His original book was published in a different social setting, before the rise of social media which brought with it more scrutiny of language use and exposed cases of racial and social injustice.

“My predictions have largely borne out. I have been, I must say, a bit surprised by – though I probably shouldn’t have been – by the dogmatic literalism of some of the people that I refer to as ‘eradicationists’.

“We’re in a bad situation if we prioritize the elimination of danger. If we do that, well, let’s just then get rid of books, get rid of discussion, get rid of comedy, get rid of satire,” the scholar argues.