In the latest episode of EI Talks... Paul Lay and Alastair Benn put together an idiot's guide to Rugby Union. The World Cup, the sport's showcase competition, kicks off tonight. The team gives their predictions.

Image: French Rugby poster from the 1930s. Credit: Lordprice Collection / Alamy Stock Photo 

As the Rolling Stones frontman enters his ninth decade, EI asks whether there is a future for ageing rockers.

Image: Mick Jagger in 1975. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo 

Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss the explosion of tourism in the modern era and what might come next.

Image: Travel poster encouraging tourists to visit Blackpool. Credit JJs / Alamy Stock Photo 

 Paul Lay and Alastair Benn calmly discuss the uses and misuses of anger.

Image: Thai mural in the temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok. Credit: Sabena Jane Blackbird / Alamy Stock Photo 

Paul Lay and Iskander Rehman discuss masters of early modern statecraft: the Duke of Sully, Cardinal Richelieu, and Cardinal Mazarin.

Image: Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle. Credit: Niday Picture Library  /  Alamy Stock Photo 

Paul Lay and Alastair Benn are joined by Alexander Lee, biographer of Niccolò Machiavelli, to discuss the Renaissance thinker's foundational contribution to the study of statecraft.

Image: Niccolò Machiavelli. Credit: GL Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss the deep meaning of Cricket in light of the forthcoming Ashes series between England and Australia, and the recent wider changes the game has undergone.

Image: The Ashes urn. Credit: David Bagnall / Alamy Stock Photo 

Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss the future of Classical music.

Image: String quartet playing in the Saint Nicholas Shopping centre, London. Credit: RayArt Graphics / Alamy Stock Photo

Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss the London Defence Conference and the return of strategic thinking to the Western alliance.

Image: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with the director of the London Defence Conference, Iain Martin. Credit: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo