Podcast Episodes

Archive: Killer in the Kremlin, with John Sweeney

Season 1 Episode 2038

The recent death of Russian anti-corruption activist, opposition leader and political prisoner Alexei Navalny while serving a decades-long sentence in a remote Arctic penal colony shocked the world l…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Six Centuries of Feminist Writing with Hannah Dawson and Merve Emre

Season 1 Episode 1195

How has feminist thought evolved throughout the ages? Beginning in the fifteenth century with Christine de Pizan, who imagined a City of Ladies that would serve as a refuge from the harassment of men…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Material World: How Six Crucial Substances Shape the Global Economy

There are six crucial substances in human history, according to writer and broadcaster Ed Conway: sand, iron, salt, oil, copper and lithium. They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They b…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Energised: How Do We Create A Green Jobs Revolution?

Season 1 Episode 2035

Solar panel installers, architects, environmental scientists, recycling coordinators, wind turbine engineers, geologists, project managers, electric vehicle manufacturers – these are just a small sub…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Novelist Helen Oyeyemi on Why the City of Prague has Main Character Energy

Season 1 Episode 2034

The latest book from critically acclaimed writer Helen Oyeyemi, Parasol Against the Axe, is a novel set among the city of Prague’s streets. It’s often said that a city can feel like a character in a …

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Why the Political World's a Stage

Season 1 Episode 2033

Richard Sennett is a sociologist and the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, whose work has given particular focus to areas such as how we co-exist in urban spaces an…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Is Democracy Future-proof? with Jonathan White and David Runciman

Season 1 Episode 2032

2024 is set to be the biggest election year in history but what happens to politics when it’s always about the next election? We lose our sense of perspective, says Professor of Politics at London Sc…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Alastair Campbell on Starmer, Sunak, and Saving Britain From Itself, Part Two

Season 1 Episode 2030

This is the second instalment of a three-part discussion. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain during the Blair governments, Alastair Campbell was pivotal as a strategist in …

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

Alastair Campbell on Starmer, Sunak, and Saving Britain From Itself, Part One

Season 1 Episode 2029

Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain during the Blair governments, Alastair Campbell was pivotal as a strategist in leading New Labour to victory in 1997. In recent years Cam…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago

A History of Magic and Astrology

Season 1 Episode 2028

In uncertain times, people look to the stars and otherworldly influences for guidance. It has always been so, says Professor of History at Princeton University, Anthony Grafton, whose new book, Magus…

Published on 1 year, 10 months ago