Best David Runciman Podcasts (2025)

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When Stories Fall Apart: Miriam Robinson on Love, Loss, and Truth 49:13

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1h ago49:13

49:13

In this intimate conversation recorded at Shakespeare and Company, novelist Miriam Robinson joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable debut, And Notre Dame Is Burning. Together, they explore the novel’s fractured structure and the emotional aftermath of betrayal, loss, and motherhood. Robinson reflects on her protagonist Esther—a woman piecing tog…

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Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Thatcher@100 – Her Life 1:09:28

3h ago1:09:28

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Today’s episode in our occasional series about momentous political anniversaries with historian Robert Saunders looks at the life and legacy of Margaret Thatcher one hundred years on from her birth. What made Thatcher such a distinctive politician? What did she believe in before she became prime minister? How did her time is power alter her politic…

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The Rise and Fall of Homo Sapiens 54:22

1h ago54:22

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Today’s episode explores some very big picture history: David talks to palaeontologist and science writer Henry Gee about the story of the human species from origin to peak to inevitable decline. When and how did Homo sapiens see off the competition from its rivals in the human and animal world? Why did that point mark the start of an inexorable dr…

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Trump-like Leadership in German History w/Chris Clark: Part 2 – Chancellor, Tyrant, Emperor? 58:54

10d ago58:54

58:54

Part two of David’s conversation with historian Chris Clark asks whether the best historical insights into Trump-like leadership come from comparison with kings or commoners, democrats or dictators. Does Trump’s leadership style share much if anything with an epoch-making politician like Bismarck? Should Trump’s public persona be understood as stan…

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Trump-like Leadership in German History w/Chris Clark: Part 1 – Kaiser Wilhelm II? 51:53

13d ago51:53

51:53

Today’s episode is the first of a two-part conversation with historian Chris Clark exploring how German history might help us understand Trump-like leadership, but not through looking at the Nazi period. Instead, David and Chris explore the character and leadership style of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a monarch with many Trumpian qualities. Was Wilhelm a po…

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Why We Write, Why We Live, with Miriam Toews 49:26

3h ago49:26

49:26

An edited version of this conversation is now available as part of our collaboration with The Yale Review. Read it here: https://yalereview.org/article/shakespeare-and-company-interview-miriam-toews Trigger warning: This is a tender, funny, and hopeful conversation, that inevitably touches on the subjects of suicide and depression. Please be advise…

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Politics on Trial: France on Trial Part 2 – Vichy vs the Jews 51:50

1h ago51:50

51:50

Today’s episode is the second part of David’s conversation with historian Julian Jackson about the case of Marshal Pétain and the crimes of the Vichy regime. Did Pétain really play a ‘double game’ in which he tried to deceive the Nazis? How then to explain the vicious antisemitism of the Vichy regime? Why did the fate of France’s Jews not get more …

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Politics on Trial: France on Trial – Pétain vs De Gaulle 1:05:34

17d ago1:05:34

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Today’s episode is the first of two on the extraordinary treason trial of Marshal Pétain in the summer of 1945 that ended up putting wartime France in the dock. David talks to historian of modern France Julian Jackson about how Pétain found himself so quickly charged with treason and who was judging him. What was the essence of Pétain’s crime? Cons…

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Politics on Trial: The Moscow Show Trials 55:01

1d ago55:01

55:01

Today’s episode is the first of two exploring the origins, conduct and legacy of the Moscow Show Trials that Stalin staged from 1936-38. David talks to historian of Russia Edward Acton about what motivated these grotesque spectacles, how the defendants were chosen, how their confessions were extracted, why the rhetoric was so violent and who was fo…

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Politics on Trial: Darwin vs God / Darrow vs Bryan – the Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial 1:00:25

27d ago1:00:25

1:00:25

We return to our series about the most significant trials in history with the trial of the twentieth century: Scopes ‘Monkey’ (1925), which was meant to be about a Tennessee schoolteacher but became a battle between science and religion and everything in between. What made it such a blockbuster showdown? Who really won and who really lost? And how …

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Live Special: Who Rules the World? Trump, Tech and the Fight for the Future 57:15

1M ago57:15

57:15

Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival: David talks to Bruno Maçães and Sarah Wynn-Williams about who is winning in the fight for control between China and America, between state power and corporate power and between AI and humanity. Where are the battlegrounds in the fight for the future? Wha…

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Fixing Democracy Q&A w/David Klemperer: Oligarchy, Ageing Populations and How to Make Things Worse 1:04:14

