Engelsberg Ideas Podcast

72: EI Weekly Listen — Variety in Judaism by Martin Goodman May 20, 2022

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.

71: EI Weekly Listen — America's problem with unconventional warfare by Frederick Kagan May 13, 2022

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

70: EI Weekly Listen — Suffering, the price of being alive: an Islamic perspective by Mona Siddiqui May 06, 2022

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.

69: History Lessons — Christopher Coker explains Why War? May 06, 2022

On the latest episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Christopher Coker discussing humanity's compulsion for conflict.

68: EI Weekly Listen — Reassessing Christian history by Diarmaid Macculloch Apr 29, 2022

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.

67: EI Weekly Listen — The gods in love by Jessica Frazier Apr 22, 2022

The Hindu tradition of Radha and Krishna calls us to see passion as the kernel of all religion. Read by Leighton Pugh.

66: EI Weekly Listen — The story of the Jesuits: how the Society of Jesus charted the world by M.Antoni J. Ucerler, S.J. Apr 14, 2022

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 The result of this was an unparalleled network of knowledge which superseded religious tensions.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.

65: EI Weekly Listen — The Portuguese: Pioneers of globalisation by Roger Crowley Apr 08, 2022

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.

64: EI Weekly Listen — Elements of seapower, past and present by Lincoln Paine Apr 01, 2022

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.

63: EI Weekly Listen — Making sense of the Yemen War by Elisabeth Kendall Mar 25, 2022

If a peace deal is not reached, all the key ingredients are present for Yemen to become a failed state. Read by Leighton Pugh.

62: EI Weekly Listen — the dark side to loving a group by Harvey Whitehouse Mar 18, 2022

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.

61: EI Weekly Listen — the fake history of civilisational states by Christopher Coker Mar 11, 2022

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.

60: EI Weekly Listen — The flag wars are here to stay by Tim Marshall Mar 04, 2022

Flags have become synonymous with nationhood, character, spirit, and power. In an age of renewed nationalism, their power should not be underestimated.

59: EI Weekly Listen — Disinformation in the information age by Gill Bennett Feb 25, 2022

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.

58: EI Weekly Listen — Roman geopolitics, an exercise in myth-making by Richard Miles Feb 18, 2022

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.

57: EI Weekly Listen — How US policy failure post-9/11 undermined international order by Emma Sky Feb 11, 2022

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.

56: EI Weekly Listen—Uruk and the origins of the sacred economy by Daniel T. Potts Feb 04, 2022

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.

55: EI Weekly Listen—Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy revisited by Niall Ferguson Jan 28, 2022

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.

54: History Lessons—Katja Hoyer on the rise and fall of the German Empire, 1871–1918 Jan 28, 2022

On the latest episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Katja Hoyer on the creation of the German empire, the role of Otto von Bismarck in its creation and what this period reveals about Germany today.

53: EI Weekly Listen—Cool war by Noah Feldman Jan 21, 2022

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.

52: EI Weekly Listen—Russia and geopolitics by Anna-Lena Laurén Jan 14, 2022

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.

51: EI Weekly Listen—Fantasy in Middle Eastern nation-making by Nathan Shachar Jan 05, 2022

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.

50: EI Weekly Listen – You are not as clever as you think by Mark Pagel Dec 23, 2021

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.

49: EI Weekly Listen – Adrian Wooldridge on the return of religion Dec 17, 2021

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.

48: Worldview— the Eurasian century Dec 10, 2021

For the Worldview podcast, Iain Martin is joined by Hal Brands, the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Together, they discuss the theories of Halford Mackinder and how in 1904, he charted out a map of the tumultuous century to follow.

47: History Lessons— Adrian Wooldridge on the history of meritocracy Oct 29, 2021

In this week's episode of History Lessons, Mattias speaks to Adrian Wooldridge on the history and future of meritocracy, spanning Tang dynasty China to Trump's America.

46: EI Weekly Listen - Martina Winkelhofer-Thyri on whether Austria is a nation, state or an empire Oct 08, 2021

Studying the evolution of Austria in the 20th century offers deep insight into essential Western political categories. Read by Leighton Pugh.

45: Andrew Roberts on George III Oct 08, 2021

On the latest edition of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with historian Andrew Roberts on his mission to repair the reputation of Britain's most maligned and misunderstood monarch.

44: EI Weekly Listen - Tom Holland on Æthelstan and the forging of a United Kingdom of England Oct 01, 2021

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.

