Best David Runciman Podcasts (2024)

1
The History of Bad Ideas: Antisemitism 49:49

1d ago49:49

49:49

Today’s bad idea is one with a very long history: David talks to the historian Christopher Clark about antisemitism and the reasons for its endless recurrence. What has made discrimination against the Jews different from other kinds of violent prejudice over the course of European history? How did the ‘Jewish Question’ become the battleground of Ge…

1
The History of Bad Ideas: Facebook Friends 50:04

4d ago50:04

50:04

In today’s episode about seemingly good ideas gone badly wrong David talks to the philosopher and journalist Kathleen Stock about Facebook Friends, something that was meant to make us happier and better connected but really didn’t. How did online friendship become so performative? Does its failings say more about Facebook and its business models or…

1
The History of Bad Ideas: The Gold Standard 44:42

8d ago44:42

44:42

In the second episode in our series on bad ideas David talks to the political economist Helen Thompson about the gold standard, which was meant to anchor the world economy until it all fell apart a hundred years ago. Why does gold so often appear like a stable basis for money in an unstable world – and why not silver? What made the gold standard a …

1
The History of Bad Ideas: Eugenics 55:24

11d ago55:24

55:24

For the first episode in our new series about the hold of bad ideas David talks to the geneticist and science broadcaster Adam Rutherford about eugenics: from its origins in the 19th century through its heyday in the 20th century to its continuing legacy today. Is eugenics bad science, bad morality, bad politics – or all three? What are the fears t…

1
Ottessa Moshfegh on bringing Eileen to the screen 1:02:16

11d ago1:02:16

1:02:16

A few weeks ago we welcomed Ottessa Moshfegh to Shakespeare and Company. That night we’re headed almost back to where it all began by revisiting Moshfegh’s second book Eileen, the small town noir that propelled this experimental writer into the bestseller charts and onto the Booker shortlist. Eileen has just been adapted into a Hollywood film—direc…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: Liberation Movements 56:04

15d ago56:04

56:04

In our final episode David and Lea discuss liberation movements, from post-colonial liberation to women’s liberation, gay liberation and animal liberation. What, if anything, do these movements have in common? Is liberation about equality or is it about difference? And who needs liberating next – children? You can hear our bonus episodes for this s…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: Existentialism and Psychoanalysis 51:23

18d ago51:23

51:23

In the penultimate episode in this series David and Lea discuss two twentieth-century philosophies of freedom and the human psyche. What can existentialism teach us about the nature of free choice under conditions of despair? Is there any escape from bad faith? And what can individuals – or even entire societies – learn about their freedom from bei…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: Anarchism and Nihilism 50:14

22d ago50:14

50:14

In our series about different ideas of freedom David and Lea have reached anarchism and nihilism. What is the positive vision of human freedom behind the anarchist rejection of the established order? What can nineteenth-century anarchists teach us about freedom in the twenty-first century? And if nihilists are against everything, what are they for?…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: What is the Free Market? 50:29

25d ago50:29

50:29

In the latest episode of our series about different ideas of freedom David and Lea explore what makes the free market free – and where it fails. How does buying and selling stuff advance human freedom? What does the free market free us from? And is it really possible to be free in a world dominated by credit and debt? Sign up now for PPF+ to get bo…

1
Percival Everett on James, his subversive reimagining of Huckleberry Finn 34:56

26d ago34:56

34:56

James—the new novel by Percival Everett—retells, reframes, and reimagines Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the black man whose flight from slavery quickly entangles with the journey of Huck, on the run after faking his own death to escape his violent father. James gives us the events of Twain’s picaresque…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: Kant, Enlightenment and Peace 53:57

29d ago53:57

53:57

In this episode in our series about ideas of freedom David and Lea explore Immanuel Kant’s vision of rational freedom and perpetual peace. Why was Kant so sure that human reason would produce enlightened progress? Was he right? What are the obstacles likely to derail the advance of peace, then and now? How well do his arguments about free speech an…

1
The History of Freedom w/ Lea Ypi: Machiavelli and Political Liberty 49:45

1M ago49:45

49:45

History of Freedom w/ Lea Ypi: Machiavelli and Political Liberty For the third episode in our series about ideas of freedom David and Lea discuss Machiavelli, republicanism and what it means to live in a free state. What are the institutions that can protect people from domination and exploitation? How can political elites be held to account? Where…

