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Om podden
Weekly audio essays from leading experts. Read by Leighton Pugh.
The podcast EI Weekly Listen is created by EI Weekly Listen. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Avsnitt
Andreas Rödder on Konrad Adenauer and the German realignment
8 november 2024 |
17 min
Konrad Adenauer combined Realpolitik and German values and interests with international cooperation. The multilaterally integrated, co-operative nation state he championed was a fundamental innovation in European history. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: German statesman Konrad Adenauer depicted on a coin. Credit: VPC Coins Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: German statesman Konrad Adenauer depicted on a coin. Credit: VPC Coins Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Kenneth Payne asks: will machines make strategy?
1 november 2024 |
22 min
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence capable of deducing human intentions signals a new frontier in technology that could transform the world of strategy, diplomacy and warfare. Read by Helen Lloyd.
TV screens showing the live broadcast of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match at Yongsan Electronic Technology Land in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
TV screens showing the live broadcast of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match at Yongsan Electronic Technology Land in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
Alina Polyakova on Ukraine and the future of US global leadership
25 oktober 2024 |
13 min
If Russia is allowed to walk away with any of its ill-gotten gains in Ukraine, the deterrent power of the United States and the transatlantic alliance will be lost. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The flags of the United States and Ukraine flying side by side. Credit: Todd Bannor / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The flags of the United States and Ukraine flying side by side. Credit: Todd Bannor / Alamy Stock Photo
Philip Zelikow on the study of statecraft
18 oktober 2024 |
21 min
The study of statecraft would profit by spending less time on ‘should’ and more time on ‘how’. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Woodrow Wilson delivering a Christmas address to soldiers of the A.E.F. Langres, Haute Marne, France, December 1918. Credit: Hum Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Woodrow Wilson delivering a Christmas address to soldiers of the A.E.F. Langres, Haute Marne, France, December 1918. Credit: Hum Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Kristin Ven Bruusgaard on the paradox of nuclear strategy
11 oktober 2024 |
17 min
The vision of nuclear strategy as a means to prevent war remains a powerful but contested idea in international politics. As global rivalries intensify and nuclear arsenals expand, the risk of conflict seems more pronounced than ever. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A photograph of nuclear testing at Pacific Island test sites. Credit: EMU history / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A photograph of nuclear testing at Pacific Island test sites. Credit: EMU history / Alamy Stock Photo
Benedetta Berti on the past, present and future of the transatlantic alliance
4 oktober 2024 |
16 min
Over the last decade, NATO has embarked on a significant process of military and political adaptation to ensure it can effectively enable the collective defence of allies in a competitive, contested and unpredictable world. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: NATO flag waving in the wind. Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: NATO flag waving in the wind. Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Fredrik Logevall on JFK's abiding legacy
27 september 2024 |
17 min
Through his visionary leadership, inspired rhetoric, and willingness to compromise, John F. Kennedy summoned the narrative of American hope, his most powerful and enduring legacy. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Senator John F. Kennedy at Hyannis Port. Credit: Phillip Harrington / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Senator John F. Kennedy at Hyannis Port. Credit: Phillip Harrington / Alamy Stock Photo
Kentaro Fujimoto on Japan's global future
20 september 2024 |
21 min
Like it or not, Japan has become one of the most critical actors in contemporary international politics. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A naval exercise conducted by Japan. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A naval exercise conducted by Japan. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Daisy Dunn on the pursuit of greatness
13 september 2024 |
18 min
Foundation myths based on the lives of heroic figures are often used by leaders to affirm their own authority — but they can also inspire wider society. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Statue showing the mythological origins of Roman society. Credit: LatitudeStock / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Statue showing the mythological origins of Roman society. Credit: LatitudeStock / Alamy Stock Photo
Kori Schake on US grand strategy
6 september 2024 |
14 min
The US must adopt a grand strategy of democratic expansion. Only then can global security be established. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: American Second World War-era poster. Credit: Mouseion Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: American Second World War-era poster. Credit: Mouseion Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
Sergey Radchenko on the past, present and future of Sino-Russian relations
30 augusti 2024 |
23 min
The tumultuous relationship between Red China and the Soviet Union hints at an uncertain future for the Sino-Russian partnership. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Sino-Soviet propaganda poster. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Sino-Soviet propaganda poster. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo
Munira Mirza on how the British elite lost its way
23 augusti 2024 |
20 min
Stagnation at home and turmoil abroad demand a radical rethink of how – and why – Britain forges its future leaders. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The Treasury building in Whitehall, London. Credit: mauritius images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Treasury building in Whitehall, London. Credit: mauritius images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Ali Ansari on the secret to Cyrus the Great’s success
16 augusti 2024 |
19 min
Few ancient monarchs have enjoyed such a consistent positive reputation as Cyrus the Great. Perhaps it’s time to become reacquainted. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The Tomb of Cyrus, Iran. Photograph taken in 1898. Credit: Penta Springs Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Tomb of Cyrus, Iran. Photograph taken in 1898. Credit: Penta Springs Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Lucy Ward on the invention of Catherine the Great
9 augusti 2024 |
18 min
Catherine II’s inoculation against smallpox was an extraordinary act of political self-creation. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A portrait of Catherine the Great (1729-1796) by Alexey Antropov. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A portrait of Catherine the Great (1729-1796) by Alexey Antropov. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Alexander Lee on why Machiavelli wrote The Prince
2 augusti 2024 |
21 min
If we want to understand the ‘meaning’ of The Prince, we should start with Machiavelli himself. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A statue of Niccolo Machiavelli in Florence, Italy. Credit: Goran Bogicevic / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A statue of Niccolo Machiavelli in Florence, Italy. Credit: Goran Bogicevic / Alamy Stock Photo
Francis J. Gavin on the terrible dilemmas of leadership in a thermonuclear world
26 juli 2024 |
16 min
Nuclear weapons are likely to be around for a long time to come – and the predicaments they create for world leaders are unlikely to be easily solved. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: President John F. Kennedy with Robert McNamara during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Credit: RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: President John F. Kennedy with Robert McNamara during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Credit: RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo
James Marriott on why human art matters in the age of AI
19 juli 2024 |
15 min
A world of machine art would be an eerie one. Art connects us to one another. We cannot, and we should not, replace that connection with an uncanny simulacrum of it. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The Tribuna of the Uffizi by John Zoffany. Credit: PAINTING / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Tribuna of the Uffizi by John Zoffany. Credit: PAINTING / Alamy Stock Photo
Katja Hoyer on East Germany's battle for technology
12 juli 2024 |
20 min
East Germany’s quest to catch up with the technological innovations of the West prompted some remarkable successes, but also expanded the oppression of its mass surveillance apparatus. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The Trabant car being manufactured at the East German Sachsenring car plant. Credit: Classic Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Trabant car being manufactured at the East German Sachsenring car plant. Credit: Classic Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
Gudrun Persson on Russia’s forever war against Ukraine
5 juli 2024 |
22 min
