to this day, people recommend it as a counter to the global warming nonsense on TV. Durkin also talks about the quick turnaround of the documentary and how he personally traveled around to meet with scientists and put it together.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Martin Durkin discusses the possibility of updating The Great Global Warming Swindle and how it would work. He explains that crowdfunding would be the best option to distribute the new version for free, rather than relying on broadcasters who typically have an editorial say in the final product. Durkin expresses how the science behind global warming has not stood up and has been disproven multiple times. He is interested in exploring the nature of the consensus behind global warming and how it has managed to persist. Durkin is excited to start making the film as he has already given up his old job to write a book, making this a great opportunity for him to get out and make something new.
• 00:10:00 In this section, Martin Durkin, the producer of "The Great Global Warming Swindle," suggests that the push for action on climate change is rooted in anti-capitalism. He notes that at climate rallies, the protesters are mostly middle- and upper-class students and that the movement is not anti-capitalism in the traditional sense as capitalism has actually been good for the workers. Instead, the movement is elitist and anti-working class, aiming to restrict working-class people's access to mass-produced goods, mass tourism, and cheap energy. Durkin argues that a new ruling class, defined as an entire social class that arose from the expansion of the state, is driving the climate change agenda.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Martin Durkin discusses the "new class" that dominates institutions like the Civil Service, media, universities, teaching and publicly funded science. According to him, this class has embraced the theory of global warming because it demands more government interventions, regulations, and public funding, which further strengthens their influence. To counter this, Durkin believes that identifying their motives and attacking them would be more effective than trying to persuade them. He also emphasizes the importance of speaking to ordinary people and planting seeds of discontent to reveal how this class is trying to deceive them.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Martin Durkin discusses the "new class," a group of academics who are upset with capitalism because it has made some people richer and haven't appreciated their true worth. This group is a specific social group that cannot define themselves as a class, with specific close interests, and they have to stop pretending that they are in it for all of us. When asked about the media, Durkin talks about Channel 4, how it was established by Margaret Thatcher to be counter-cultural, and how it's different from the BBC. Durkin explains how there are a lot of people who don't believe in the climate scam, but they keep it to themselves as it can affect their careers.
• 00:25:00 In this section, Martin Durkin explains that ordinary people are becoming increasingly skeptical of the green message put out by the media, citing poor ratings for environmental programming and incidents such as Green Peace and Extinction Rebellion activists being held in contempt by everyday individuals. Durkin stresses that it is the "new class", i.e. the powerful elite controlling media and opinion, that pose a problem. Despite facing threats of blackouts due to a lack of real energy sources and ridiculous windmills and solar panels, the new class still calls for more subsidies for renewable energy. Durkin believes that ordinary people will begin to see the absurdity of the situation and that it is their job to explain why it is happening and that the proponents of Net Zero and other similar movements are absurd luddites.
• 00:30:00 In this section of the transcript, Martin Durkin talks about the need to stand up to the "new class" and fight for the working-class people who are suffering due to energy bills and affordability. He believes that politicians need to speak up against fossil fuel discouragement and the climate change scam, just like Nigel Farage or Donald Trump did. He also describes climate change as a way to expand state control and power under the pretext of increasing regulation and raising taxes. Moreover, he suggests the need to convey simple and easy-to-understand arguments for individuals' freedom, as it is the fight between individual freedom and the power of the state. Durkin believes that after a film is made with a clear message against the climate change scam, the next step is to refine slogans, shame the other side, and reveal the ongoing control of the state.
• 00:35:00 In this section, Martin Durkin and Tom Woods discuss their connections to climate skeptic organizations and the need to fact-check everything before trusting it. They note a pattern in people's beliefs, where those who are skeptical of global warming tend to be skeptical of other government orthodoxies and directives, such as lockdowns and money printing. The conversation ends with a note of optimism that people are starting to question things more and a plan to update Durkin's film on climate change.