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: The Ancients - Socrates, Seneca & Jesus 53:51

1M ago53:51

53:51

In episode two of our new series David and Lea explore some ancient ideas of freedom and ask what they mean today. What can Socrates teach us about the nature of free inquiry and the pitfalls of democratic freedom? Is Stoicism a guide to emancipation from desire or an exercise in selfishness? And how did Christianity upend the notion of freedom by …

1
The History of Freedom w/Lea Ypi: Why Does It Matter? 55:51

1M ago55:51

55:51

In the first episode of our new series about the history of freedom, David and Lea discuss what the idea means to them and why it matters so much. What did freedom mean to Lea growing up in communist Albania? Is it possible to know true freedom without also having experienced oppression? And how is being free different from being lucky? Subscribe n…

1
On Allen Ginsberg: His life, his work and his archives, with Pat Thomas and Peter Hale 40:13

1M ago40:13

40:13

We were joined by countercultural historian Pat Thomas, and Peter Hale, manager of the Ginsberg estate, and discover their new collaboration Material Wealth Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg. * A prolific poet, raconteur, activist, and thinker, Allen Ginsberg was also a prolific collector, meticulously saving letters, postcards, draft n…

1
Introducing PPF+ 1:38

1M ago1:38

1:38

Sign up now for bonus episodes and ad-free listening – and help support the podcast. www.ppfideas.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1
American Elections: 2008 57:13

1M ago57:13

57:13

For our final episode in this series, David and Gary discuss the election of 2008, which saw Barack Obama’s extraordinary ascent to the presidency. How did he outthink and outmanoeuvre Hilary Clinton? What role did the financial crisis play in his path to the White House? And was it really the vice-presidential candidates in this election who point…

1
American Elections: 1980 48:42

2M ago48:42

48:42

Our series on the Ideas Behind American Elections has reached 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan. David and Gary discuss whether Jimmy Carter was always doomed, what made Reaganomics different and how Reagan succeeded in being an optimist and a scaremonger at the same time. Did this election really inaugurate a new era in American politics – an…

1
American Elections: 1936 48:12

2M ago48:12

48:12

The election of 1936 saw FDR re-elected in a landslide. It was also an election in which fundamental questions about the future direction of America were at stake. David and Gary discuss what made it a turning point for American democracy and ultimately for the wider world. Could the power of the Supreme Court be tamed? What was the true nature of …

1
American Elections: 1912 45:53

2M ago45:53

45:53

We’ve reached the twentieth century and today’s episode is about the decisive election of 1912. David and Gary discuss the year when the Republicans split, the Democrats recaptured the White House after an absence of twenty years, and American politics shifted decisively towards progressivism. Who were the real progressives? What was Theodore Roose…

1
Bidding adieu to Freeman’s literary journal, with Jakuta Alikavazovic, Deborah Landau, Juan Gabriel Vazquez, and John Freeman 54:16

2M ago54:16

54:16

On this very special January night, editor extraordinaire John Freeman was joined by three of his star contributors, Jakuta Alikavazovic, Juan Gabriel Vasquez and Deborah Landau to bid farewell to his literary journal. Buy Freeman’s Conclusions: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/freemans-conclusions * Jakuta Alikavazovic (b.1979) is a Fre…

1
American Elections: 1896 51:47

2M ago51:47

51:47

This episode in our series on the Ideas Behind American Elections looks at 1896, when a single speech nearly upended American politics. The speech was William Jennings Bryan’s ‘Cross of Gold’ address at the Democratic Party convention, which won him the nomination. How did a 36-year old outsider from Nebraska get so close to reaching the White Hous…

1
American Elections: 1860 58:07

2M ago58:07

58:07

In the third episode in our series on the Ideas Behind American Elections David and Gary talk about what was maybe the most significant election of all: 1860, when Lincoln became president and the country careened into civil war. How did the newly formed Republican Party break the stranglehold of the established parties? Why could the South neither…

1
American Elections: 1828 51:26

2M ago51:26

51:26

For the second episode in our new series on the Ideas Behind American Elections, David and Gary discuss 1828: the first great populist election, which saw the arrival of Andrew Jackson and a new style of politics in the White House. What made Jackson different from his predecessors? How did this election reinvent the American party system? And why …

