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IrelandSimon Schama rejects Andrew Gold's fatalism about multicultural Britain
The historian answers Gold's bleak verdict with examples of Jewish-Muslim cooperation, then recalls antisemitism he remembers from Southend.
The Daily Heretic
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 118,186 views a day, 6.8 times a normal first day on this channel (17,303).
We're F*cked – Simon Schama & Andrew Gold
Next story: Laurence Fox moves from Carol Vorderman to cultural assimilation
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 1:00Asked for a practical response to his concerns about multiculturalism, Gold gives the bleak answer used in the title.
- 1:18Schama rejects fatalism and points to Jewish-Muslim cooperation as grounds for optimism.
- 3:33Schama acknowledges synagogue security and recalls anti-Jewish graffiti in Southend.
- 5:30Schama places his recollection in the context of Britain's anti-Jewish riots in 1947.
- 6:58Both discuss humour as a coping mechanism and a way to test boundaries, citing Lenny Bruce.
Asked what he would do about the problems he sees in multicultural Britain, Andrew Gold offers a verdict rather than a solution: "We're fucked."
Simon Schama won't accept that as the end of the conversation. In The Daily Heretic's interview excerpt, the historian counters Gold's pessimism with examples of cooperation between Jews and Muslims. His argument is not that antisemitism can be dismissed, but that it need not make the future hopeless.
The exchange drew about 83,000 views in half a day, an early pace nearly seven times the channel's usual start for comparable videos. The title borrows Gold's bleak answer, but Schama's refusal to share it is the substance of the discussion.
Gold opens by raising multiculturalism and broadcaster Mehdi Hasan's past writing about antisemitism within Britain's Muslim community. Schama turns the question back on his host: what practical response does Gold propose? He then points to collaborative efforts between communities, including praise from American writer Dara Horn.
Schama also acknowledges the security surrounding synagogues and recalls anti-Jewish graffiti he saw in Southend. That memory takes the conversation into Britain's history of antisemitism, rather than treating hostility as something without precedent.
The closing stretch turns to humour, with Lenny Bruce among their reference points. For Schama and Gold, jokes become another way of discussing identity, testing boundaries and coping with hostility.
An English historian and television presenter whose specialisms include Jewish, Dutch, French and art history.
More on Wikipedia ›A British-American broadcaster, journalist and progressive political commentator who founded the media company Zeteo. He previously hosted The Mehdi Hasan Show on Peacock and MSNBC.
More on Wikipedia ›An American novelist, essayist and literature professor who has won the National Jewish Book Award three times.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Channel
- The Daily Heretic
- Subscribers
- 333,000 ▲ 5,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 4,231,587
- Channel views, pace per day
- 183,328 (on a normal day: 624,263)
- Video published
- November 12, 2026
- Video views so far
- 82,631 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 118,186
The numbers
The Schama excerpt is drawing views much faster than The Daily Heretic's usual interview uploads. Its comment count has also passed the channel's usual full first day.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which comedian do Schama and Gold discuss when considering humour's boundaries?
Lenny Bruce is one of their reference points in the discussion of humour and coping with hostility.