A special live edition recorded in front of an audience in Cambridge: David talks to writer, broadcaster, academic and politician Michael Ignatieff about his personal experiences of democratic politics. From his bruising time as Liberal party leader in Canada to his recent confrontations with the Orban government in Hungary, from climate change to populism, from Johnson to Trump, we discuss what's happened to democracy and where he sees the grounds for hope. A wide-ranging conversation about the good and the bad of contemporary politics.

Mentioned in this Episode: 

• Michael’s book, Fire and Ashes, Success and Failure in Politics
• Our episode with Roberto Foa on his new report on global satisfaction with democracy 
• Max Weber’s essay, “Politics as a Vocation”
• Isaiah Berlin, The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and their History

Further Learning:

• More on Orban and the Central European University
• More on the Centre for the Future of Democracy
• David’s book on political hypocrisy
• How wealthy countries export their waste

And as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: lrb.co.uk/talking