EI Talks...

Feb 27 2025 62 ep. 38 mins 15

EI Talks... Podcast artwork

Each week, we interrogate the most important and contentious issues of our time. Hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. https://engelsbergideas.com/

Arts History Society & Culture

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The case for Classical music

Feb 27 2025 56 mins

What makes Classical music special among the arts? And where did it come from? To reckon with the inexhaustible complexity of the western musical tradition, its long history and the roots of its contemporary crises, EI's Alastair Benn is joined by Richard Bratby, the chief classical music critic of The Spectator magazine, and Alexandra Wilson, musicologist and cultural historian.

The myth and magic of spy fiction

Feb 13 2025 55 mins

Are we living through a golden age of espionage drama? And what do spy stories tell us about the true nature of the secret world?

The dawn of the post-literate society

Jan 30 2025 46 mins

Is the era of mass literacy over? And what might a post-literate society look like? EI's Alastair Benn is joined by Times columnist James Marriott and Senior Editor Paul Lay to discuss the promise and peril of a culture defined by the audiovisual. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay an

The case for Classics

Jan 16 2025 42 mins

Is the study of Latin in peril? And what does the future hold for the ancient inheritance? EI's Alastair Benn is joined by Daisy Dunn, classicist and author, Armand D’Angour, Professor of Classics at Oxford University, and Paul Lay, EI’s Senior Editor, to discuss the value of ancient languages. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for P

The Vietnam War with Fredrik Logevall

Dec 19 2024 31 mins

EI's Angus Reilly discusses the history and legacy of the Vietnam War with Fredrik Logevall, author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is produced by Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones. Image: Photograph of Americ

The problem with VAR with Daisy Christodoulou

Dec 04 2024 49 mins

EI's Alastair Benn discusses how technology is transforming the world of sport with Daisy Christodoulou, education expert and author of I Can't Stop Thinking About VAR, an eloquent examination of the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system in football. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by

Kissinger's century with Thomas A. Schwartz

Nov 27 2024 28 mins

EI's Angus Reilly discusses the life and legacy of Henry Kissinger with Thomas A. Schwartz, author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is produced by Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones. Image: President Gerald Ford and US Secretary

How to deter Russia with Kristjan Prikk and Eitvydas Bajarūnas

Nov 20 2024 26 mins

EI's Paul Lay discusses how the Baltic states have survived, and thrived, in the shadow of Russian aggression, with Kristjan Prikk, Estonia's Ambassador to the United States and Eitvydas Bajarūnas, a former Lithuanian senior diplomat, who has served as the Ambassador to Sweden, Russia and the UK. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Pu

The making of the post-Wall world with Mary Elise Sarotte

Nov 13 2024 25 mins

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 offered opportunities to reset relations between East and West. EI's Paul Lay discusses how these opportunities were squandered with Mary Elise Sarotte, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Joh

The lessons of the 1968 presidential election with Luke A. Nichter

Nov 04 2024 46 mins

EI’s Angus Reilly is joined by Luke A. Nichter, author of The Year that Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968, to discuss Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, and the battle for the future of America in a year that offers notable parallels to the election of 2024. Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson