The Contrarian: Christopher Hitchens on God, War, and the Art of the Argument

In this episode of pplpod, we explore the volatile life and intellect of Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011), the British-American author and journalist renowned for his "wit and eloquence" and his fearlessness in the pursuit of truth. We trace his complex ideological evolution, starting with his early days as a Trotskyist and member of the International Socialists to his controversial shift following the September 11 attacks, when he advocated for the invasion of Iraq and challenged "fascism with an Islamic face".

Join us as we examine Hitchens’s role as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, where he identified as an antitheist and argued that religion is "violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry". We discuss his epistemological "Hitchens's razor"—the idea that "what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence"—and his blistering critiques of public figures like Mother Teresa, Bill Clinton, and Henry Kissinger. Finally, we look at his personal battles, including his complicated relationship with his conservative brother Peter Hitchens and his candid writings on his own mortality following a diagnosis of esophageal cancer.