Andrew Doyle is a writer, satirist, and commentator, and the creator of Titania McGrath. He holds a doctorate in Renaissance literature from the University of Oxford and is the author of The End of Woke, Free Speech and Why It Matters, and a forthcoming book on Shakespeare.
In this conversation, Andrew describes attending the Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, where he appeared on a panel with Rob Schneider, Peter Boghossian, and Frank Turek. He talks about the contrast between the civil discussion inside the auditorium and the violent protests outside, and why the public celebration of Kirk’s murder shook his assumptions about human nature.
Andrew lays out the central argument of The End of Woke: that authoritarianism is the default of humanity and wokeness is only its latest manifestation. He pushes back on framing the culture war as left versus right, discusses the psychology of belief perseverance, and explains what he calls the “Omphalos moment,” after the Victorian naturalist Philip Gosse, who invented an elaborate theory to reconcile his faith with the fossil record rather than abandon it. The conversation also covers Shakespeare authorship conspiracy theories, the Brandenburg test for incitement, the “fire in a crowded theater” myth, and why Andrew believes education is the only real path out of the culture war.
Andrew Doyle
Andrew Doyle on X: https://x.com/andrewdoyle_com
Andrew Doyle on Substack:
The End of Woke (Constable, 2025): https://www.amazon.com/End-Woke-Culture-Expect-Counter-Revolution/dp/1408723964
Free Speech and Why It Matters (Constable, 2021): https://www.amazon.com/Free-Speech-Why-Matters/dp/034913538X
Other References
Andrew Doyle, “The evil of political violence”:
UC Berkeley Turning Point event and protests (Berkeleyside): https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/11/10/turning-point-usa-uc-berkeley-zellerbach-hall
Andrew Doyle’s Shakespeare lectures on Peterson Academy: https://petersonacademy.com/instructors/andrew-doyle
Brandenburg v. Ohio, the incitement test (Cornell Law): https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/brandenburg_test
Schenck v. United States, “fire in a crowded theater” (Oyez): https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/249us47
Anthony Greenwald, “The Totalitarian Ego” (1980): https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1980-24373-001
Edmund Gosse, Father and Son (1907): https://www.amazon.com/Father-Son-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199539111
Shakespeare authorship question (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust): https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/shakespeare-authorship-question/
