The Burning Archive is about all things history and culture, and shows how the past is not dead - the past is not even past (Credit: William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun).

In this first episode of The Burning Archive podcast, historian, writer and failed bureaucrat, Dr Jeff Rich, talks about why it is important to have a sense of history to live well in the present, and some of the big history trends shaping our lives today.

You can read more from The Burning Archive at www.theburningarchive.com where Jeff Rich writes on history, culture and governing.

The Burning Archive is also on twitter (regrettably) at @ArchiveBurning.

1. Introducing a sense of history