1
On Friendship, with Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen 57:08

2M ago57:08

57:08

In early February, we hosted a riotous, tender, enchanting and uplifting evening of poetry and prose with the irrepressible Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen. After their readings they sat down with Adam Biles for a chat about friendship, a theme that unites their work. Buy Hollie McNish’s Lobster here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/…

1
American Elections: 1800 55:07

2M ago55:07

55:07

In the first episode of our new series on the Ideas Behind American Elections, David and historian Gary Gerstle explore the presidential contest of 1800: scurrilous, complicated, game changing. How did it help create the American party system? Was it really democratic? What would have happened if Aaron Burr had won? Plus, just how accurate is the d…

1
Q & A: Shakespeare, Gulliver and Trump 43:17

2M ago43:17

43:17

In an extra episode this week David answers your questions about the most recent series of the History of Ideas - in particular about the political lessons of Gulliver’s Travels, for its own time and for our own. Plus, how is Trump like - and not like - Coriolanus, and where are the female authors for this series? (A: they’re coming!) Starting in o…

1
History of Ideas: Fathers and Sons 53:54

3M ago53:54

53:54

This week’s Great Political Fiction is Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons (1862), the definitive novel about the politics – and emotions – of intergenerational conflict. How did Turgenev manage to write a wistful novel about nihilism? What made Russian politics in the early 1860s so chock-full of frustration? Why did Turgenev’s book infuriate his con…

1
History of Ideas: Mary Stuart 54:46

3M ago54:46

54:46

This week’s Great Political Fiction is Friedrich Schiller’s monumental play Mary Stuart (1800), which lays bare the impossible choices faced by two queens – Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots – in a world of men. Schiller imagines a meeting between them that never took place and unpicks its fearsome consequences. Why does it do such dam…

1
Love in the Time of Creative-Writing Classes, with Brandon Taylor 51:11

3M ago51:11

51:11

Our guest this week is Brandon Taylor, whose new book The Late Americans is a stark retooling of the campus novel for the 21st century. Taking a university town in Iowa as his canvas, Taylor depicts the lives of a loose group of friends and associates: Seamus, Fyodor, Ivan, Noah and Fatima—students of writing and dance—as time barrels them towards …

1
History of Ideas: Gulliver’s Travels 55:12

3M ago55:12

55:12

This week’s episode on the great political fictions is about Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) – part adventure story, part satire of early-eighteenth-century party politics, but above all a coruscating reflection on the failures of human perspective and self-knowledge. Why do we find it so hard to see ourselves for who we really are? What…

1
History of Ideas: Coriolanus 57:31

3M ago57:31

57:31

In the first episode of our new series on the great political fictions, David talks about Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (1608-9), the last of his tragedies and perhaps his most politically contentious play. Why has Coriolanus been subject to so many wildly different political interpretations? Is pride really the tragic flaw of the military monster at it…

1
Annabelle Hirsch, A History of Women in 101 Objects 52:30

3M ago52:30

52:30

Last week, we were joined in the bookshop by Annabelle Hirsch whose new book A History of Women in 101 Objects not only gives us an untold and innovative history of the world— a history takes us from the dawn of civilisation to the present day, through ancient Egypt, medieval Venice, revolutionary France and the roaring twenties—but also launches a…

1
The End of Enlightenment 57:48

3M ago57:48

57:48

This week David talks to Richard Whatmore and Lea Ypi about what caused the loss of faith in the idea of Enlightenment at the end of the eighteenth century and the parallels with our loss of faith today. Why did hopes for a better, more rational world start to seem like wishful thinking? How was Britain implicated in the demise of Enlightenment ide…

1
Rory Stewart: What Does it Mean to be a 21st-Century Tory? 47:45

4M ago47:45

47:45

This week David talks to Rory Stewart about his life in politics and the history of the ideas behind his political philosophy. What does it mean to be a Tory in the twenty-first century? When and how did the Conservative party get taken over by Whigs? Where – if anywhere – can independents find a home in contemporary British democracy? A conversati…

1
☕Proust Questionnaire: Holly McNish & Michael Pedersen☕ 1:23:37

4M ago1:23:37

1:23:37

In advance of their event at Shakespeare and Company this February 8th, poets Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen answer our café’s Proust Questionnaire. Be warned, this gets saucy quickly… Find out more about their event here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/events/hollie-mcnish-michael-pedersen * Hollie McNish is an award-winning poet, write…

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