x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Past Present Future

Past Present Future is a bi-weekly History of Ideas podcast with David Runciman, host and creator of Talking Politics, exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, culture to technology. David talks to historians, novelists, scientists and many others about where the most interesting ideas come from, what they mean, and why they matter. Ideas from the past, questions about the present, shaping the future. New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.

history politics

All Episodes

60:25

Politics on Trial: Darwin vs God / Darrow vs Bryan –...

Past Present Future ·

2025/11/02

We return to our series about the most significant trials in history with the trial of the twentieth century: Scopes ‘Monkey’ (1925), which was meant to be about a Tennessee schoolteacher but became a battle between science and religion and everything in between. What made it such a blockbuster showdown? Who really won and who really lost? And how are arguments from one hundred years ago still roiling American politics today? To get our free fortnightly newsletter delivered to your inbox with

en

57:15

Live Special: Who Rules the World? Trump, Tech and...

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/29

Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival: David talks to Bruno Maçães and Sarah Wynn-Williams about who is winning in the fight for control between China and America, between state power and corporate power and between AI and humanity. Where are the battlegrounds in the fight for the future? What are the weapons? And how will we know what victory looks like? Out now on PPF+: A bonus episode with more of your questions and suggestions for how to

en

64:14

Fixing Democracy Q&A w/David Klemperer: Oligarchy,...

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/26

In today’s episode the two Davids try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had in response to this series, ranging from the very broad to the very specific. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway? Should old people be banned from voting? Or should we simply ban the internet instead? Plus much, much more.Out tomorrow on PPF+: A bonus episode with more questions on how to fix democracy and more answers from the two

en

71:42

Fixing Democracy: Confronting the Strongmen

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/22

For the final episode in this series David talks to historian Ayse Zarakol about the prospects for democracy in the age of strongman politics, from Trump to Erdogan, from Orban to Modi. Where did the strongmen come from? How unusual is this kind of politics in the broad sweep of history? Does democracy have the wherewithal to resist its pull? And if not, what happens next?The 4th film in our autumn season at the Regent Street Cinema in London is coming up on Wednesday 5th November: a screening of

en

60:55

Fixing Democracy: TikTok, Disinformation and Distraction

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/19

In our penultimate episode in this series David talks to writer Sam Freedman about whether democracy can cope with the demands of the social media age. Are we really more vulnerable to disinformation than we have ever been? Is the bigger problem our ever-shrinking attention spans or our ever-divided politics? What happens to democracy as visual communication squeezes out the written word? And what might make things better?Sam Freedman’s Substack is Comment is Freed https://samf.substack.com/ Next

en

61:59

Live Special: Prime Minister Farage?

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/15

In this special live episode recorded in front of pupils from Hill House and Hayfield schools in Doncaster, David talks to political scientist Rob Ford about whether Nigel Farage is really going to be the UK’s next PM. Is there anything comparable to the prospect of a Farage premiership in British political history? What are the electoral routes that might lead Farage to No 10? What are the events or scandals that might derail him? Plus we hear from the pupils as well – what do they think of Reform

en

67:12

Fixing Democracy: Better Rhetoric

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/12

David talks to political theorist Alan Finlayson about what’s gone wrong with political speech and how it can be improved. Why do so many contemporary political arguments feel so sterile? What can we learn from the ancient art of rhetoric about how to do democratic politics better? Does the problem lie with the politicians or with the tools of communication at their disposal? And is good political speech something that all citizens should aspire to?Out now on PPF+: A bonus episode on Fixing

en

57:53

Fixing Democracy: Compulsory Voting

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/08

In today’s episode David talks to political historian David Klemperer about whether voting should be required by law and what might change if non-participation was no longer an option. Why have some countries made voting compulsory? What difference has it made? Can the people who think democracy has got nothing to offer them be made to think otherwise? Can the politicians who normally ignore the wishes of those people be forced to pay more attention?Available on Saturday on PPF+: A bonus episode

en

60:50

Fixing Democracy: What’s Wrong with Referendums?

