Jordan Peterson is that most contemporary of creatures, an internet sensation, too often words that signify those who are famous for being rude, or simply for being famous.

Fifty-five-year-old Peterson, though, has plenty of solid achievements on his CV, most recently as professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and an advisor to the UN Secretary-General. It is his university lectures, which currently include a series on the psychological significance of Bible stories, that have attracted an audience of 35 million on YouTube. He is, one critic has put it, as close as academia gets to a rock star.