Episode 85 - Rob Topinka & digital rhetoric

<p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Show notes for Episode 85</strong></p><p><strong>⚠️⚠️⚠️We talk about some topics and forms of language - the language of incels and the manosphere, for example - that might be considered unpleasant and upsetting for some listeners⚠️⚠️⚠️</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Welcome to episode 85 of Lexis in which Dan talks to Dr Rob Topinka, Reader in Digital Media and Rhetoric at Birkbeck, University of London.</p><p>We talk about: </p><ul><li><p>Why language is important to politics</p></li><li><p>What rhetoric is, its characteristics and what it’s designed to do</p></li><li><p>How rhetoric works in online spaces</p></li><li><p>The kind of rhetoric used to promote extremist views online</p></li><li><p>Incels, red pills, maxxing and NPCs</p></li><li><p>What happened to ‘woke’ </p></li><li><p>The pitfalls of ‘free speech’ and language policing </p></li><li><p>Avoiding reactionary narratives and promoting progressive alternatives</p></li><li><p>Why being ‘unbiased’ is not really an option</p></li></ul><p>Rob’s Birkbeck page: <a href="https://www.bbk.ac.uk/our-staff/9151496/robert-topinka"><u>https://www.bbk.ac.uk/our-staff/9151496/robert-topinka</u></a> </p><p>Rob’s ResearchGate profile: <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Topinka"><u>https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Topinka</u></a></p><p>The Guardian articles Rob has written: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/22/racist-meme-nigel-farage-cameos-online-far-right"><u>https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/22/racist-meme-nigel-farage-cameos-online-far-right</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/oct/20/boriswave-fighting-age-men-cultural-marxism-how-the-far-right-is-changing-how-we-speak"><u>https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/oct/20/boriswave-fighting-age-men-cultural-marxism-how-the-far-right-is-changing-how-we-speak</u></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/jan/31/digital-politics-the-right-internet-digital-politics-extreme-political-ideas"><u>https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/jan/31/digital-politics-the-right-internet-digital-politics-extreme-political-ideas</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/feb/01/digital-politics-progressives-internet-the-left-online-world"><u>https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/feb/01/digital-politics-progressives-in