An often-overlooked fact about the current Russo-Ukrainian War is that over the centuries Russia has waged several wars to try to conquer Crimea and the Donbas area. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Ukrania quae et Terra Cosaccorum cum vicinis Walachiae, Moldoviae, by Johann Baptiste Homann (1664–1724), 1720. Credit: history_docu_photo / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Ukrania quae et Terra Cosaccorum cum vicinis Walachiae, Moldoviae, by Johann Baptiste Homann (1664–1724), 1720. Credit: history_docu_photo / Alamy Stock Photo
Iskander Rehman on early modern information overload
28 juni 2024 |
23 min
The sense of being overwhelmed and constantly distracted is nothing new. Historians and policymakers should look to the 17th century for guidance on how to grapple with information overload. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Rembrandt's 'Portrait of a Scholar', 1631. Credit: PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Rembrandt's 'Portrait of a Scholar', 1631. Credit: PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy Stock Photo
Julian Jackson on De Gaulle’s world in motion
21 juni 2024 |
18 min
Part statesman, part prophet, Charles de Gaulle knew instinctively that political success and failure are inevitably interlinked, and that history would be the ultimate judge of both. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: The President of France Charles de Gaulle marches through the streets under the Arc de Triomphe in 1944. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The President of France Charles de Gaulle marches through the streets under the Arc de Triomphe in 1944. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
Josef Joffe on Germany, the engine that couldn't
14 juni 2024 |
23 min
Celebrated as predestined shepherd in the glory days of Angela Merkel, Germany in the 2020s is an uncertain giant who has defied expectations, good or bad. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: The top of the Reichstag Building. Credit: Artur Bogacki / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The top of the Reichstag Building. Credit: Artur Bogacki / Alamy Stock Photo
Maurizio Viroli on how we can learn from history
7 juni 2024 |
18 min
We cannot afford not to rediscover the fine art, nowadays almost forgotten, of learning from history. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: 16th Century engraving by Theodoor Galle, titled The Printing of Books. Credit: The Granger Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: 16th Century engraving by Theodoor Galle, titled The Printing of Books. Credit: The Granger Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Philip Bobbitt on the decay and renewal of the US constitutional order
31 maj 2024 |
34 min
A new constitutional order is coming. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Credit: Lane Erickson / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Credit: Lane Erickson / Alamy Stock Photo
Lars Trägårdh on the origins of Swedish democracy
24 maj 2024 |
35 min
‘Democracy’ is in Sweden built on a basis fundamentally different from the one associated with the development of liberal democracy in the West. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Midsummer Dance by Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920) painted in 1897. A classic of Swedish art history showing traditional folk dancing in the Dalarna countryside in the extended summer evening light. Credit: Universal Art Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Midsummer Dance by Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920) painted in 1897. A classic of Swedish art history showing traditional folk dancing in the Dalarna countryside in the extended summer evening light. Credit: Universal Art Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Josef Joffe on the future of the European Union
17 maj 2024 |
18 min
What is the future of the European Union? The EU is sui generis. It certainly cannot be a nation state. Nor is it destined to turn into a Staatsnation or willed nation. Then what? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: European Union flags. Credit: Brian Lawrence / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: European Union flags. Credit: Brian Lawrence / Alamy Stock Photo
Simon Mayall on the history of the modern Middle East
10 maj 2024 |
23 min
The current violence and turmoil in the Middle East is expressive of a conflict between rival ideas, between the modern nation state and an old, historical concept of an Islamic caliphate. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Abdel Nasser at a rally after the rupture of relations with Syria. Credit: colaimages / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Abdel Nasser at a rally after the rupture of relations with Syria. Credit: colaimages / Alamy Stock Photo
Lawrence James on the invention of jingoism
3 maj 2024 |
34 min
Jingoism was a natural offshoot of late Victorian imperialism. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Poster for a British imperial railway company. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Poster for a British imperial railway company. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Steven Grosby on the persistence of nationhood
26 april 2024 |
22 min
What is a nation, what is its significance, and to what problems of life is its persistence a response? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Lucas Cranach's The Crossing of the Red Sea, 1530. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Lucas Cranach's The Crossing of the Red Sea, 1530. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Adrian Wooldridge on meritocracy
19 april 2024 |
30 min
The biggest division in modern society is between the meritocracy and the people, the cognitive elite and the masses, the exam-passers and the exam-flunkers. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Caricature of a Cambridge University library in the Georgian era. Credit: Thomas Rowlandson / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Caricature of a Cambridge University library in the Georgian era. Credit: Thomas Rowlandson / Alamy Stock Photo
Mariano Sigman on how language has shaped human consciousness
12 april 2024 |
14 min
How did our ancestors think? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A play is performed in an ancient Greek theatre. Credit: Classic Image / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A play is performed in an ancient Greek theatre. Credit: Classic Image / Alamy Stock Photo
Nathan Shachar on ideology in science
5 april 2024 |
20 min
There is no linear, moral progress in knowledge and science. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Triple-microscope made by the optician Camille Sebastien Nachet in Paris. Credit: gameover / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Triple-microscope made by the optician Camille Sebastien Nachet in Paris. Credit: gameover / Alamy Stock Photo
Gregory Feifer on the mirage of Russian power
29 mars 2024 |
17 min
The mistake many Western countries make is to take Russia largely at face value. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Nesting Russian dolls showing former leaders. Credit: Mr Standfast / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Nesting Russian dolls showing former leaders. Credit: Mr Standfast / Alamy Stock Photo
Peter Heather on empire and development in first millennium Europe
22 mars 2024 |
37 min
The story of first millennium Europe is one of remarkable economic change and demographic upheaval; a precocious analogue to the modern era of globalisation. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Charlemagne. Credit: The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Charlemagne. Credit: The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Barry Strauss on Ancient Greek geopolitics
15 mars 2024 |
28 min
The Greeks invented the notion of the interrelationship of geography and politics; indeed, they elaborated it in myriad ways. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/duality-determinism-and-demography-the-greeks-on-geopolitics/
Image: The Athenian fleet. Credit: INTERFOTO \ Alamy Stock Photo
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/duality-determinism-and-demography-the-greeks-on-geopolitics/
Image: The Athenian fleet. Credit: INTERFOTO \ Alamy Stock Photo
Josef Joffe on the end of 'the end of history'
8 mars 2024 |
28 min
We equated a brief respite from history with the dawn of a new age. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Fall of the Berlin Wall. Credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Fall of the Berlin Wall. Credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo
Michael Broers on how Napoleon built a continent
1 mars 2024 |
35 min
Napoleonic geopolitics didn't make much impression on Europe's maps, but its influence was wide-ranging. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Napoleonic Europe: how the Emperor built a continent | Michael Broers
Image: Napoleon crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David. Credit: GL Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Napoleonic Europe: how the Emperor built a continent | Michael Broers
Image: Napoleon crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David. Credit: GL Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Norman Stone on the 1860s
23 februari 2024 |
19 min
In the 1860s, commentators might have been justified in forecasting 'the end of history' and lauding universal progress. History was to return with a vengeance. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A lifeboat rescuing passengers from the ship Alarm in the 1860s. Credit: North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A lifeboat rescuing passengers from the ship Alarm in the 1860s. Credit: North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
David Frum on how empire-states are changing the game
16 februari 2024 |
17 min
From the Engelsberg Ideas Archive. States are back and they're out to challenge the international order.
