The EI Podcast

By Engelsberg IdeasArts Books Government History

The EI Podcast episodes

March 16 The strange death of private life
In the early 1970s, the idea of a private life – that citizens ought to be left alone by the state – began to disappear. In this audio essay, Tiffany Jenkins argues that we should mourn its absence. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-strange-death-of-private-life/.
Image: 1930s poster for the London Underground. Credit: Alamy
18 min
March 12 The Gulf’s Iran dilemma
Shiraz Maher examines how the fallout from the US-Iran conflict is reshaping the Gulf States and the wider Middle East, with EI’s Jack Dickens.
Image: Close-up vintage map of the Middle East. Credit: Alamy
48 min
March 05 The rise of the mega-influencer
Mega-influencers shape the public imagination. Phillip Dolitsky and Luke Moon explore a world where narrative matters more than fact. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Image: Still from a film version of George Orwell's 1984. Credit: Allstar Picture Library Limited
7 min
February 26 Putin, the once and future Chekist
Gordon Corera contends that to truly understand Vladimir Putin, you have to understand the phenomenon of Chekism. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/putin-the-once-and-future-chekist/.
Image: Vladimir Putin's East German Stasi identification card issued while he worked as a KGB agent in Dresden in 1985. Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd
17 min
February 19 When Edo became Tokyo
Christopher Harding on the birth of Tokyo. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Read the essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/when-edo-became-tokyo/.
Image: A woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige. From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1856. Credit: incamerastock / Alamy Stock Photo
21 min
February 12 Hamlet unravelled
Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, explores Hamlet and its rich critical history with EI’s Alastair Benn and Paul Lay.
Image: Laurence Olivier plays Hamlet in 1948. Credit: Masheter Movie Archive
52 min
February 05 The making of Xi Jinping's worldview
Rana Mitter explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI’s Jack Dickens.
Image: Then Vice President Xi Jinping makes an address in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Credit: Imago
1 hr 13 min
January 29 Nietzsche’s manifesto for reading
Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri on reading as an antidote to the restless spirit of the industrial age. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nietzsches-manifesto-for-reading/.
Image: Edvard Munch's painting of Friedrich Nietzsche. Credit: Darling Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
12 min
January 22 Inside the world of medieval espionage
Jonathan Sumption surveys the last generation of spies before the creation of Europe's professional intelligence services. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Read the original essay here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/inside-the-world-of-medieval-espionage/.
Image: King Charles VI of France prepares for war. Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
17 min
January 15 The Monroe Doctrine: The United States’ hemispheric strategy explained
EI's Jack Dickens is joined by Charlie Laderman, associate professor at the University of Florida’s Hamilton Center, to discuss how the United States’ hemispheric ambitions emerged from great-power competition – and why the Monroe Doctrine still matters.
Image: A satirical cartoon lampooning the expansion of the Monroe Doctrine. Credit: Photo 12
58 min

About The EI Podcast

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The EI Podcast brings you weekly conversations with leading writers, thinkers and historians. Hosted by Alastair Benn, Jack Dickens and Paul Lay. Produced by Max Mitchell.