

The EI Podcast
Engelsberg Ideas
The EI Podcast brings you weekly conversations and audio essays from leading writers, thinkers and historians. Hosted by Alastair Benn and Paul Lay. Find the EI Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search The EI Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 9, 2022 • 31min
EI Weekly Listen — Fairy Tales of Statehood: the politics of sacred land and divine-kings by Jessica Frazier
Land is the silent, steady, partner in the messy realm of politics and national divides between monarchs. Read by Leighton Pugh. You can find the essay featured in this episode here: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/spirit-lands-and-tyrant-kings-differing-tales-of-statehood/

Sep 2, 2022 • 30min
EI Weekly Listen — Why War Again by Lilia Shevtsova
As hostilities with Russia increase, we must again ask ourselves what drives human beings to conflict, especially after an era of peace. Read by Leighton Pugh.
Credit: Eddie Gerald / Alamy Stock Photo

Aug 26, 2022 • 29min
EI Weekly Listen — Jihadist Media Strategies by Elisabeth Kendall
While the Islamic State’s savvy media presence may have overshadowed that of al-Qaeda over the past decade, the efforts of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operating in war-torn Yemen show the group remains a long-term threat.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-war-for-hearts-and-minds-the-evolution-of-al-qaedas-media-strategy/
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Aug 19, 2022 • 20min
EI Weekly Listen — The Joint Intelligence Committee: Reading the Russian mindset by Michael Goodman
During the Cold War, the British Joint Intelligence Committee was charged with forecasting the actions of states behind the Iron Curtain and the rest of the world. Its record was patchy – the Brits were repeatedly taken by surprise throughout the 20th century. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-joint-intelligence-committee-reading-the-russian-mindset/
Credit: The Central Intelligence Agency via Wikipedia Commons

Aug 12, 2022 • 26min
EI Weekly Listen — Democracy in crisis: Lessons from Ancient Athens by Erica Benner
Demagogues thrive if moderate politicians flatter citizens into an unrealistic sense of their own greatness. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/democratic-crisis-lessons-from-ancient-athens-4/
Credit: The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

Aug 5, 2022 • 22min
EI Weekly Listen — Tribal bias from the wild to the laboratory by Cory J Clark
It is not just politics that is beset by tribalism. The social sciences are also vulnerable to in-group bias. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/tribal-bias-from-the-wild-to-the-laboratory-5/
Credit: melita / Alamy Stock Photo

Jul 29, 2022 • 20min
EI Weekly Listen — Love as Religion by Simon May
Love has become widely seen as a democracy of salvation open to all. The reality is more complex. Is our religion of love doing more harm than good? Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/is-our-religion-of-love-doing-more-harm-than-good/
Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Jul 22, 2022 • 24min
EI Weekly Listen — The Gospel of Thomas: casting a new light on Early Christianity by Elaine Pagels
While there may have been striking similarities between the Gospel of Thomas and those of the four Evangelists, closer examination reveals a subtle yet crucially different perspective on salvation. Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-gospel-of-thomas-casting-a-new-light-on-early-christianity/
Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Jul 13, 2022 • 50min
Worldview — The battle for energy resources
In this episode of Worldview, Adam Boulton is joined by Professor Helen Thompson, Tim Marshall and Daniel Yergin to discuss the global energy market.
The fallout of Putin's invasion of Ukraine has overthrown energy norms in Europe. However, over the past decade the energy market has been far from stable. With concerns surrounding climate change and the discovery of new resources, we are on the brink of an energy revolution which will overhaul the geopolitical map as we know it.
Image description: Oil pumps and refinery in oil field. Credit: Cultural RM / Alamy Stock Photo.

Jul 13, 2022 • 20min
EI Weekly Listen — Why 16 billion cortical neurons are not enough by Suzana Herculano-Houzel
Humanity has come quite some way in the past 200,000 years but are we really anything more than primates with a few million more neurons than our closest relatives? Read by Leighton Pugh.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/why-16-billion-cortical-neurons-are-not-enough/
Credit: Martin Harvey via Getty Images