Image: Vladimir Putin captured from screen. Credit: Anton Dos Ventos / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Vladimir Putin captured from screen. Credit: Anton Dos Ventos / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Elisabeth Kendall on Jihadist poetry as propaganda
12 februari 2024 |
21 min
Al-Qaeda's success in Yemen can in part be explained by the group's adept use of poetry as propaganda. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: An al-Qaeda logo is seen on a street sign in the town of Jaar in southern Abyan province, Yemen. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: An al-Qaeda logo is seen on a street sign in the town of Jaar in southern Abyan province, Yemen. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Malise Ruthven on the appeal of ISIS
12 februari 2024 |
34 min
From the Engelsberg Ideas Archive. The organisation that emerged under the name ISIS is not simply a terrorist group. It is a hybrid organisation comprised of a proto-state, a millenarian cult capable of attracting recruits from far beyond its borders, a network of Salafi jihadist groups, an organised criminal ring and an insurgent army led by highly skilled former Baathist military and intelligence personnel. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters shown in propaganda photos released by the militants. Credit: Handout / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters shown in propaganda photos released by the militants. Credit: Handout / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Andrew Preston on the invention of American national security
9 februari 2024 |
25 min
By the time Kennedy and Johnson held the presidency in the 1960s, the definition of US national security had been stretched and expanded in previously unimaginable ways. It was not unusual for Americans to perceive their security frontiers as global – indeed, it was considered natural. But it hadn’t always been thus. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Poster showing the American flag waving among clouds. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Poster showing the American flag waving among clouds. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Kimberly Kagan on the United States and the new way of war
12 januari 2024 |
20 min
The United States, still the dominant military power in the world, is immersed in a new era of warfare that it has not yet recognised as endemic and enduring. America is losing its wars to less powerful but more adaptable adversaries, while preparing inadequately for future inter-state conflicts. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Posters of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Posters of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Pascal Vennesson on the rise of transnational war-making
5 januari 2024 |
33 min
Political success for the global insurgents can arise not only from a military victory on the ground, but from a military stalemate and even a military defeat. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Mock Houthi-made drones and missiles are set up in a city square in Yemen. Credit: Zuma Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Mock Houthi-made drones and missiles are set up in a city square in Yemen. Credit: Zuma Press / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Rolf Ekéus on how to end wars
22 december 2023 |
20 min
There is only one way out of total destruction and collapse, which is creative diplomacy. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Dutch envoy Cornelis Calkoen received by the Ottoman grand vizier. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Dutch envoy Cornelis Calkoen received by the Ottoman grand vizier. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Philip Bobbitt on the new global disorder
15 december 2023 |
20 min
We cannot understand what is going wrong in the international order without first understanding what is going wrong in the constitutional order of states. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: The Statue of Liberty seen through a broken window on Ellis Island. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Statue of Liberty seen through a broken window on Ellis Island. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Yu Jie on the deep historical roots of China's global ambition
8 december 2023 |
25 min
China projects its power and secures its national interests in three ways: exercising might, spending money and expressing its own mindset. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: CCP propaganda printed in rice fields. Credit: Fabio Nodari / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: CCP propaganda printed in rice fields. Credit: Fabio Nodari / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Andrew Monaghan on how the past shapes Russian grand strategy
1 december 2023 |
23 min
Putin uses history not only to fit a narrative that Russia is strong when it stands together, but also to seek legitimacy. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Russian Second World War propaganda poster. Credit: Shawshots / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Russian Second World War propaganda poster. Credit: Shawshots / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Pär Stenbäck on religion and politics in the Middle East
24 november 2023 |
19 min
Religion is often ignored as a political factor; in the Middle East, this is not possible. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Supporters of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah group wave the party flags in front of a poster of late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini during a ceremony in Beirut. Credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Supporters of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah group wave the party flags in front of a poster of late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini during a ceremony in Beirut. Credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Wolfgang Palaver on the complex relationship between violence and religion
17 november 2023 |
48 min
Wherever we insist on truth in order to win over our adversaries, we awaken a spirit of violence that endangers our living-together in the world. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre by Francois Dubois. Credit: Niday Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre by Francois Dubois. Credit: Niday Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Gary Lachman on the sources of mystical experience
10 november 2023 |
42 min
Mystical experience is the missing link in modern accounts of how human beings came to be conscious. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Trasverberazione di Santa Teresa d’Avila (1640). Credit: jozef sedmak / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Trasverberazione di Santa Teresa d’Avila (1640). Credit: jozef sedmak / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Armin W. Geertz on the pre-historical roots of religious belief
29 oktober 2023 |
46 min
The history and evolution of (proto) religious behaviour is ancient. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Print of early humans making fire. Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Print of early humans making fire. Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — David Goodhart on bridging the value divide
24 oktober 2023 |
22 min
Finding a new settlement between the Anywheres and the Somewheres is now the central task of modern politics. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Poverty in London, 1919. Credit: Classic Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Poverty in London, 1919. Credit: Classic Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Kjell Nordström on the future of capitalism
9 oktober 2023 |
19 min
The proletarianisation of knowledge promises a bumpy ride for both us and capitalism as we know it. Read by Leighton Pugh.
The New York Stock Exchange. Credit: Sergi Reboredo / Alamy Stock Photo
The New York Stock Exchange. Credit: Sergi Reboredo / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Maurizio Viroli on the city as a political order and urban space
2 oktober 2023 |
19 min
A good political community can only live and flourish in cities that speak to the soul of the citizens and inspire the love of order. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Map of Renaissance Florence. Credit: Pictures Now / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Map of Renaissance Florence. Credit: Pictures Now / Alamy Stock Photo
Gudrun Persson on rewriting Russian history
29 september 2023 |
21 min
In modern Russia, the past is being rewritten to suit Vladimir Putin's script. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: People carry portraits of their relatives - soldiers of the Second World War - as they take part in the Immortal Regiment march in downtown Moscow. Credit: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: People carry portraits of their relatives - soldiers of the Second World War - as they take part in the Immortal Regiment march in downtown Moscow. Credit: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — Fraser Nelson on the Intellectual Dark Web
15 september 2023 |
23 min
The intellectual dark web will, most likely, be a flicker in history, a reminder of when the West’s conversation was at its most shrill, and when free-thinking people had to look to underground clubs for a place to air their thoughts.
Image: Camille Paglia. Credit: Independent / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Camille Paglia. Credit: Independent / Alamy Stock Photo
Remaking the moral case for capitalism by Iain Martin
1 september 2023 |
24 min
A defence of capitalism will have to rest first and foremost on an appeal to ethics, obligation, and duty. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Spoken history: the modern importance of indigenous cultures by John Hemming
25 augusti 2023 |
23 min
Our information-rich civilisation is not superior or inferior to the pre-literate world of Brazil's indigenous peoples, just different. Read by Leighton Pugh.
EI Weekly Listen — Wealth and poverty in Renaissance Florence by Antony Molho
14 juli 2023 |
36 min
This celebration of wealth, its frequent elevation to an almost religious level, and its justification not only in terms of its social utility but also, and more remarkably, in personal terms, is one of the defining characteristics of the Florentine public culture and private ethos in the fifteenth century and beyond. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: An opulent fresco in Renaissance Florence. Credit: Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: An opulent fresco in Renaissance Florence. Credit: Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo
EI Weekly Listen — The public realm and the language of architecture by John Simpson
6 juli 2023 |
19 min
We must rescue our cities from a culture of ugliness. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Sol House, Northampton. Credit: Paul Hanson / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Sol House, Northampton. Credit: Paul Hanson / Alamy Stock Photo
Can warfare ever be considered modern? By Rob Johnson
30 juni 2023 |
41 min
Even with all its data and technology, contemporary conflict fits uneasily with our definitions of modernity. Read by Leighton Pugh
Image: Mosul's old city destroyed by bombing. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Mosul's old city destroyed by bombing. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
War and statehood by Philip Bobbitt
23 juni 2023 |
18 min
Warfare made the early modern state. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Renaissance-era woodcut of King Louis IX of France and his army disembarking at Damietta, Egypt, in 1249. In a common anachronism, the army and fleet are equipped with cannons. Credit: Florilegius / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Renaissance-era woodcut of King Louis IX of France and his army disembarking at Damietta, Egypt, in 1249. In a common anachronism, the army and fleet are equipped with cannons. Credit: Florilegius / Alamy Stock Photo
Clashing histories and present-day tensions in East Asia by Rana Mitter
16 juni 2023 |
16 min
As China ramps up its military spending, the government in Beijing plays up its role in the Second World War. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Chinese poster from the Sino-Japanese War. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Chinese poster from the Sino-Japanese War. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo
Do we know the truth about the Thirty Years’ War? By Dick Harrison
8 juni 2023 |
28 min
Different perspectives and eye-witness accounts reveal historical fallacies and myths about the war. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Gustavus Adolphus II. Credit: Wiki Creative Commons
Image: Gustavus Adolphus II. Credit: Wiki Creative Commons
Each Charter’d Street: Taking the long view on urban planning by Nicholas Boys Smith
2 juni 2023 |
35 min
For as long as there have been cities they have attracted admiration and fear. Read by Leighton Pugh. Image: Eighteenth century map of London. Credit: Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
34: The geopolitics and grand strategy of Alfred Thayer Mahan by John H. Maurer
25 maj 2023 |
36 min
Alfred Thayer Mahan's writings on naval warfare have overshadowed his contributions to geopolitics. His theories, however, are clearly playing out today. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A print of a First World War Imperial German Navy battlecruiser, the SMS Goeben. Credit: Troy GB images / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: A print of a First World War Imperial German Navy battlecruiser, the SMS Goeben. Credit: Troy GB images / Alamy Stock Photo
33: The cultural conversation of mankind by Christopher Coker
19 maj 2023 |
31 min
Isolationist thinking and exceptionalism is on the rise and our global culture is the poorer for it. Our civilisations thrive when in conversation with each other: ideas are exchanged and self-reflection is promoted. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: An American Mercantile Building in Yokohama, 1861. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: An American Mercantile Building in Yokohama, 1861. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
32: Epic news by Jessica Frazier
12 maj 2023 |
45 min
What are myths for? More than entertainment alone, these epic tales helped the Ancients follow current affairs. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
31: The other side of the hill by Simon Mayall
5 maj 2023 |
20 min
In war, we are, like the Duke of Wellington, still trying to guess what is on the other side of the hill, we just have more tools to help us do so. Read by Leighton Pugh
Image: The Left Wing of the British army in Action at the Battle of Waterloo, June 18th 1815. Credit: Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Image: The Left Wing of the British army in Action at the Battle of Waterloo, June 18th 1815. Credit: Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images
30: In search of Lebensraum by Richard Overy
4 maj 2023 |
25 min
Hitler's conviction that a new Eurasian order should be constructed with Germany at its zenith had its ideological roots in the early science of geopolitics. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: This map of Russia and surrounding countries highlights Hitler's campaign in Russia and how it went wrong. Credit: Bettmann
Image: This map of Russia and surrounding countries highlights Hitler's campaign in Russia and how it went wrong. Credit: Bettmann
30: Where does esotericism belong in modern academia? By Marco Pasi
4 maj 2023 |
36 min
Scholars of esotericism are often asked to justify their field of research and its place in modern society. However, esotericism provides fertile ground for radical thinking and is a useful means of considering the limitations of standard western thought. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image:The Flammarion Wood engraving. The image is often used as a metaphorical illustration of either the scientific or the mystical quests for knowledge. Credit: RGB Ventures / SuperStock / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image:The Flammarion Wood engraving. The image is often used as a metaphorical illustration of either the scientific or the mystical quests for knowledge. Credit: RGB Ventures / SuperStock / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: The crusader of goodwill by Janne Haaland Matláry
4 maj 2023 |
26 min
While no longer a state power, the Catholic Church remains a powerful political force in modern diplomacy. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Pope Francis with his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, in 2018. Credit: Massimo Wallichia / Getty Images.
Image: Pope Francis with his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, in 2018. Credit: Massimo Wallichia / Getty Images.
30: Welcome to the fifth age of the city by Yolande Barnes
4 maj 2023 |
33 min
Changing technology, climate change, and transformations in global finance mean another new era for cities is dawning: the fifth, or digital, age. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Ecological skyscraper in Milan. Credit: Paolo Bona / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: Ecological skyscraper in Milan. Credit: Paolo Bona / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: How the individual invented the modern West by Larry Siedentop
4 maj 2023 |
27 min
The European Middle Ages have been deemed an era of regression but this couldn't be further from the truth. In this period, the foundations were laid to establish a liberal West centred around the rights of the individual. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Construction of highway, eighteenth century France Engineers on horseback inspecting the work, a painting Claude-Joseph Vernet, 1775. Credit: Lebrecht Music & Arts / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: Construction of highway, eighteenth century France Engineers on horseback inspecting the work, a painting Claude-Joseph Vernet, 1775. Credit: Lebrecht Music & Arts / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: Bringing beauty back to the city by Anne Fairfax
4 maj 2023 |
26 min
Cities have been reduced to centres of soulless materialism and their citizens to non-stop consumers. If we hope to create beautiful surroundings, a rethink is required. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: The Vessel at Hudson Yards, New York City. Credit: robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: The Vessel at Hudson Yards, New York City. Credit: robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: Learning from Asian philosophies of rebirth by Jessica Frazier
4 maj 2023 |
28 min
Asian literature, with its technologically-adept Chinese emperors, Animist Spirit-negotiators, and Yogic sages, shows us how to live well in troubled times. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Ma Yuan's The Yellow River Breaches its Course, from a series of paintings of water.
Image: Ma Yuan's The Yellow River Breaches its Course, from a series of paintings of water.
30: America’s return as the reluctant defender of the liberal order by Kori Schake
4 maj 2023 |
21 min
The US cultivated a garden that it grew weary of the burdens of sustaining but, once all other alternatives have been exhausted, the US will be pushed back into defending its liberal world order. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: 'Young America rescues Europe!', declares a French cartoon from 1918. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: 'Young America rescues Europe!', declares a French cartoon from 1918. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: The City of God: on Augustine’s vision of Empire by Gillian Clark
4 maj 2023 |
23 min
Augustine’s seminal book was written in the context of the Roman Empire, but it remains ever-relevant. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: St Augustine / Wiki Public domain.
Image description: St Augustine / Wiki Public domain.
