Ed Bracho-Polanco discusses the new book “Coming Clean” with its author Eric Heinze

The Media Diversity Institute and Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Law, Democracy, and Society hosted a thought-provoking discussion on Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Future of the Left, the new book by Professor Eric Heinze.

Held both online and at London’s Frontline Club on 23 May, 2025, the event featured Heinze in conversation with Ed Bracho-Polanco (CAMRI), moderated by BBC presenter Paul Henley. Attendees engaged in a lively exchange on the ethical responsibilities of the modern left.

In Coming Clean, Heinze challenges leftist movements to confront not only Western injustices but also their own historic complicity with authoritarian regimes—from Stalin’s Soviet Union to North Korea’s Kim dynasty. He calls for a new, self-reflective kind of wokeness that embraces accountability alongside critique.

Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Future of the Left
by Eric Heinze

About the Book: 

Leftists have long taught that people in the West must take responsibility for centuries of classism, racism, colonialism, patriarchy, and other gross injustices. Of course, right-wingers constantly ridicule this claim for its “wokeness.”

In Coming Clean, Eric Heinze rejects the idea that we should be less woke. In fact, we need more wokeness, but of a new kind. Yes, we must teach about these bleak pasts, but we must also educate the public about the left’s own support for regimes that damaged and destroyed millions of lives for over a century—Stalin in the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong in China, Pol Pot in Cambodia, or the Kim dynasty in North Korea.

Criticisms of Western wrongdoing are certainly important, yet Heinze explains that leftists have rarely engaged in the kinds of open and public self-scrutiny that they demand from others. Citing examples as different as the Ukraine war, LGBTQ+ people in Cuba, the concept of “hatred,” and the problem of leftwing antisemitism, Heinze explains why and how the left must change its memory politics if it is to claim any ethical high ground.

Heinze, a Professor of Law and Humanities at Queen Mary and trustee of the Media Diversity Institute, is also the author of The Most Human Right (MIT Press) and a global voice on free speech and human rights. The Media Diversity Institute works globally to promote inclusive, responsible journalism that fosters understanding and counters prejudice.

Learn more about the event here.

Order a copy of the book here.