43: EI Weekly Listen - Maurizio Viroli on the virtues of the city-state Sep 24, 2021

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.

42: Worldview - what is the future of the West? Sep 17, 2021

Iain Martin is joined by leading security and international relations experts to discuss the legacy of 9/11, the future of Western-led interventions and the meaning of the NATO exit from Afghanistan. Can the West continue to shape world order or is it being replaced? This episode was recorded on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11.

41: EI Weekly Listen - Robin Lane Fox on nationalism in the classical world Sep 17, 2021

Nationalism is often thought of as a modern development - but its traces can be found in antiquity. Read by Leighton Pugh.

40: EI Weekly Listen - Hew Strachan on the cost of the 1918-19 pandemic Sep 03, 2021

The influenza pandemic behaved much like the conflict itself - picking out the young and fit before their time. Read by Leighton Pugh.

37: EI Weekly Listen – Alexander Lee on Machiavelli and civil strife Aug 20, 2021

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.

39: EI Weekly Listen – Adrian Wooldridge on why the West needs Plato more than ever Aug 20, 2021

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.

38: EI Weekly Listen – Richard Whatmore on why revolutions are a disaster Aug 13, 2021

Karl Marx was wrong about revolutions - in practice, they beget Caesars and Napoleons. Read by Leighton Pugh.

36: EI Weekly Listen – Andrew Graham-Dixon on crisis and great art Jul 29, 2021

Social upheaval has often been a catalyst for artistic change - the Renaissance was no exception. Read by Leighton Pugh.

35: EI Weekly Listen – Tom Holland on the empty metropolis Jul 28, 2021

Empty city London had its harbingers in literature and history. How will it emerge from its isolation? Read by Leighton Pugh.

34: EI Weekly Listen - Donald Sassoon on a world of nations and states Jul 22, 2021

Despite globalisation, the nation state retains its privileged position in world politics. Read by Leighton Pugh.

33: EI Weekly Listen – Jonathan Fenby on China's great uncoupling Jul 09, 2021

Beijing wants to foster a world where Chinese standards replace those of the post-1945 US-led system. Read by Leighton Pugh.

32: History Lessons – Jonathan Dimbleby on Operation Barbarossa Jul 02, 2021

Mattias Hessérus in conversation with Jonathan Dimbleby on the strategic decision that cost Hitler the war.

31: EI Weekly Listen – David Seedhouse: Covid-19 and the moral case for personal judgement Jun 25, 2021

The tension between independence and compliance is everywhere in society – but in medicine, reason must come before rules. Read by Leighton Pugh.

30: EI Weekly Listen – Matthew Goodwin: Meet the Zoomer generation Jun 18, 2021

This period of turbulence could turn today's twenty-somethings into the leaders of a new liberal revolution. Read by Leighton Pugh.

29: EI Weekly Listen – Tim Marshall: New Turkey's old politics Jun 09, 2021

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.

28: Weekly Listen – Graham Stewart on Thatcher's rescue from historical cliché Jun 03, 2021

To argue that Margaret Thatcher attacked the post-war dream is to caricature, not illuminate, her importance to British history. Read by Leighton Pugh.

27: EI Weekly Listen – Mark Honigsbaum: Challenging the 'Great Reset' theory of pandemics May 28, 2021

Thucydides saw plague as an opportunity to improve the health of society. But history shows that pandemics have a way of disrupting medical and social progress. Read by Leighton Pugh.

26: History Lessons – Niall Ferguson on the politics of catastrophe May 24, 2021

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Niall Ferguson on how pandemics, and other disasters, shape human history.

25: EI Weekly Listen – Clive Aslet: The changing fate of the English country house May 20, 2021

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.

24: Worldview – Can meritocracy be rescued and repaired? May 14, 2021

Iain Martin is joined by Adrian Wooldridge and Daniel Markovits to discuss the crisis of opportunity and self-reinforcing elites.

23: EI Weekly Listen – Helen Thompson: Geopolitics of a pandemic May 06, 2021

The Covid-19 crisis has accentuated all the geopolitical fault lines of the past decade. Read by Leighton Pugh.

22: History Lessons – Catherine Ostler on Elizabeth Chudleigh Apr 30, 2021

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Catherine Ostler on the 18th-century Duchess who scandalised a nation.

21: EI Weekly Listen – Philip Bobbitt: A government of laws Apr 29, 2021

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.

