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PODCAST

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast

Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson

Welcome to Beyond the Text, a podcast series dedicated to delving into intellectual history with depth and context. In a world saturated with quick takes, Beyond the Text goes the extra mile. Paying homage to Skinner"s insights on the importance of context, this podcast unveils overlooked aspects of historical and intellectual narratives.Co-hosted by Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson, Beyond the Text explores the profound impact of thought and ideas throughout human history—forces that have driven

history philosophy

All Episodes

17:23

Why did Montaigne make himself his subject?

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/10/05

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of our Montaigne series, Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson ask why Michel de Montaigne made himself the subject of his Essays. We explore his classical education, friendship and public life, his retreat to the tower library, and how writing became a way to examine a mind that keeps changing. Is his apparent candour straightforward honesty, literary performance, or a way of teaching readers to exercise judgement? Beyond the Text brings historical texts into...

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21:15

When does disagreement become faction?

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/10/02

Send us Fan Mail When does an argument among citizens become a threat to political peace? In the final conversation of this Hobbes series, Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson turn to De Cive to examine public disagreement, rival claims to authority and the dangers Hobbes associates with faction. The discussion completes the arc from fear, through sovereignty, to the stability of a commonwealth. Read alongside us: Thomas Hobbes, De Cive, chapter 12, especially sections 1, 8 and 11–13: https://en....

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18:23

Why should we obey the state?

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/09/30

Send us Fan Mail What problem does political authority solve, and what do we give up when we create it? In the second of three conversations, Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson read Hobbes’s account of conflict, covenant and sovereignty in Leviathan. They ask why people might consent to a common power and where the obligation to obey meets the need for self-preservation. Read alongside us: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Part I, chapters 13–14; Part II, chapters 17 and 21: https://www.gutenberg.org/f...

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22:37

Who was Thomas Hobbes and what was he afraid of?

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/09/28

Send us Fan Mail The first of three Beyond the Text conversations on Thomas Hobbes. Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson begin with Hobbes’s life, the political upheaval around him, and the place of fear in his account of human beings. How did those experiences shape the argument for political authority? Read alongside us: John Aubrey, “Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury,” Brief Lives, vol. 1: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/47787/47787-h/47787-h.htm Thomas Hobbes, De Cive, Author’s Preface: https://en....

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7:43

Symphony for Sovereignty: How Music Toppled an Empire

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/09/11

Send us Fan Mail In this solo episode, we examine the political power of song during the Baltic "Singing Revolution" and the historic Baltic Way of August 23, 1989. Discover how Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania transformed traditional folk music, mass choir festivals, and protest songs into non-violent instruments of mobilisation, successfully bypassing state control and dismantling Soviet hegemony from within.

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13:56

Beyond the Text: Moderation and Memory: Rapin de...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/04/13

Send us Fan Mail 🎓 A milestone moment in the PhD journey… Last term, I had the privilege of delivering my first presentation of my doctoral research at the Humanities Research Day at the University of Buckingham — and what a moment it was. Presenting “Moderation and Memory: Rapin de Thoyras and the Making of English Party” felt like more than just an academic exercise. It was the first time my work stepped out into the world — tested, shared, and given voice beyond the page. 💭 To stand ...

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43:28

Beyond the Text: Edmund Burke and the Moral Imagination

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/04/13

Send us Fan Mail 💭 Can feeling and imagination preserve what reason alone cannot? In this episode, Jack Thomson explores the political vision of Edmund Burke and the enduring power of moral imagination. Through Reflections on the Revolution in France, we trace Burke’s defence of order, tradition, and inherited wisdom — the idea that society is not constructed by abstract reason alone, but shaped by custom, sentiment, and historical continuity. This episode examines how Burke articulates a

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71:45

History of Ideas Clubs: Industrialisation and Karl Marx

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/04/06

Send us Fan Mail Step into the upheaval of the long nineteenth century in this History of Ideas Club recording 🎙️ “Industrialisation and Marx: The Making of Modern Society” explores a world transformed by unprecedented socio-economic change ⚙️. Breakthroughs in mechanical textiles, chemistry, iron production, and transport - most notably the steam engine 🚂 - drove rapid industrialisation, reshaping everyday life and pulling work out of the home and into expanding urban centres. Cities such

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70:31

History of Ideas Club: The Birth of the Modern...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/03/23

Send us Fan Mail Step into one of the defining political transformations of modern history in this History of Ideas Club recording 🎙️ “The Birth of the Modern Republic: France, America, Haiti” explores the emergence of republican government as a central feature of modernity 🏛️. Across Europe and the Atlantic world, inherited systems of monarchy were challenged - intellectually, politically, and often violently ⚔️. We trace how thinkers and revolutionaries drew on competing visions of human

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78:59

History of Ideas Club: Revolution of Modernity:...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/03/09

Send us Fan Mail Step into one of the most transformative moments in intellectual history in this History of Ideas Club recording 🎙️ “Revolution of Modernity: Descartes, Kant, Hegel” explores the deep tensions at the heart of modern thought - an age defined by radical doubt 🤔 and extraordinary philosophical ambition 📚. What happens when inherited truths and institutions begin to crumble? And how do thinkers rebuild knowledge in their wake? We begin with René Descartes, whose method of doubt

