The EI Podcast

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America’s universal document: a curious history Aug 06, 2026

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Marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Michael Auslin speaks to Paul Lay about the document’s powerful yet often strange afterlife. From Philadelphia in 1776, through the Civil War, the Gilded Age, both World Wars and the Cold War, America’s founding document has been a perennial symbol of hope.

Image: An illustration from ‘Columbia's Courtship: A Picture History of the United States in Twelve Emblematic Designs in Color with Accompanying Verses’ by Walter Crane (1983). Credit: Alamy

The alien world of Homer’s Odyssey Jul 30, 2026

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What does Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of ‘The Odyssey’ have in common with Homer’s poem? Classicist and actor Orlando Gibbs speaks to Alastair Benn about the strangeness of this ancient epic, which depicts a moral world far removed from Nolan’s secular and post-Christian worldview, and discusses whether its popularity will lead to a renewed interest in the classical world.

Image: Odysseus and the Sirens, represented on an ancient Greek vase. Credit: Alamy

How wine made the modern world Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Historian Kathleen Burk speaks to Max Mitchell about the long history of humanity's relationship with wine, taking us on a journey from the ancient Near East to modern France.

Image: A vineyard near the Temple of Zeus at Ancient Nemea, Korinthia, Greece. Credit: Alamy

The struggle for Saudi Arabia’s buried past Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Saudi Arabia’s expensive investment in its future has come with a concurrent focus on its archaeological past but its ambitions risk eradicating the remnants of pre-Islamic history. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-struggle-for-saudi-arabias-buried-past/.

Image: The Qasr Al Farid tomb in Saudi Arabia. Credit: Alamy

The diplomats who defeated Hitler Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Peter Ricketts, Britain’s former ambassador to France, speaks with Paul Lay about a golden age of diplomacy.

Image: Archibald Clark Kerr (Britain’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union) and Alexander Cadogan (Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) at the Potsdam Conference, 1945. Credit: Alamy.

The political power of knowing your enemy Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

In war and diplomacy, personal relationships between leaders can shape the course of events in unpredictable ways. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-political-power-of-knowing-your-enemy/.

Image: Cartoon from Punch showing from Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Credit: Alamy

The return of the Great Powers Jul 09, 2026

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Brendan Simms talks to EI’s Jack Dickens about a new age of geopolitical rivalry.

Image: Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Credit: Alamy

Germany’s new old nuclear dilemma Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

When it comes to nuclear weapons, the concerns that West Germany’s first chancellor wrestled with during the Cold War have not disappeared. In this audio essay, Marina E. Henke suggests that they have simply re-emerged in new forms. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read it here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/germanys-new-old-nuclear-dilemma/

Image: A nuclear power plant in Bavaria, circa 1985. Credit: INTERFOTO

250 years of the American experiment Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Paul Lay speaks to Phil Tinline, author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy, about the variety and violence of a country built on high ideals and low conspiracies.

Image: The interior of the United States Capitol. Credit: Alamy

Where is Russia’s place in the world? Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Russia is a Near Eastern country now subordinated to East Asia. But Stephen Kotkin argues that historically it has prospered most when tied closely to Europe.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/where-is-russias-place-in-the-world/.

Image: Map of Russia, 1562. Credit: Alamy

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