Podcast Episodes

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Neil Kinnock vs Militant

Season 14 Episode 224

Today’s episode in our occasional series with Robert Saunders to mark momentous events in British political history explores the lasting consequences of a speech delivered 40 years ago this week. Lab…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Fixing Democracy: How to Stop Election Rigging

Season 15 Episode 223

In today’s episode on how to fix democracy David talks to political scientist Nic Cheeseman about how to stop governments rigging elections around the world, from Africa to the United States. How wid…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Fixing Democracy: Citizens’ Assemblies

Season 15 Episode 222

David talks to Claudia Chwalisz, founder and CEO of Democracy Next, about how citizens’ assemblies could help fix what’s wrong with democracy. Where does the idea of a jury of citizens chosen at rand…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Fixing Democracy: Parliamentary Reform

Season 15 Episode 221

In today’s episode David talks to Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, about legislatures in general and the British parliament in particular. Are law-making bodies really being si…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Fixing Democracy: Electoral Reform

Season 15 Episode 220

For the first episode in a new series about the ideas that could help democracy work better David talks to David Klemperer of the Constitution Society about proportional representation. How did ninet…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Indignity w/Lea Ypi

Episode 219

David talks to Lea Ypi about her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which tells the story of her grandmother’s extraordinary life and in doing so uncovers the hidden history of mid-twentieth-cent…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Dignity and Indignity w/Lea Ypi

Episode 218

Today’s episode is the first in a three-part conversation with philosopher and writer Lea Ypi about the idea of dignity and its role in the history of ideas and in the story of our lives. What is the…

Published on 1 month, 4 weeks ago

PPF+: More of What You’ve Been Missing!

Episode 217

In today’s episode some more highlights from the PPF+ archive of 35 bonus episodes and counting: here are a few more excerpts we think you might enjoy.

In this episode you’ll hear David talking about…

Published on 2 months ago

Politics on Trial: Hitler vs Weimar

Season 13 Episode 216

Today’s epic political trial is the one that should have been the end of Adolf Hitler but ended up being the making of him: his treason trial in 1924 for the so-called Beer Hall Putsch. How close did…

Published on 2 months ago

Politics on Trial: Easter Rising 1916 w/Fintan O’Toole

Season 13 Episode 215

Today it’s the first of two episodes with journalist and historian Fintan O’Toole about the trials that followed the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. What did the leaders of the rising hope to achieve,…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago