In this episode Dara is prompted by a recent homophobic hate crime in Ireland to examine tolerance in a social context. He wonders whether the moral good of tolerance is as effective as the moral good of intolerance. He asks if the dogmatisation of the good can succumb to conspiracies of silence, and looks back at Ireland when it was in the grip of Catholic authoritarianism.
He shares his own beliefs about homophobia and refers to the work of English liberal philosophers John Locke and John Stuart Mill to reflect on personal freedoms, moral responsibilities, and social cohesion.
Dara also looks at Irish politics and governance, and reveals his contribution to the time capsule in Ireland’s recent census. He further discusses media mono-narratives and argues that cancel culture is a juvenile form of intolerance.