Best David Runciman Podcasts (2025)

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Fixing Democracy: Electoral Reform 59:04

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1d 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

13h 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

4d 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

9d 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

8d 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

11d ago1:05:08

1:05:08

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

14d 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

18d 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

22d 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

21d 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…

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Politics on Trial: Dreyfus vs the Conspiracy Theory 1:06:31

25d ago1:06:31

1:06:31

Today in Politics on Trial David tells the tale of the Dreyfus Affair that split France down the middle at the turn of the last century and revealed the grip of a whole host of conspiracy theories. Across a series of courts martial, libel trials, treason trials and parliamentary commissions, the story of a letter found in a wastebin turned into a s…

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Politics on Trial: Oscar Wilde vs the Philistines 1:03:23

28d ago1:03:23

1:03:23

Today’s episode in Politics on Trial is about three trials that took place over two months in the late spring of 1895 that brought about the destruction of Oscar Wilde. Why did Wilde trigger his own doom by suing his nemesis Lord Queensbury for libel? What did he fail to understand about how he would come across in a courtroom? And how did the pers…

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Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Whatever Happened to Unemployment? 1:04:50

1M ago1:04:50

1:04:50

Today’s episode is the first in a new strand with the historian Robert Saunders looking at significant political anniversaries and their meaning for today. Summer 2025 is 70 years since the UK recorded its lowest ever unemployment rate in peacetime: just 1% (or 215,800 people) in July 1955. David and Robert explore the history of unemployment: how …

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Politics on Trial: Charles Parnell vs the English 58:54

1M ago58:54

58:54

For today’s episode in Politics on Trial it’s two trials for the price of one, which between them changed the course of British and Irish history. In 1889 the leading Irish politician Charles Parnell was cleared of any involvement in the notorious Phoenix Park murders by Irish republican terrorists seven years earlier. In 1890 Parnell was found to …

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Calls May Be Recorded: Lipstick, Loneliness, and Late Capitalism with Katharina Volckmer 41:54

1M ago41:54

41:54

Katharina Volckmer joins Adam Biles to discuss her biting, bleakly funny second novel, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes. Set in a London call centre, the book follows Jimmie, a disillusioned former actor trapped in a soul-crushing job, a suffocating home life with his immigrant mother, and an alienating body. Volckmer disc…

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Saree Makdisi (2024) - Tolerance is a Wasteland 45:09

1M ago45:09

45:09

For some, the image of Israel, as a shining example of liberal democratic ideals has been broken by the Netanyahu Government’s actions in Gaza since 7 October, 2023. Yet, for others, the positive image projected by Israel has always been a convenient myth, allowing dominant powers within the international community to turn a blind eye to decades of…

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David Baddiel (2024) - The God Desire 1:14:27

1M ago1:14:27

1:14:27

Is God a story we’ve just told ourselves to satisfy our own desires? Comedian and author David Baddiel knows God doesn’t exist, but wishes he did. As Baddiel wrestles with his understanding of God and spirituality as a Jewish atheist, his bold thesis uncovers how religion services the deepest needs of humanity. This session is in conversation with …

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Coleman Hughes & Josh Szeps (2024) - A Colourblind Society 59:14

1M ago59:14

59:14

Are we too focused on race? Have recent anti-racist movements like Black Lives Matter abandoned the ‘colourblind’ spirit of the original civil rights movement? In this live FODI edition of Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, writer and podcaster Coleman Hughes articulates his vision for a future where individuals are judged by ‘the content…

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Jen Gunter (2024) - Lifting the Curse 34:34

1M ago34:34

34:34

Being open about the female body has always been taboo, risky and dangerous. So, by smashing ancient menstrual taboos, and demolishing dangerous pseudoscience, the Internet’s OB-GYN Jen Gunter has long been on a mission to destigmatise the myths and misogyny surrounding women’s health. Gunter urges women to seize control, reminding them that it sho…

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Politics on Trial: The Haymarket Eight vs the Police 57:11

1M ago57:11

57:11

Today’s political trial is one of the most notorious in American history: eight men charged with and convicted of murder in 1886 for a terrorist outrage that none of them committed. A bomb had been thrown at the police during a workers’ rally in Chicago but this trial was not about punishing the person who threw it. Rather it was a witch hunt of th…

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Politics on Trial: John Brown vs Slavery 58:23

1M ago58:23

58:23

Today’s great political trial concerns the prosecution and execution of John Brown in 1859 for his raid on Harper’s Ferry in the attempt to free America’s slaves, an event that helped precipitate the American Civil War. It was also a trial that produced three of the greatest speeches in American history: by Brown himself, by Henry Thoreau and by Fr…

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The Shape of Survival: Eimear McBride on Love, Art, and the City 1:02:49