30: Geopolitics never went away for the United States by Andrew Preston
4 maj 2023 |
29 min
For the United States, geopolitics has always been about national identity, even in an era of globalisation. Perhaps it always will be.
Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: The Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as Iwo Jima Memorial. Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images
Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: The Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as Iwo Jima Memorial. Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images
30: On Civility by Erica Benner
4 maj 2023 |
41 min
Navigating politico-religious disagreements in a spirit of civility is nigh-on impossible in eras in which the meaning of civility itself is contested. How do we speak to each other civilly in a time of incivility?
Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: Girolamo Savonarola's execution on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence in 1498. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: Girolamo Savonarola's execution on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence in 1498. Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: Information war does not exist by Peter Pomerantsev
4 maj 2023 |
26 min
In the Cold War the Kremlin tried to convince foreign audiences its disinformation campaigns were real, today the aim seems to be different. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image description: Soviet poster of a tank on Red Square. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo.
Image description: Soviet poster of a tank on Red Square. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo.
30: The ancient roots of the modern holy war by Tom Holland
4 maj 2023 |
23 min
The crusades, jihad, and wars in defence of intangible ideals all have their origins in a short-lived conflict in the 6th century BC. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Stone relief from the palace of Ashurbanipal, A detail from the battle of Til Tuba. Teumman the Elamite king is trying to escape but his chariot crashes. His horses panic, while he is trying to escape with an arrow in his back, supported by his son. Assyrian. Late Assyrian, c 645 BC. Nineveh, Assyria, Ancient Iraq. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
Stone relief from the palace of Ashurbanipal, A detail from the battle of Til Tuba. Teumman the Elamite king is trying to escape but his chariot crashes. His horses panic, while he is trying to escape with an arrow in his back, supported by his son. Assyrian. Late Assyrian, c 645 BC. Nineveh, Assyria, Ancient Iraq. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
30: From the Silk Road to the information superhighway by Peter Frankopan
4 maj 2023 |
28 min
Globalisation may appear to be a cornerstone of modernity but humans have always both craved and feared connection, be it social, commercial, spiritual or scientific. Read by Leighton Pugh.
A 15th Century illustration from a Turkish manuscript depicting a surgical operation. Medical understanding was an important element of the exchange of knowledge between the Islamic world and Europe. Credit: Wikipedia Commons
A 15th Century illustration from a Turkish manuscript depicting a surgical operation. Medical understanding was an important element of the exchange of knowledge between the Islamic world and Europe. Credit: Wikipedia Commons
30: Finding Garibaldi by Lucy Riall
4 maj 2023 |
31 min
Garibaldi’s retreat to his home in Caprera spawned a liberal-nationalist ideal of statesmanship that would live long in the European imagination. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) in his signature red shirt, gazing towards his beloved Italy from a cliff edge on the island of Caprera off the coast of Sicily. Illustration c1920. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) in his signature red shirt, gazing towards his beloved Italy from a cliff edge on the island of Caprera off the coast of Sicily. Illustration c1920. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
30: What did it mean to belong to the Holy Roman Empire? by Peter Wilson
4 maj 2023 |
38 min
The Holy Roman Empire was neither a nation state nor indeed a conventional empire. Instead, its inhabitants were unified through a web of legal rights. Read by Leighton Pugh.
A miniature of the Treaty of Verdun, 843. Emperor Louis I (right) blessing the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 into West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia. Credit: Wikimedia commons.
A miniature of the Treaty of Verdun, 843. Emperor Louis I (right) blessing the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 into West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia. Credit: Wikimedia commons.
30: Towards a Westphalia for the Middle East by Brendan Simms
4 maj 2023 |
39 min
Westphalia’s legacy of compromise and conditional sovereignty shows the way to peace in the Middle East. Read by Leighton Pugh.
The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 1648. Found in the collection of the National Gallery, London. Credit: Fine art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 1648. Found in the collection of the National Gallery, London. Credit: Fine art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
30: What is mistake theory and can it save the humanities? By Claire Lehmann
4 maj 2023 |
21 min
While critical theory is not without its uses, it is time that we take a more constructive approach to social issues. ‘Mistake theory’ can offer a useful lens. Read by Leighton Pugh
Students graduating from Birmingham University, England. Credit: Malcolm McDougall Photography / Alamy Stock Photo.
Update Description
Students graduating from Birmingham University, England. Credit: Malcolm McDougall Photography / Alamy Stock Photo.
Update Description
30: The Case of East Asia by Jonathan Fenby
4 maj 2023 |
27 min
East Asia, especially China's, economic rise in the latter half of the twentieth century was sudden and impressive but now, growth is stalling. This, combined with the rivalry between the US and China and sovereignty disputes has destabilised the region. Read by Leighton Pugh.
This essay was first published in 2016.
High-rise buildings replace old residences in Zhejiang, China. Credit: Charles O. Cecil / Alamy Stock Photo
This essay was first published in 2016.
High-rise buildings replace old residences in Zhejiang, China. Credit: Charles O. Cecil / Alamy Stock Photo
30: How to fix the future, Estonian style by Andrew Keen
4 maj 2023 |
26 min
Rather than protecting individual data privacy, the fate of democracy in our networked age might depend on establishing a new, radically transparent contract of trust between government and citizens. Estonia is leading the way. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Churches, other landmarks and old buildings at the Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia. Credit: Tuomas Lehtinen / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: Churches, other landmarks and old buildings at the Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia. Credit: Tuomas Lehtinen / Alamy Stock Photo
30: Why the nation beat the empire in the battle of nineteenth century ideas by Jeremy Jennings
4 maj 2023 |
24 min
A history of the nineteenth century tells not just of newly-formed nations, but of newly-developing nationalism. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Carving Up The World A satirical cartoon by James Gillray, showing British Prime Minister William Pitt and the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, carving up the world between them. Entitled 'The Plumb Pudding in Danger' - pub. 26th February 1805
Image: Carving Up The World A satirical cartoon by James Gillray, showing British Prime Minister William Pitt and the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, carving up the world between them. Entitled 'The Plumb Pudding in Danger' - pub. 26th February 1805
30: The joy of suffering by Candida Moss
4 maj 2023 |
23 min
The crucifixion lodged suffering at the heart of Christianity: to suffer was to be like Christ. This reframing of suffering had far-reaching consequences for world history. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Jesus Christ on the Cross with St. Mary and St John, painted by Albrecht Altdorfer, circa 1512. Credit: Niday Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: Jesus Christ on the Cross with St. Mary and St John, painted by Albrecht Altdorfer, circa 1512. Credit: Niday Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: The Revolt of the European Masses: the disintegration of accountability in supra-national politics by Janne Haaland Matlary
4 maj 2023 |
41 min
With forces such as identity politics and supra-national bodies gaining traction across Europe, the concept of the nation state has never been more important. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A painting of the Dutch envoy Adriaan Pauw entering Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations, painted by Gerard ter Borch. Credit: Wikipedia Commons/Stadtmuseum Münster
Image: A painting of the Dutch envoy Adriaan Pauw entering Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations, painted by Gerard ter Borch. Credit: Wikipedia Commons/Stadtmuseum Münster
30: Rethinking geopolitics by Jeremy Black
4 maj 2023 |
27 min
Geography and politics are closely intertwined, although that no more means that all geography is political than that all politics is geographical. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: An American map of the West Coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to Cape Palmas, 'including the colony of Liberia'. Credit: Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: An American map of the West Coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to Cape Palmas, 'including the colony of Liberia'. Credit: Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo
30: Why the idea of Carthage survived Roman conquest by Richard Miles
4 maj 2023 |
22 min
The Romans burnt Carthage’s books and buildings – but ‘Punic’ identity remained influential throughout Antiquity. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Print of ancient Carthage. Source: Wiki Creative Commons
Image: Print of ancient Carthage. Source: Wiki Creative Commons
30: The end of history ends by Walter Russell Mead
4 maj 2023 |
26 min
The era in world history that began with the fall of the Soviet Union is drawing to its close. The post-Cold War Eurasian settlement that the United States and its allies imposed after 1990 has three big challengers - Russia, China and Iran. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A symbol of American power, the National Capitol in Washington, DC. Credit: Christian Offenberg / Alamy Stock Photo.