20: EI Weekly Listen – Vanessa Harding: Remembering London's last Great Plague Apr 22, 2021

London's response to its last plague epidemic involved close collaboration between crown, City and parish. Read by Leighton Pugh.

19: EI Weekly Listen – Johan Hakelius: John Hughes and the making and unmaking of the American Dream Apr 13, 2021

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.

18: EI Weekly Listen - Iskander Rehman: Why applied history matters Apr 08, 2021

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.

17: History Lessons – Margaret MacMillan on war Mar 31, 2021

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Margaret MacMillan on how conflict has shaped human society, politics and psychology.

16: EI Weekly Listen – Gillian Clark: Survival lessons from Ancient Rome Mar 26, 2021

The Romans have so much to teach us about what it means to live in a society in crisis. Read by Leighton Pugh.

15: EI Weekly Listen – Peter Frankopan: This crisis has the capacity to be apocalyptic Mar 19, 2021

Covid-19 heralds the end of our interconnected world. We'll need wise leaders to navigate what comes next. Read by Leighton Pugh.

14: Worldview - China in the 90s: why did it rise? Feb 26, 2021

Niall Ferguson, Helen Thompson and Rana Mitter join Iain Martin to explore what happened to China in the nineties, and what created the conditions for China's spectacular rise in the new millennium.

13: Maxwell's fall – John Preston on the mysterious demise of a disgraced tycoon Feb 22, 2021

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with John Preston, author of 'The Dig', on his new biography of British media baron Robert Maxwell.

12: Can America lead again? Jan 22, 2021

Iain Martin with guests Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Professor Joseph Nye, Karin von Hippel and Tom McTague on the foreign policy change facing the Biden administration

11: GCHQ – John Ferris on the official history Dec 19, 2020

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with John Ferris, the historian 'behind the enigma' of Britain's signals intelligence agency.

10: MI9 – Helen Fry on wartime escape Dec 15, 2020

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with Helen Fry on the ingenious exploits of MI9 – the secret service for escape and evasion.

9: David Omand on what it takes to think like a secret agent Dec 14, 2020

Mattias Hessérus is in conversation with David Omand, former director of GCHQ, on how we can all learn to think like a spy.

8: Fredrik Logevall on JFK Dec 04, 2020

Over 40,000 books have been written on JFK since his assassination, yet none have succeeded in getting behind the myth of Camelot. Join Mattias Hessérus in discussion with Fredrik Logevall on the making of the man who enchanted America.

7: Covid and reform: can the West fix its governing systems? Nov 13, 2020

Iain Martin with guests Adrian Wooldridge and Vernon Bogdanor discusses the covid crisis and the long-term impact that it might have on the development of the West.

6: Alexander Lee on Machiavelli Sep 28, 2020

In this episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hesserus is joined by Alexander Lee to discuss Machiavelli’s life and works. Was he always an adept politician? Was he as immoral as is often claimed?

5: Asian Philosophies of Rebirth with Jessica Frazier Sep 11, 2020

In this episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hesserus and Jessica Frazier are in conversation about the differences between Eastern and Western philosophies of crisis. Is the desire for a return to ’normal’ inherently western? What can we learn from narratives of rebirth? And, was the global lockdown a mass-participation yogic experiment?

4: Can the West be revived? Jul 23, 2020

How did the West land in, what we might politely call, a 'sub-optimal' condition? And is a revival of the West feasible? To discuss these questions Iain Martin is joined by Peter Frankopan and David Frum.
This is an Engeslberg Ideas podcast.

3: Leadership in a Crisis with Andrew Roberts Jul 10, 2020

On this episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus is joined by the historian and author Andrew Roberts to look through the careers of great figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher (as well as some of history's great villains, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin) and see how they handled the pressure of a crisis.
History Lessons is an Engelsberg Ideas podcast.
Hosted by Mattias Hessérus.
With Andrew Roberts.
Produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.

2: The History of Quarantine with Lincoln Paine Jul 01, 2020

On this episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus speaks to the maritime historian Lincoln Paine, author of The Sea and Civilization, about the history of quarantine, how pandemics have affected trade and travel in the past, and whether globalisation can survive the current moment.
Hosted by Mattias Hessérus.
With Lincoln Paine.
Produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.

1: Art, History and Pandemics with Tom Holland Jun 17, 2020

On this, the first episode of History Lessons, Mattias Hessérus speaks to the historian Tom Holland about the relationship between reality and art in the age of a pandemic.
Hosted by Mattias Hessérus.
With Tom Holland.
Produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.

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