For our satellite event for the Battle of Ideas 2026 festival of debate*, we welcome back journalist and author Brendan O’Neill to discuss his new book Vibe Shift: The Revolt Against Wokeness, Greenism and Technology..
Recently, weve recently seen growing opposition to the policies and what some term the ‘luxury beliefs’ of sections of the ruling elite; in particular around the issues of transgenderism, apocalyptic environmentalism and mass immigration – on which if you aired the ‘wrong’ opinions you could find yourself facing cancellation, protest or even arrested.
According to Brendan O’Neill in his latest book this backlash represents nothing short of a ‘vibe shift’ – that is, ‘a seismic turn in the moral zeitgeist brought about by popular discontent with the old, knackered order’, ‘the reassertion of the wisdom of the crowd’ and the ‘revenge of common sense’ around ‘Biology. Industry. Sovereignty’.
But do you agree with Brendan? Or does he exaggerate or romanticise what often appear disparate protests around a range of unconnected issues. There now even seems to be something of a backlash and doubling down on these issues. So, is the vibe really shifting, and do you think it should? Come and join the discussion!