Image: A symbol of American power, the National Capitol in Washington, DC. Credit: Christian Offenberg / Alamy Stock Photo.
30: The restless search for the fun wars by David J Betz
4 maj 2023 |
28 min
The West, more specifically the United States, with its major allies alongside it, has been chasing the 'fun wars' for forty years and serially coming up empty. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: British Prime Minister Tony Blair greets an ethnic Albanian by holding up his hand in central Pristina, Yugoslavia during a one-day visit Saturday July 31, 1999. It was Blair's first visit to Kosovo since NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. (Photo by David Brauchli)
Image: British Prime Minister Tony Blair greets an ethnic Albanian by holding up his hand in central Pristina, Yugoslavia during a one-day visit Saturday July 31, 1999. It was Blair's first visit to Kosovo since NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. (Photo by David Brauchli)
30: The impact of the First World War on strategy by Hew Strachan
4 maj 2023 |
46 min
The First World War fundamentally altered our understanding of strategy — we should heed the insights of the era's leading thinkers and generals. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: First World War Commanders looking at a battle plan. Painting by Francois Flameng (1856-1923), 1916. Army Museum, Paris. Credit: Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images
Image: First World War Commanders looking at a battle plan. Painting by Francois Flameng (1856-1923), 1916. Army Museum, Paris. Credit: Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images
30: The polymath in the age of specialisation by Peter Burke
4 maj 2023 |
32 min
Crises of knowledge precipitate drives towards specialisation. In our digital age we still need polymaths. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: This chart is taken from the book 'Ars Magna Lucis Et Umbrae' which was published in 1646 by the Jesuit scientist and inventor, Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). Credit: SSPL/Getty Images
Image: This chart is taken from the book 'Ars Magna Lucis Et Umbrae' which was published in 1646 by the Jesuit scientist and inventor, Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). Credit: SSPL/Getty Images
30: Authority without knowledge by Erica Benner
4 maj 2023 |
21 min
The worst form of ignorance in politics is an inflated opinion of one’s own wisdom. In matters of moral judgement, authority-dependence carries grave risks. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: French painter David's The Death of Socrates. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images
Image: French painter David's The Death of Socrates. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images
29: Geopolitics and the Mongol Empire by Morris Rossabi
2 maj 2023 |
27 min
Political and economic concerns were as critical as environmental and geographic factors in forging the unity of the Mongol Empire. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Genghis Khan in combat. Miniature from Jami' al-tawarikh, ca 1430. Found in the collection of Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Artist. Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Image: Genghis Khan in combat. Miniature from Jami' al-tawarikh, ca 1430. Found in the collection of Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Artist. Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
29: Fairy Tales of Statehood: the politics of sacred land and divine-kings by Jessica Frazier
2 maj 2023 |
31 min
Land is the silent, steady, partner in the messy realm of politics and national divides between monarchs. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo) seen at dawn on 11th June 2018, East Java, Indonesia. The active volcano is park of the Bromo Tengger National Park, sitting on a plain called the sea of sand, it is possible to look into the crater of the volcano to see the smoke and steam emerging from it, lava is not visible. (photo by Phil Clarke Hill/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Image: Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo) seen at dawn on 11th June 2018, East Java, Indonesia. The active volcano is park of the Bromo Tengger National Park, sitting on a plain called the sea of sand, it is possible to look into the crater of the volcano to see the smoke and steam emerging from it, lava is not visible. (photo by Phil Clarke Hill/In Pictures via Getty Images)
29: Why War Again by Lilia Shevtsova
2 maj 2023 |
30 min
As hostilities with Russia increase, we must again ask ourselves what drives human beings to conflict, especially after an era of peace. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Eddie Gerald / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Eddie Gerald / Alamy Stock Photo
29: Jihadist Media Strategies by Elisabeth Kendall
2 maj 2023 |
29 min
While the Islamic State’s savvy media presence may have overshadowed that of al-Qaeda over the past decade, the efforts of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operating in war-torn Yemen show the group remains a long-term threat.
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
28: The Joint Intelligence Committee: Reading the Russian mindset by Michael Goodman
2 maj 2023 |
20 min
During the Cold War, the British Joint Intelligence Committee was charged with forecasting the actions of states behind the Iron Curtain and the rest of the world. Its record was patchy – the Brits were repeatedly taken by surprise throughout the 20th century. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: The Central Intelligence Agency via Wikipedia Commons
Credit: The Central Intelligence Agency via Wikipedia Commons
28: Democracy in crisis: Lessons from Ancient Athens by Erica Benner
2 maj 2023 |
26 min
Demagogues thrive if moderate politicians flatter citizens into an unrealistic sense of their own greatness. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
27: Tribal bias from the wild to the laboratory by Cory J Clark
28 april 2023 |
22 min
It is not just politics that is beset by tribalism. The social sciences are also vulnerable to in-group bias. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: melita / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: melita / Alamy Stock Photo
27: Love as Religion by Simon May
28 april 2023 |
20 min
Love has become widely seen as a democracy of salvation open to all. The reality is more complex. Is our religion of love doing more harm than good? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
26: The Gospel of Thomas: casting a new light on Early Christianity by Elaine Pagels
28 april 2023 |
24 min
While there may have been striking similarities between the Gospel of Thomas and those of the four Evangelists, closer examination reveals a subtle yet crucially different perspective on salvation. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
26: Why 16 billion cortical neurons are not enough by Suzana Herculano-Houzel
28 april 2023 |
20 min
Humanity has come quite some way in the past 200,000 years but are we really anything more than primates with a few million more neurons than our closest relatives? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Martin Harvey via Getty Images
Credit: Martin Harvey via Getty Images
26: Modern France and the ghosts of the past by Peter Ricketts
28 april 2023 |
25 min
France, like all countries, is haunted by events and mistakes of times past. These ghosts will guide modern policy until they are overridden and laid to rest. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Guillaume Louyot / Alamy Stock Photo protests
Credit: Guillaume Louyot / Alamy Stock Photo protests
26: Lawrence of Arabia on war: How the past haunts the present by Rob Johnson
28 april 2023 |
42 min
The Lawrence legend continues to win new devotees while his pragmatic contribution to warfare is neglected. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
25: The importance of the individual in history by Vernon Bogdanor
28 april 2023 |
33 min
Throughout the ages, oracles, journalists and political scientists have attempted to guess the course fate may take. But should they fail to take the specifics, particularly specific individuals, into account, they are doomed to fail. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: CBW / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: CBW / Alamy Stock Photo
25: Geopolitics, geoeconomics and Russian revisionism by Mikael Wigell
28 april 2023 |
31 min
