The EI Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The deep roots of Anglo-German relations Oct 15, 2026

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Britain and Germany have shared royal dynasties, forged pragmatic alliances, exchanged huge flows of capital and fought terrible wars against each other. In his new book, ‘Great Powers: A History of Britain and Germany’, Jan Rüger documents that symbiotic relationship’s twists and turns over the past 300 years.

Image: An anti-German British propaganda poster from the First World War. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Napoleon’s nest of vipers Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Napoleon appointed a total of 26 Marshals between 1804 and 1815, and they became crucial to his military success. Yet only two of them fought alongside him at the Battle of Waterloo. Andrew Roberts sits down with Paul Lay to discuss his new book, ‘Napoleon and his Marshals’.

Image: Napoleon near Borodino, by Vasily Vereshchagin (1897). Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Russia’s war on Ukrainian science Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Earlier this week, a Russian drone strike hit the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, bringing terror to the historic centre of Ukraine’s capital and damaging a symbol of national independence. Paul Josephson speaks to Jack Dickens about why Vladimir Putin is targeting Ukraine’s leading research institutes.

Image: The Soviet-era Duga radar near Chernobyl, Ukraine. Credit: Alamy

Space and the new clash of civilisations Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Earlier this month, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a space weapon in Earth’s orbit. John B. Sheldon and Jack Dickens discuss the fight for extraterrestrial supremacy.

Image: A mural of a Soviet-era cosmonaut in Ukraine. Credit: Alamy

Reinventing Disraeli Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

What did Benjamin Disraeli believe and why is he still invoked as a prophet of modern conservatism? Emily Jones speaks to Paul Lay about her new book, ‘The Disraeli Myth: The Making of a Conservative Tradition’.

Image: Portrait of Benjamin Disraeli, c.1860. Credit: Alamy

The scramble for the Middle East Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Simon Sebag Montefiore speaks to Jack Dickens about his new book, ‘The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East’.

Image: British troops on parade at Jaffa Gate after seizing military control of the region from the Ottoman Empire (1917). Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The novel in Britain: from cover to cover Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Philip Hensher speaks to Alastair Benn about his new book, ‘A History of the Novel in Britain’, a stylish and very personal survey of a great tradition.

Image: Portrait of Algernon Talmage circa 1915, by Hilda Fearon. Credit: Alamy

Journeys in Europe’s grey zone Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks to Caitlin Allen about her new book, ‘Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers’.

Image: United Nations Buffer Zone near the ghost town resort of Varosha, Famagusta, Cyprus. Credit: Alamy

Machiavelli still matters Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Stephen Bowd speaks to Paul Lay about why, 500 years after his death, Niccolò Machiavelli remains one of the world’s most vital political philosophers.

Image: Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli (1570). Credit: Alamy

The entire history of cinema in one shot Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Film critic David Thomson speaks to Paul Lay about his new book, ‘A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of the Movies’.

Image: A sign advertises the opening of the Hollywoodland housing development in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. Credit: Alamy

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