The EI Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why the brain is the ultimate weapon of war Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

EI's Paul Lay is joined by neuroscientist Nicholas Wright to discuss how the brain shapes war, and how war shapes the brain.
Image: The brain as a weapon of war. Credit: fStop Images GmbH

The end of Pax Britannica Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Graeme Thompson on the fall of a liberal world order. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-end-of-pax-britannica/.

Image: 'Taming the British Lion'. Puck magazine, 1888. Credit: Historical Images Archive

The classical key to the AI revolution Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

John Tasioulas examines how a classical conception of democracy – distinct from liberal democracy – may offer the resources needed to meet the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-classical-key-to-the-ai-revolution/.

Image: Rudolph Müller, View of the Acropolis from the Pynx (1863). Credit: Eraza Collection

The Risorgimento myth Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Gerald Warner on the origins of a 'black legend' designed to discredit the once-flourishing Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-risorgimento-myth/.

Image: A painting displaying the splendour of the Neapolitan fleet. Credit: The Picture Art Collection

China's quest to engineer the future Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

EI's Paul Lay is joined by technology analyst Dan Wang to discuss how China has engineered its way to global power status.
Image: New high-rise buildings in China. Credit: ton koene

The double agent who introduced Japan to the West Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Bill Emmott profiles Lafcadio Hearn, the Anglo-Irish-Greek foreign correspondent who made Japan his home. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-double-agent-who-introduced-japan-to-the-west/.

Image: Lafcadio Hearn photographed with his wife, Setsuko Koizumi, and their son. Credit: GRANGER - Historical Picture Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Lessons from the Wall Street Crash Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Bestselling author Andrew Ross Sorkin discusses his new book, 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, with EI's Iain Martin.
Image: The Wall Street financial crash of 1929, with a city businessman speculator trying to sell his car for $100 cash, having lost all on the stock market. Credit: Alamy/ Shawshots.

1821 and the invention of world order Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Historian Damian Valdez on international order's 19th-century origins. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/1821-and-the-invention-of-world-order/.

Image: Mexican general Agustín de Iturbide rides through a ceremonial arch to welcoming officials in Mexico City on September 27, 1821, after decisively winning independence for Mexico. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo

The growing-pains of Graham Greene Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Critic Malcolm Forbes investigates Graham Greene's troubled childhood. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-growing-pains-of-graham-greene/.

Image: Graham Greene in 1940. Credit: Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo

The Slavic War according to Stalin Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Historian Luka Ivan Jukic explores how Stalin hijacked the Slavic cause to forge the Soviet Empire. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-slavic-war-according-to-stalin/.

Image: A poster celebrating Stalin at the Russian State Library, Moscow. Credit: Album / Alamy Stock Photo

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