Traditional geopolitical solutions (accommodation or military containment) are unlikely to work with Putin’s Russia. Instead the West should pursue a unified geo-economic strategy. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Klaus Oskar Bromberg / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Klaus Oskar Bromberg / Alamy Stock Photo
24: Containing and deterring Russia: can Europe act strategically? by Janne Haaland Matlary
28 april 2023 |
33 min
The condemnation of the annexation of the Crimea was unified and strong, but the sanctions that followed lacked any real bite. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Nikolay Vinokurov / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Nikolay Vinokurov / Alamy Stock Photo
24: The long peace and nuclear deterrence by Lawrence Freedman
28 april 2023 |
25 min
For the past sixty years, the use of nuclear weapons has become unthinkable. But with every conflict there comes a point where the unthinkable becomes possible. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo
24: Variety in Judaism by Martin Goodman
28 april 2023 |
21 min
In a religious system which presupposed a covenant not just between God and the individual Jew, but between God and Israel as a nation, the sense of communal solidarity had an abiding impact, regardless of the differences between denominations. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Maraike Hofer / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Maraike Hofer / Alamy Stock Photo
24: America's problem with unconventional warfare by Frederick Kagan
28 april 2023 |
24 min
For more than thirty years, the US has sought to avoid deploying ground forces into protracted conflict. It has nevertheless done so in almost every single one of those years. Perhaps it is time to accept reality. Read by Leighton Pugh
Credit: Bumble Dee / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Bumble Dee / Alamy Stock Photo
23: Suffering, the price of being alive: an Islamic perspective by Mona Siddiqui
28 april 2023 |
24 min
Islam — unlike Christianity — may not have a central motif of pain, sin and suffering, but it reveals so much about what it means to live with adversity. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Dmitrii Melnikov / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Dmitrii Melnikov / Alamy Stock Photo
23: Reassessing Christian history by Diarmaid Macculloch
28 april 2023 |
23 min
While Christianity may strive to sing in a single voice, no one modern denomination ought to claim a monopoly on the truth. The region's history is in fact far more eclectic. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Yogi Black / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Yogi Black / Alamy Stock Photo
22: The story of the Jesuits: how the Society of Jesus charted the world by M.Antoni J. Ucerler, S.J.
28 april 2023 |
37 min
As Jesuit missionaries spread further across the globe, the order’s founder wanted to ensure that its members remained connected. The result of this was an unparalleled network of knowledge which superseded religious tensions. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/jesuit/
Credit: Wikipedia Commons/ Bibliothèque Universtaire Moretus Plantin
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/jesuit/
Credit: Wikipedia Commons/ Bibliothèque Universtaire Moretus Plantin
22: The Portuguese: Pioneers of globalisation by Roger Crowley
28 april 2023 |
23 min
Portugal’s commercial dominance of large swathes of the world lasted little more than a century but the images, transmissions, and trades that it engendered left a significant and long-lasting influence. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty Images Update Description
Credit: Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty Images Update Description
21: Elements of seapower, past and present by Lincoln Paine
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Sea power derives from resources, a direct interest in sea-based trade, and pressure exerted by enemies. In the modern age, the importance of these factors in international affairs remains paramount. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Lev FedoseyevTASS via Getty Images
Credit: Lev FedoseyevTASS via Getty Images
21: Making sense of the Yemen War by Elisabeth Kendall
28 april 2023 |
31 min
If a peace deal is not reached, all the key ingredients are present for Yemen to become a failed state. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images
Credit: MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images
21: The dark side to loving a group by Harvey Whitehouse
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Acts of extreme self-sacrifice – such as suicide bombing – are not aberrations. They tell us something about our deepest instincts for group loyalty. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty Images
Credit: TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty Images
21: The fake history of civilisational states by Christopher Coker
28 april 2023 |
28 min
So-called civilisational states, including Russia, China and India, invoke fake histories to justify and buttress their contemporary political settlements. But those who cannot let go of the past are always at risk of finding themselves imprisoned by it. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images
Credit: PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images
20: The flag wars are here to stay by Tim Marshall
28 april 2023 |
24 min
Flags have become synonymous with nationhood, character, spirit, and power. In an age of renewed nationalism, their power should not be underestimated.
Credit: Anthony WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images
Credit: Anthony WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images
19: Disinformation in the information age by Gill Bennett
28 april 2023 |
24 min
The line between disinformation, propaganda and fake news is often blurred. This is especially the case when it is unclear whether these untruths or half truths are being disseminated by the 'good' or 'bad' guys. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Franz Aberham via Getty Images
Credit: Franz Aberham via Getty Images
19: Roman geopolitics, an exercise in myth-making by Richard Miles
28 april 2023 |
22 min
Once established, Roman exceptionalism and empire needed to be justified and maintained. The practical application of mythology was one way in which this was achieved. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Fred de Noyelle via Getty
Credit: Fred de Noyelle via Getty
19: How US policy failure post-9/11 undermined international order by Emma Sky
28 april 2023 |
20 min
The US once enjoyed the esteemed position of being the 'city on the hill', a beacon of hope and an example to the rest of the world. Post-9/11, however, the superpower's conduct in the Middle East has left its reputation tarnished. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: James May/Alamy
Credit: James May/Alamy
19: Uruk and the origins of the sacred economy by Daniel T. Potts
28 april 2023 |
23 min
Peering into the hearts and minds those living four thousand years ago is an impossible task. However, when it comes to the worship of the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna, it seems clear to be, quite literally, a labour of love and fear.
Credit: Print Collector via Getty Images
Credit: Print Collector via Getty Images
18: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy revisited by Niall Ferguson
28 april 2023 |
43 min
While at one point in time the idea that socialist economies would ultimately prevail over capitalism was quite a widespread view the fate of socialist states over the past hundred years have demonstrated that they enjoy only two possible paths: authoritarianism or anarchy.
Credit: Shotshop GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Shotshop GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
18: Cool war by Noah Feldman
28 april 2023 |
34 min
While the US remains the sole reigning super power, the rise of China adds complexity to the current world order. Geostrategic conflict is inevitable, but mutual economic interdependence can help manage that conflict and keep it from spiralling out of control.
Credit: Christian Ohde / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Christian Ohde / Alamy Stock Photo
18: Russia and geopolitics by Anna-Lena Laurén
28 april 2023 |
16 min
As the largest country in the world, Russia's might past and present has an inherent link to its geopolitics. But since the decline of the Soviet Union, Moscow's eyes are constantly straying beyond the national borders. In Russia, expansion is often regarded as a means of self-defence.