1M ago1:02:49

1:02:49

In this textured conversation, author Eimear McBride joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss her latest novel The City Changes Its Face. Set in Camden Town in the 1990s, the book revisits characters from The Lesser Bohemians as they navigate the complexities of love, art, aging, trauma, and parenthood. McBride explores the enduring i…

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Politics on Trial: Aaron Burr vs the Constitution 55:25

2M ago55:25

55:25

For today’s epic political trial, David talks to American historian and PPF regular Gary Gerstle about the treason trial of Aaron Burr in 1807. Why was Burr not put on trial for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel? Was Burr really planning to invade Mexico or was it a set-up? Why was President Thomas Jefferson so determined to bring Burr down? Why…

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Katie Kitamura on Fiction’s Shifting Realities 55:22

2M ago55:22

55:22

Katie Kitamura joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable novel Audition. Centred on a middle-aged actress whose settled life is upended by a young man claiming to be her son, Audition blurs the lines between performance, identity, and narrative certainty. Kitamura reflects on the novel’s dual structure—a “rabbit-duck” ambiguity—and her fascination…

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Politics on Trial: Louis XVI vs the People 59:29

2M ago59:29

59:29

Today’s epoch-making political trial concerns the interrogation, conviction and execution of Louis XVI at the heart of the French Revolution in 1792-3. For many at the time and since this event had powerful echoes of the trial and execution of Charles I - but in fact the trial of Louis was very different in almost every way. Why and how did Louis c…

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Politics on Trial: Warren Hastings vs the British Empire 1:03:14

2M ago1:03:14

1:03:14

To start our new instalment of episodes about the most consequential political trials in history David explores the trial of the eighteenth century: the impeachment of Warren Hastings that ran in the British parliament from 1788-95. Hastings had been Governor-General of Bengal, controlling much of India for Britain and for the East India Company an…

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The History of Bad Ideas: Identity 1:01:35

2M ago1:01:35

1:01:35

For the final episode in our current series on the history of bad ideas, David talks to philosopher Alexander Douglas about the damage that can be done by the idea of identity. Why is the search for a distinctive personal identity such a futile quest? How does it lead to an identity politics of exclusion and violence? What can we learn from the phi…

1
Renton Returns, Sick Boy in Love: Irvine Welsh Reimagines His Antiheroes 1:04:03

2M ago1:04:03

1:04:03

In this electric conversation, Irvine Welsh joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss Men in Love, the long-awaited sequel to Trainspotting. Picking up moments after Renton's betrayal, Welsh dives deep into the aftermath—friendship, love, addiction, class, and the cultural hangover of 1980s Thatcherism. The pair explore writing authent…

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The History of Bad Ideas: Behaviourism 1:04:17

2M ago1:04:17

1:04:17

In today’s episode of the history of bad ideas, David talks to political philosopher Alan Finlayson about behaviourism, a theory of psychology that has penetrated to the heart of politics. How did we get from Pavlov’s Dog to a prescription for a better society? What is the relationship between behavioural utopianism and contemporary economics? How …

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The History of Bad Ideas: Polycrisis 59:10

2M ago59:10

59:10

Today’s bad idea is one with a short history but a big reach: the term polycrisis only came into being at the end of the last century but now it seems to be everywhere. David talks to historian Gary Gerstle about how this idea was originally conceived, what its current vogue says about the times in which we live and whether this really is a polycri…

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Inside the Story Machine: Natasha Brown on Media, Power, and Fiction 54:48

2M ago54:48

54:48

In this episode novelist Natasha Brown joins Adam Biles to discuss her daring second book, Universality. The conversation explores the novel’s structural audacity—opening with a fictional long-read article—and its thematic interrogation of class, race, media narratives, and the modern British middle class. Brown dives into her creation of Leni, a p…

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The History of Bad Ideas: Value-Free Tech 1:01:03

2M ago1:01:03

1:01:03

For today’s episode in the history of bad ideas David talks to philosopher Shannon Vallor about the myth that technology can be value free. It’s easy to see why Silicon Valley is so keen on the idea that it’s never the fault of the tech, only of the people who use it. But why do we let them get away with it? Where did this idea come from? How has i…

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Making Sense of Gertrude Stein, with Francesca Wade 1:05:38

2M ago1:05:38

1:05:38

In this rich conversation, Francesca Wade joins Adam Biles to discuss her biography Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife. Wade explores the complexities of Stein’s life, legacy, and literary innovations, foregrounding Stein’s long-overlooked partner, Alice B. Toklas, as a powerful and persistent force behind the myth. They dive into questions of biography,…

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The History of Bad Ideas: Monopoly 57:11

2M ago57:11

57:11

For today’s episode in the history of bad ideas David talks to economic historian Marc Palen about monopoly, an idea that has always had its defenders as well as its fierce critics. Why do monopolies arise even in supposedly competitive economies? How did the anti-monopoly movement of Henry George in the late-19th century argue that the monopolists…