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/05

In today’s episode David talks to Alan Renwick from UCL’s Constitution Unit about the pros and cons of referendums. When does a democratic question need to be put direct to the people? Do some countries do it better than others? How can referendums be used to open up political debate? And how can we avoid a rerun of the pitfalls of the Brexit referendum?There are just a few tickets left for the 3rd film in our autumn film season at the Regent Street cinema on Thursday 9th October: a screening

en

61:47

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: From Kinnock to...

Past Present Future ·

2025/10/01

The second part of David’s conversation with Robert Saunders marking the 40th anniversary of Neil Kinnock’s party conference speech attacking the Militant tendency takes the story up to the present and beyond. Was Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the Labour leadership contest of 2015 the revenge of the ‘Loony Left’? What’s the difference between Momentum and Militant? Which parts of the Labour Party pose the biggest threat to Keir Starmer today? And what lessons might events in Liverpool forty years ago

en

62:36

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Neil Kinnock vs...

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/28

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. Labour leader Neil Kinnock’s attack on Militant at his party’s annual conference in 1985 brought a long-running conflict out into the open. Who were Militant? Why did the speech have such an explosive impact? What did it mean for the past, present and future of the Labour Party?Next time: From Kinnock to

en

63:39

Fixing Democracy: How to Stop Election Rigging

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/24

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 widespread is the problem? Has digital technology made it worse? What makes an election free and fair? And what are the chances that the next US presidential election will be a free and fair one? Tickets are available for the 3rd film in our PPF Films of Ideas season at the Regent Street Cinema in London

en

65:51

Fixing Democracy: Citizens’ Assemblies

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/21

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 random to answer political questions come from? What are the kinds of contemporary questions it could help to settle? How does it work? And what would encourage politicians to listen to citizens’ assemblies rather than to their electorates?Out now on PPF+: The second half of David’s conversation with

en

59:23

Fixing Democracy: Parliamentary Reform

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/17

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 sidelined by strongarm executives? What would enable parliaments to work better? How can they better fulfil their role of scrutinising what government does? And why oh why oh why has it taken forever to reform the House of Lords? Available from Saturday on PPF+: The second half of David’s conversation

en

59:04

Fixing Democracy: Electoral Reform

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/14

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 nineteenth-century advocates of PR think it could improve democratic representation? Why did PR get adopted in some places but not in others during the twentieth century? What are the advantages of proportional systems? And when will we get serious electoral reform in the UK?The 2nd film in our autumn

en

66:48

Indignity w/Lea Ypi

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/10

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-century Europe. But it is also a book about the different philosophies of dignity and how those ideas can shape, make and break individual human lives. A conversation about death and displacement, identity and betrayal, secrecy and salvation. Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi is out now – get it

en

59:59

Dignity and Indignity w/Lea Ypi

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/07

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 difference between dignity and dignitas? How does our conception of dignity shape the ways that we think about death? And why is Kant so important for showing what the idea of dignity is capable of? Out tomorrow on PPF+: Part 2 of this conversation, in which David and Lea explore the role of dignity in

en

61:11

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

Past Present Future ·

2025/09/03

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 In the Loop and the question of why politicians do and don’t resign; Robert Saunders on the legacy of Brexit for politics in 2025; Shannon Vallor on why AI is a vision not of the future but of the past; David on the appeal of High Noon for American presidents; and Alec Ryrie on the relationship between

en

65:08

Politics on Trial: Hitler vs Weimar

Past Present Future ·

2025/08/31

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 Hitler’s attempted coup come to succeeding? Why was he allowed to turn the court that tried him into a platform for his poisonous politics? What were the missed opportunities to silence him once and for all?Out now on PPF+: Part 2 of David’s conversation with Fintan O’Toole about the Easter Rising

en

59:09

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

Past Present Future ·

2025/08/28

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, with or without German help? How and why did the British get it so wrong by court martialling the supposed ring leaders in secret? Were those trials anything more than kangaroo courts? And why are fourteen martyrs more potent than thousands of victims? Available from Saturday on PPF+: Part 2 of David’s

en

250 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Audio Biography

Inception Point Ai