Tom Lehrer, mathematician and musician, died this year at the age of 97. His satirical songs were the accompaniment to the Cold War and to the political events of the 1950s and 1960s. He provided a sharp yet good-natured cri-tique of American moral hypocrisy or the self-important posturing of many progressives, of academic plagiarism or of pontifical populism, set to very sing-able music. In doing so, he provided an accompanying soundtrack to the coming-of-age of many of whom we would now call left-liberal intellec-tuals. It is appropriate to remember him at the conclusion of a conference on fascisms, at which his words could provide a necessary tone of self-irony and humour. Susan Neiman and Benjamin Zachariah remember him through a few of his songs.

Susan Neiman is a philosopher, the author of several books, most recently Left is Not Woke (2023), and is the Director of the Einstein Forum.