Smart Cookies

The old version of the story went something like this - Homo Sapiens appeared in Africa around 2 to 300.00 years ago and for most of that time, we lived in small hunter gatherer communities, competing with other animals, sometimes more, and sometimes less successfully. That was, until one day we had a gnarly idea to start growing crops, build settlements and settle down for good.However, the mind-boggling discovery of the dazzling Gobekkli Teppe, has thrown this attractively simple narrative into question. But how is it possible that such an impressive complex of monuments, built 12.000 years ago (thousands of years before the first cities ever appeared), was put there by "simple" hunter gatherers... and most of all, why?To tackle these question I turn to Jens Notroff, a German archeologist who actually worked on the site for many years.

In this insightful discussion, James Marriott, a writer at The Times and author of the Cultural Capital Substack, explores the alarming decline in reading and literacy rates. He draws connections between this trend and societal changes, suggesting it may signal a cultural collapse. Marriott highlights how mass literacy historically transformed political landscapes, contrasts today’s smartphone influence with more thoughtful discourse, and warns of the growing intellectual divide. He argues that while literacy is crucial, it's not a cure-all for democracy's challenges.

Joseph Kellner is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union at the University of Georgia. He's also the author of the recently released book The Spirit of Socialism - Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse. Contrary to Western narratives, culture within the USSR wasn't an eternally grey monolith that we used to see in James Bond movies. Quite the opposite - it was a diverse, often flourishing organism. But what happened to it during the brutal dissolution of the Soviet Union? In this conversation, Prof. Kellner and I discuss the decline and the indescribable shock that accompanied the sudden dissolution of the USSR, before turning our attention to an explosion of wild, "exotic" cultural countries springing up in the new country of Russia.

Podcaster Joe Rogan keeps claiming that climate change doesn't really exist and that the Earth is in fact, cooling down, negating all available climate science (as well as plain observation). To address this misleading take, and the often cited Washington Post article accompanying it, I talk to Prof. David Armstrong McKay, climate scientist from the University of Sussex.We also talk about the rate of warming in 2025, the global lack of progress on climate targets, the danger of tipping points and whether the Paris Accords target of keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is really dead in the water.

We all know it - the internet has become a huge garbage heap, guided by malignant algorithms and filled with useless apps, mind numbing social media and AI slop. In a word - it's shitty. But how did we get here? And how can we restore the better internet of old?Cory Doctorow, author of the groundbreaking book ENSHITIFICATION: Why Everything Was Built to Break, has a couple of ideas.

The horrific war that Israel is waging against the predominantly civilian population in Gaza has been going on for almost two years, and yet, the slaughter continues to this day. Why is that? To discuss one of the biggest crimes of our time, I talk Mouin Rabbani, an analyst, and commentator specialising in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the contemporary Middle East. We discuss the Western world's immoral support for Israel, Hamas' aims, Netanyahu's plan for Gaza, the indifference of Arab states and finally, the chances for the latest peace plan brought forward by Donald Trump to succeed and finally end the genocide.

Few conflicts have been as impactful as the two Opium Wars fought between China and the Western powers during the 19th century. These unjust wars, unanimously won by the West, ultimately resulted in a series of devastating concessions and ushered in China's so-called century of humiliation, the memory of which is still shaping global politics today. But how did it all start? Why was Britain intent on pushing opium on this vast and ancient empire? And how come Qing dynasty China crumbled in an instant? In this episode of the Smart Cookies podcast, Yang-Wen Zheng, Professor of Chinese History at the University of Manchester, takes us through through this tricky, yet monumental chapter of global history.

Neoliberal capitalism is dead. But what kind of a system has replaced it?In the era of tech titans, weakening institutions and growing social tensions it's hard to get a grip on the forces that are governing our lives. Throw the chaotic administration of Donald Trump into the mix and the political landscape becomes truly unrecognisable.Are we living in the era of technofeudalism, platform capitalism or libertarian authoritarianism? And how do increasing political killings, such as the one of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk, fit into the mix?Professor William Davis, sociologist and political economist, author of the impactful books Happiness Industry and Nervous States, takes us through these unprecedented and transitory times.

It's the middle of the 13th century and the Mongols have bulldozed their way through a host of Middle Eastern kingdoms like they are playing a strategy game with a cheat code. One after the other, the powerful Christian, as well as Islamic, states fell until there were almost none left on the map. The conquest of EVERYTHING seemed inevitable... However, in one of history's greatest upsets of all time, the Mongols finally met their match. This is the second part of the conversation with Prof. Nicholas Morton, author of the Mongol Storm, an unputdownable history of Mongol conquests of the Middle East. We talk about the mysterious Assassins, the fall of the Crusader States, and the rise of the Ottomans, an empire that will dominate the Mediterranean for hundreds of years to come...

The Byzantine Empire, Anatolian Seljuks, The Ayyubid Empire, Kingdom of Armenia, The Crusader States, The Abbasid Caliphate, the Nizari Assassins... this isn't a list of factions for a new Age of Empires video game, it's a snapshot of the Middle East in the middle of the 13th century - a time (and place) of incredible diversity, sophistication and struggle.All of these states, whether Christian or Muslim, are continuously interlocked into alliances and division, cooperation and armed conflict. But however different, they suddenly have 1 thing in common - the whispers of a TERRIFYING new power rising in the East, approaching their borders with unprecedented speed...How will they deal with this apocalyptic threat? Will they try diplomacy, submit or go to war? Will they stand together or fall separately? All of these questions are the subject of "The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East," a fascinating book by historian Nicholas Morton, professor of Medieval history at Nottingham Trent University.* This is the FIRST PART of our conversation. The SECOND part will be available next week... unless you're a PATREON subscriber. Then you can access it straight away!