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50:19

Joseph de Maistre: Order, Authority, and the...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/03/02

Send a text In this episode of Beyond the Text, Sam Woodall and Jack Thomson explore the provocative political thought of Joseph de Maistre, one of the most formidable critics of the Enlightenment and a central voice of the Counter-Revolution. Drawing on Jack Thomson’s research, the conversation examines Maistre’s defence of monarchy, tradition, and religious authority in the aftermath of the French Revolution. ⚜️📜 The episode considers Maistre’s striking claim that reason alone cannot

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57:57

History of Ideas Club: The Copernican Revolution in...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/02/23

Send a text Copernicus demonstrated for the first time that the Earth orbits the sun, and not the reverse as was previously thought. Previous measurements had lended themselves to the latter view, but the number of 'epicycles' needed to model the known orbits and their coincidence at specific times became impractical. Copernicus' revision of the fundamental point of reference simplied the model drastically. More importantly it challenged our peceived sense of central significance in the cosmo...

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47:55

Augustine’s City of God

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/02/15

Send a text In this episode of Beyond the Text, Jack and Sam return to one of the foundational works of Western intellectual and political thought – City of God by Augustine of Hippo – as part of our ongoing catch-up discussions from the Heritage Series of the History of Ideas Reading Club, following the conclusion of the series itself. Written in response to the sack of Rome in 410, The City of God is Augustine’s monumental attempt to make sense of political collapse, moral decline, and hist...

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79:53

History of Ideas Club: The English Civil War

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/02/09

Send a text The conflict between monarchical and republican visions of the state reflects far deeper disagreements about the human person - especially the nature of freedom, authority, and the possibility of self-government. Monarchies have often fallen before their societies were fully prepared to confront the practical and moral challenges of republican rule. In this episode, we explore the English Civil War as the culmination of more than a century of political and constitutional tension. ...

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50:06

History of Ideas Club: The Gregorian Reforms and the...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/01/26

Send a text In the eleventh century, the Gregorian Reforms sought to impose coherence on ecclesiastical or canon law and to clarify the relationship between Church and State. At their heart lay a radical question: to what extent should secular authority be subordinated to spiritual power? Four centuries later, this settlement had come under intense strain. Peasants’ revolts, resistance from universities, and opposition from rulers across the Holy Roman Empire exposed deep dissatisfaction with...

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62:14

History of Ideas Club: Rome: From Empire to Republic...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2026/01/19

Send a text How did Rome move from kingship to republic, and from republic to empire? In this episode, we explore the political evolution of Rome through the lens of classical political thought and historical experience. Drawing on Cicero’s famous account of constitutional change - itself indebted to Plato - we trace Rome’s shifting forms of government, from its early monarchy through the emergence of the Republic as a mixed constitution balancing aristocratic and popular elements. We examine...

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74:09

History of Ideas Club: 'And the Word Became Flesh…’:...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2025/12/15

Send a text Christianity emerged from a world already shaped by Jewish law and Greek philosophy, yet it introduced one of the most radical ideas in intellectual history - that God became flesh. In this episode, we explore how the doctrine of the Incarnation transformed ancient understandings of the human person, purpose, and moral life. We examine how early Christian thought synthesised inherited traditions while decisively reshaping them, giving rise to new theological, cultural, and ethical...

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70:58

History of Ideas Club: Disraeli and Oakeshott

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2025/11/10

Send us a text 💭 Can politics be an art of belonging rather than a science of control? In this final instalment of the Heritage Series, Samuel Woodall explores the enduring legacy of Benjamin Disraeli and Michael Oakeshott — two thinkers who gave conservatism its humane and imaginative character. From Disraeli’s Sybil and the vision of “One Nation” politics, to Oakeshott’s On Being Conservative and his defence of civil association, Sam traces how both figures reimagined conservatism as a

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79:20

History of Ideas Club: Roger Scruton

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2025/11/03

Send us a text 💭 Can conservatism be a culture of love rather than fear? In this episode, Jack Thomson explores the life and thought of Sir Roger Scruton (1944–2020) — philosopher, writer, musician, and one of the most articulate defenders of beauty, belonging, and the sacred in modern life. Through works such as The Meaning of Conservatism, Beauty, and England: An Elegy, Jack examines how Scruton sought to recover the moral imagination of the West — a world held together not by ideology,

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70:45

History of Ideas Club: Edmund Burke and the Romantic...

Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian"s Podcast ·

2025/10/13

Send us a text 💭 Can feeling and imagination preserve what reason alone cannot? In this episode, Jack Thomson explores how Edmund Burke’s political vision of order, tradition, and moral imagination found unexpected echoes in the Romantic movement — especially in the poetry of Wordsworth and Byron. Through Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France, we trace the emergence of the conservative imagination: the belief that society is a living organism shaped by inherited wisdom and

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