1M ago1:04:14

1:04:14

In today’s episode the two Davids try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had in response to this series, ranging from the very broad to the very specific. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway? Should old people be banned from voting? Or should we simply ban the in…

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Fixing Democracy: Confronting the Strongmen 1:11:42

1M ago1:11:42

1:11:42

For the final episode in this series David talks to historian Ayse Zarakol about the prospects for democracy in the age of strongman politics, from Trump to Erdogan, from Orban to Modi. Where did the strongmen come from? How unusual is this kind of politics in the broad sweep of history? Does democracy have the wherewithal to resist its pull? And i…

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Fixing Democracy: TikTok, Disinformation and Distraction 1:00:55

19d ago1:00:55

1:00:55

In our penultimate episode in this series David talks to writer Sam Freedman about whether democracy can cope with the demands of the social media age. Are we really more vulnerable to disinformation than we have ever been? Is the bigger problem our ever-shrinking attention spans or our ever-divided politics? What happens to democracy as visual com…

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How France Lost Its Way, with Andrew Hussey 1:08:23

1M ago1:08:23

1:08:23

In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, historian and cultural critic Andrew Hussey joins Adam Biles to discuss his powerful new book, Fractured France: A Journey Through a Divided Nation. With wit, erudition, and decades of on-the-ground insight, Hussey examines how France—once the model of revolutionary ideals and republican uni…

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Live Special: Prime Minister Farage? 1:01:59

2M ago1:01:59

1:01:59

In this special live episode recorded in front of pupils from Hill House and Hayfield schools in Doncaster, David talks to political scientist Rob Ford about whether Nigel Farage is really going to be the UK’s next PM. Is there anything comparable to the prospect of a Farage premiership in British political history? What are the electoral routes th…

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Fixing Democracy: Better Rhetoric 1:07:12

2M ago1:07:12

1:07:12

David talks to political theorist Alan Finlayson about what’s gone wrong with political speech and how it can be improved. Why do so many contemporary political arguments feel so sterile? What can we learn from the ancient art of rhetoric about how to do democratic politics better? Does the problem lie with the politicians or with the tools of comm…

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Fixing Democracy: Compulsory Voting 57:53

2M ago57:53

57:53

In today’s episode David talks to political historian David Klemperer about whether voting should be required by law and what might change if non-participation was no longer an option. Why have some countries made voting compulsory? What difference has it made? Can the people who think democracy has got nothing to offer them be made to think otherw…

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Fixing Democracy: What’s Wrong with Referendums? 1:00:50

1M ago1:00:50

1:00:50

In today’s episode David talks to Alan Renwick from UCL’s Constitution Unit about the pros and cons of referendums. When does a democratic question need to be put direct to the people? Do some countries do it better than others? How can referendums be used to open up political debate? And how can we avoid a rerun of the pitfalls of the Brexit refer…

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Philippe Sands: Pinochet, Walter Rauff, and the Shadows of History 1:06:38

2M ago1:06:38

1:06:38

This week Adam Biles speaks with international lawyer and acclaimed author Philippe Sands about his latest book, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia. Building on East West Street and The Ratline, Sands traces the remarkable and disturbing links between Nazi officer Walter Rauff—architect of the mobile gas van…

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Now & Then with Robert Saunders: From Kinnock to Corbyn to Starmer 1:01:47

2M ago1:01:47

1:01:47

The second part of David’s conversation with Robert Saunders marking the 40th anniversary of Neil Kinnock’s party conference speech attacking the Militant tendency takes the story up to the present and beyond. Was Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the Labour leadership contest of 2015 the revenge of the ‘Loony Left’? What’s the difference between Momentum…

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Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Neil Kinnock vs Militant 1:02:36

2M ago1:02:36

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Today’s episode in our occasional series with Robert Saunders to mark momentous events in British political history explores the lasting consequences of a speech delivered 40 years ago this week. Labour leader Neil Kinnock’s attack on Militant at his party’s annual conference in 1985 brought a long-running conflict out into the open. Who were Milit…

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Fixing Democracy: How to Stop Election Rigging 1:03:39

2M ago1:03:39

1:03:39

In today’s episode on how to fix democracy David talks to political scientist Nic Cheeseman about how to stop governments rigging elections around the world, from Africa to the United States. How widespread is the problem? Has digital technology made it worse? What makes an election free and fair? And what are the chances that the next US president…

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Fixing Democracy: Citizens’ Assemblies 1:05:51

2M ago1:05:51

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David talks to Claudia Chwalisz, founder and CEO of Democracy Next, about how citizens’ assemblies could help fix what’s wrong with democracy. Where does the idea of a jury of citizens chosen at random to answer political questions come from? What are the kinds of contemporary questions it could help to settle? How does it work? And what would enco…