Credit: Tommy E Trenchard / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Tommy E Trenchard / Alamy Stock Photo
18: Fantasy in Middle Eastern nation-making by Nathan Shachar
28 april 2023 |
20 min
There is frequently no real reason why one person has more claim to live or even rule over a piece of land than another. A reason, however must be provided and it is often be found in a fantastical interpretation of history.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Credit: Adobe Stock
18: Æthelstan and the forging of a United Kingdom of England by Tom Holland
28 april 2023 |
20 min
The story of how, over the course of three generations, the royal dynasty of Wessex went from near oblivion to fashioning a kingdom that still endures today is the most remarkable and momentous in the island's history. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Public domain
Credit: Public domain
18: In defence of the city-state by Maurizio Viroli
28 april 2023 |
22 min
The early modern Italian republics are often portrayed as models of bad government. But the fusion of civic humanism and Christianity they championed endures to this day. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Alinari Archives/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Credit: Alinari Archives/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
18: Did nationalism exist in the classical world? by Robin Lane Fox
28 april 2023 |
27 min
Nationalism is often thought of as a modern development - but its traces can be found in antiquity. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Wiki Creative Commons
Credit: Wiki Creative Commons
18: Counting the cost of the 1918-19 pandemic by Hew Strachan
28 april 2023 |
22 min
The influenza pandemic behaved much like the conflict itself - picking out the young and fit before their time. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
17: Machiavelli and civil strife by Alexander Lee
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Niccolo Machiavelli, Renaissance statesman and political theorist, saw factional politics as essential to the prosperity of the Roman Empire and his native Florence. Are today's partisan divisions as beneficial? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Icom Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: Icom Images / Alamy Stock Photo
17: Why the West needs Plato more than ever by Adrian Wooldridge
28 april 2023 |
19 min
The Victorians saw Plato's Republic as an indispensable guide to reform of the public sphere - we should follow their lead. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Credit: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
17: History shows revolutions are a disaster by Richard Whatmore
28 april 2023 |
22 min
Karl Marx was wrong about revolutions - in practice, they beget Caesars and Napoleons. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Andrew Maclear/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Credit: Andrew Maclear/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
16: Crisis and the creation of great art by Andrew Graham-Dixon
28 april 2023 |
20 min
Social upheaval has often been a catalyst for artistic change - the Renaissance was no exception. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Mauro Magliani for Alinari/Alinari Archives, Florence/Alinari via Getty Images
Credit: Mauro Magliani for Alinari/Alinari Archives, Florence/Alinari via Getty Images
15: You are not as clever as you think by Mark Pagel
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Why do humans accumulate ideas, knowledge and technologies while other animals are seemingly stick doing the same thing over and over never getting better? Rather than being a question of raw intelligence, it is in fact largely down to luck, trial and error and copying others.
Credit: Buyenlarge/Getty Images
Credit: Buyenlarge/Getty Images
15: God is back by Adrian Wooldridge
28 april 2023 |
36 min
Voltaire predicted that religion would be defunct in fifty year's time. Karl Marx called it the opium of the masses and Nietzsche declared that God is dead. Adrian Wooldridge is now saying that He's back. From the rise of Islamic extremism to American evangelism, the twenty-first century is seeing a religious renaissance. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Tuul & Bruno Morandi via Getty Images
Credit: Tuul & Bruno Morandi via Getty Images
15: Austria: nation, state or empire? by Martina Winkelhofer-Thyri
28 april 2023 |
15 min
Studying the evolution of Austria in the 20th century offers deep insight into essential Western political categories. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Credit: Adobe Stock
15: The empty metropolis by Tom Holland
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Empty city London had its harbingers in literature and history. How will it emerge from its isolation? Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: 1000 Words / Shuttersotck
Credit: 1000 Words / Shuttersotck
14: A world of nations and states is here to stay by Donald Sasoon
28 april 2023 |
20 min
Despite globalisation, the nation state retains its privileged position in world politics. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Credit: AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
13: China's great uncoupling by Jonathan Fenby
28 april 2023 |
22 min
Beijing wants to foster a world where Chinese standards replace those of the post-1945 US-led system. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Feng Li/Getty Images
Credit: Feng Li/Getty Images
12: Covid-19 and the moral case for personal judgement by David Seedhouse
28 april 2023 |
25 min
The tension between independence and compliance is everywhere in society – but in medicine, reason must come before rules. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images
Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images
12: Meet the Zoomer generation by Matthew Goodwin
28 april 2023 |
23 min
This period of turbulence could turn today's twenty-somethings into the leaders of a new liberal revolution. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
11: New Turkey's old politics by Tim Marshall
28 april 2023 |
21 min
As a result of President Erdogan's embrace of two interlinked geopolitical concepts, 'Strategic Depth' and 'Blue Homeland', Turkey faces international isolation. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Credit: Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg via Getty Images
10: Continuity Thatcher: rescuing a complex leader from historical cliché by Graham Stewart
28 april 2023 |
27 min
To argue that Margaret Thatcher attacked the post-war dream is to caricature, not illuminate, her importance to British history. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: John Downing/Getty Images
Credit: John Downing/Getty Images
9: Challenging the 'Great Reset' theory of pandemics by Mark Honigsbaum
28 april 2023 |
24 min
Thucydides saw plague as a disease of the ‘body politic’ – and an opportunity to improve the health of society. History shows that pandemics have a way of disrupting our assumptions about medical and social progress. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: A 19th-century color lithograph, with the caption 'Cholera Tramples the Victor and the Vanquish'd Both,' depicts a giant skeleton trampling over a battlefield. Credit: Bettmann
Image: A 19th-century color lithograph, with the caption 'Cholera Tramples the Victor and the Vanquish'd Both,' depicts a giant skeleton trampling over a battlefield. Credit: Bettmann
8: The changing fate of the English country house by Clive Aslet
28 april 2023 |
19 min
Amid the tumult of the 1970s, it appeared the traditional country house had gone into irreversible decline - but it was too early to write it off. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images
Credit: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images
7: Geopolitics of a pandemic by Helen Thompson
28 april 2023 |
22 min
The Covid-19 crisis has accentuated all the geopolitical fault lines of the past decade. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Credit: Adobe Stock
6: A government of laws by Philip Bobbitt
28 april 2023 |
14 min
The constitutional order is changing as citizens become alienated and demand more say. Americans must take care that their habits of law are not swept away. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
5: This crisis has the capacity to be apocalyptic by Peter Frankopan
28 april 2023 |
21 min
Covid-19 heralds the end of our interconnected world. We'll need wise leaders to navigate what comes next. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
4: Remembering London's last Great Plague by Vanessa Harding
28 april 2023 |
22 min
London's response to its last plague epidemic involved close collaboration between crown, City and parish. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Culture Club / Getty Images
Credit: Culture Club / Getty Images
3: John Hughes and the making and unmaking of the American Dream by Johan Hakelius
28 april 2023 |
15 min
The films of John Hughes updated the American Dream for a new generation, and his complex legacy helps us understand what went so wrong. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: CBS via Getty Images
Credit: CBS via Getty Images
2: Why applied history matters by Iskander Rehman
28 april 2023 |
48 min
Forget the seduction of grand theories and presentist moral judgments. To learn the lessons of the past, the great foreign policy analysts of our age must rediscover the art of historical discernment. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: BLM Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Credit: BLM Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
1: Survival lessons from Ancient Rome by Gillian Clark
28 april 2023 |
23 min
The Romans have so much to teach us about what it means to live in a society in crisis. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Thomas Cole / Public domain
Update Description
Credit: Thomas Cole / Public domain
Update Description
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.