In this episode of Parresia, Dr. Karen Siegemund hosts Peter McIlvenna, founder of the Hearts of Oak podcast and a board member and fellow of the American Freedom Alliance. They discuss the history and scale of grooming gangs in the UK—emerging publicly in the 1970s, involving over 500 convictions across more than 40 towns—and the institutional reluctance to address them due to concerns over social unrest. McIlvenna draws parallels to similar issues in Sweden, Germany, and France, while highlighting demographic shifts as a cautionary note for the United States. The conversation explores broader cultural differences between Islamic and Western values on topics like human rights, women’s status, and martyrdom, before examining the UK’s loss of national identity, the influence of cultural Marxism in education, and the church’s shift toward contemporary social issues. A sobering examination of societal vulnerabilities and lessons for preserving freedoms.

Peter McIlvenna is the co-founder and host of Hearts of Oak, a UK-based podcast on topics related to Western Civilization, freedom of speech and other aligned issues. Mr. McIlvenna is a guest on many high-profile broadcasts, has been a sought-out commentator and international correspondent and is also a frequent speaker including at the American Freedom Alliance and the Council for National Policy. He has also been published in The Federalist and many other publications. 
Peter was Nigel Farage’s UKIP party’s national campaign manager, a senior researcher for the UKIP group, and has been Chief of Staff to Lord Pearson of Rannoch in the House of Lords since 2015.
He has been a determined advocate for free speech, freedom of religion, and the Judeo-Christian values, principles and morals on which Western Civilization is predicated, and we are enthusiastic about including him as an AFA Fellow.

Connect with Peter and Hearts of Oak
X                               @HeartsofOakUK   https://x.com/HeartsofOakUK
GETTR                      @heartsofoak         https://gettr.com/user/heartsofoak
WEBSITE                   https://heartsofoak.org/ 

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