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Moonlight Express: Monisha Rajesh on the Magic of Night Trains 58:35

2M ago58:35

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In this conversation recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, travel writer Monisha Rajesh talks about her new book Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train. From Paris to Istanbul, Scotland to India, the United States to Lapland, Rajesh explores the romance and realities of sleeper trains—where the carriages, the landscapes, and above a…

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Fixing Democracy: Parliamentary Reform 59:23

2M ago59:23

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In today’s episode David talks to Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, about legislatures in general and the British parliament in particular. Are law-making bodies really being sidelined by strongarm executives? What would enable parliaments to work better? How can they better fulfil their role of scrutinising what government do…

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Fixing Democracy: Electoral Reform 59:04

2M ago59:04

59:04

For the first episode in a new series about the ideas that could help democracy work better David talks to David Klemperer of the Constitution Society about proportional representation. How did nineteenth-century advocates of PR think it could improve democratic representation? Why did PR get adopted in some places but not in others during the twen…

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Indignity w/Lea Ypi 1:06:48

2M ago1:06:48

1:06:48

David talks to Lea Ypi about her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which tells the story of her grandmother’s extraordinary life and in doing so uncovers the hidden history of mid-twentieth-century Europe. But it is also a book about the different philosophies of dignity and how those ideas can shape, make and break individual human lives. A c…

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Dignity and Indignity w/Lea Ypi 59:59

3M ago59:59

59:59

Today’s episode is the first in a three-part conversation with philosopher and writer Lea Ypi about the idea of dignity and its role in the history of ideas and in the story of our lives. What is the difference between dignity and dignitas? How does our conception of dignity shape the ways that we think about death? And why is Kant so important for…

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Twenty Writers, One Bookshop: The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews, now in paperback 1:18:21

2M ago1:18:21

1:18:21

In this special episode of the Shakespeare and Company Interview Podcast, we celebrate the paperback release of The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews (Canongate), a compelling collection of literary conversations recorded live at our bookshop in Paris. Capturing a decade of rich, revealing discussions, the episode revisits unforgettable mo…

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PPF+: More of What You’ve Been Missing! 1:01:11

3M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

In today’s episode some more highlights from the PPF+ archive of 35 bonus episodes and counting: here are a few more excerpts we think you might enjoy. In this episode you’ll hear David talking about In the Loop and the question of why politicians do and don’t resign; Robert Saunders on the legacy of Brexit for politics in 2025; Shannon Vallor on w…

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Politics on Trial: Hitler vs Weimar 1:05:08

3M ago1:05:08

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Today’s epic political trial is the one that should have been the end of Adolf Hitler but ended up being the making of him: his treason trial in 1924 for the so-called Beer Hall Putsch. How close did Hitler’s attempted coup come to succeeding? Why was he allowed to turn the court that tried him into a platform for his poisonous politics? What were …

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Politics on Trial: Easter Rising 1916 w/Fintan O’Toole 59:09

2M ago59:09

59:09

Today it’s the first of two episodes with journalist and historian Fintan O’Toole about the trials that followed the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. What did the leaders of the rising hope to achieve, with or without German help? How and why did the British get it so wrong by court martialling the supposed ring leaders in secret? Were those trials a…

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PPF+: A Taste of What You've Been Missing! 55:27

3M ago55:27

55:27

Today’s episode is something a little bit different – it is nearly 18 months since we started PPF+ and there are now 34 bonus episodes waiting for you as soon as you sign up. It costs £5 per month or £50 per year and you will get two new bonus episodes every month along with ad-free listening, automatic sign-up to our newsletter and access to the w…

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Small Girl, Big Ideas: Getting to know Mafalda, with Samanta Schweblin and Frank Wynne 55:10

3M ago55:10

55:10

In this episode Adam speaks with translator Frank Wynne and Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin about the first-ever English edition of Mafalda, the beloved Argentine comic strip by Quino (Archipelago Books). Together, they explore how this precocious, principled six-year-old girl—who challenged everything from soup to capitalism—shaped generation…

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Politics on Trial 100th Anniversary Special: Franz Kafka’s The Trial 59:20

3M ago59:20

59:20

Today’s episode in Politics on Trial is about the most famous trial in literature and one that never actually takes place. David talks to writer and literary scholar Ian Ellison about Franz Kafka’s The Trial, first published in 1925. What is the meaning of a book about a legal process that never happens? How was it inspired by Kafka’s failed love l…