Best David Runciman Podcasts (2025)

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Lenin and Trotsky 56:24

1d ago56:24

56:24

To conclude this part of our revolutionary ideas series, we explore the overlapping lives and thinking of two emblematic twentieth-century revolutionaries: Lenin and Trotsky. David talks to historian of Russia Edward Acton about what inspired them, what connected them and what divided them. How were they radicalised? How did they interpret the fail…

1
Overnight: Dan Richards on Sleep, Service, and the Secrets of the Small Hours 59:27

3d ago59:27

59:27

In this episode, Adam Biles is joined by writer Dan Richards to talk about his new book Overnight, a deep dive into the world of the night and the people who live and work while the rest of us sleep. From ferry captains and bakers to ICU nurses, researchers, and racing drivers, Richards explores the unseen rhythms and quiet heroism of nocturnal lif…

1
PPF Live Special: Churchill – The Politician With Nine Lives w/Robert Saunders 1:03:37

7d ago1:03:37

1:03:37

Today’s episode is the second of our two recent live recordings of PPF, this one in front of an audience at the Bath Curious Minds Festival. David talks to historian Robert Saunders about the life of Winston Churchill and all its twists and turns of fortune: from disgrace in WWI, economic disaster in the 1920s, wilderness in the 1930s, through to r…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Rite of Spring w/Dominic Dromgoole 46:53

9d ago46:53

46:53

Our third Parisian revolution is another explosive night in the theatre, this time in the world of dance. David talks to Dominic Dromgoole about Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which provoked absolute outrage when it premiered in 1913. Is that what its impresario Diaghilev wanted? How did Nijinsky cope? Did the response foreshadow the trauma to co…

1
Bruise, Heal, Repeat: Anna Whitwham on On Boxing, Loss, and the Female Body 45:45

10d ago45:45

45:45

In this episode, Adam Biles is joined in the bookshop’s writing studio by Anna Whitwham, author of Soft Tissue Damage, a raw and electrifying memoir of grief, boxing, and womanhood. Following her mother’s death, Whitwham trained and fought competitively as a boxer—an act of both healing and reckoning. She discusses how physical pain can become a la…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Ubu Roi w/Dominic Dromgoole 46:01

12d ago46:01

46:01

Today’s Parisian revolution is a theatrical performance that produced a riot. David talks to theatre director Dominic Dromgoole about Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (1896), which only ran for a couple of nights but left an indelible mark on the culture of the age and has resonated ever since. Why did a play effectively written by children provoke such a st…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Salon Des Refusés w/Dominic Dromgoole 42:44

14d ago42:44

42:44

Today’s episode is the first of three this week with the theatre director and writer Dominic Dromgoole, exploring revolutionary events in the world of art and theatre, starting with the opening of the Salon des Refusés in Paris in May 1863. How did the Emperor Napoleon end up sponsoring such a counter-cultural event? Why did it provoke such public …

1
Solvej Balle on Time, Wonder, and Writing the Impossible International Booker Prize Shortlist 56:43

16d ago56:43

56:43

In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, celebrated Danish author Solvej Balle returns to the bookshop she once called home to discuss her monumental literary project On the Calculation of Volume. The novel’s protagonist, Tara Selter, finds herself reliving November 18th—again and again—opening up a profound meditation on time, mem…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Marx and the Paris Commune 56:24

17d ago56:24

56:24

Today the first of four episodes about Parisian revolutions. We start with the definitive nineteenth-century revolutionary and his definitive revolution: David talks to historian Bruno Leipold about why Karl Marx thought the Paris Commune in 1871 was the model of a workers' uprising and provided a vision of the socialist future. How had the Communa…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Free Speech 1:03:38

21d ago1:03:38

1:03:38

Today’s revolutionary idea is one with a long history, not all of it revolutionary: David talks to the historian Fara Dabhoiwala about the idea of free speech. When did free speech first get articulated as a fundamental right? How has that right been used and abused, from the eighteenth century to the present? And what changed in the history of the…

1
PPF Live Film Special: Network w/Helen Lewis 1:06:00

24d ago1:06:00

1:06:00

We take a brief break from revolutionary ideas for a special live episode of PPF recorded in front of an audience at the Regent Street Cinema in London. David talks to writer and journalist Helen Lewis about Network (1976), a film still best remembered for its catchphrase: ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Just how prophetic…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Darwin w/Adam Rutherford 54:38

28d ago54:38

54:38

David talks to geneticist and science writer Adam Rutherford about the book that fundamentally altered our understanding of just about everything: Darwin’s On The Origin of Species (1859). What made the idea of natural selection so different from the theories of evolution that preceded it? How did Darwin arrive at it? What changed when he published…

1
Nobel Prizewinner Abdulrazak Gurnah on Theft, Love, and the Power of Fiction 48:45

1M ago48:45

48:45

Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah sits down with Adam Biles in store to discuss his new novel, Theft. Their conversation delves into the intricate interplay between personal history and the enduring legacy of colonialism, examines the complex dynamics of family and servitude, and discusses the challenge of transcending inherited narrativ…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Taiping Revolution 1:06:48

1M ago1:06:48

1:06:48

Today’s revolutionary ideas come from China: David talks to historian Julia Lovell about the Taiping Revolution, another massive mid-19th-century upheaval that nearly overturned the established order. How did Christianity inspire an uprising against the Qing dynasty? Was it a revolution or a civil war? What was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? And whe…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: 1848: The Radical Revolution w/Chris Clark 53:30

1M ago53:30

53:30

In our second of three episodes on the revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848 David and Chris Clark explore the forces demanding radical change. What was ‘the Social Question’ and who was asking it? Where did the violence that erupted in the summer of 1848 come from? What, if anything did it achieve? And who paid the price? Out tomorrow: a f…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: 1848: The Liberal Revolution w/Chris Clark 56:55

1M ago56:55

56:55

In the first of three episodes about the revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848 David is joined by historian Chris Clark to explore the ideas behind this continental upheaval. We start with the ‘Liberal Revolution’: Who were the liberals and what had turned them into revolutionaries? How did the original French Revolution overshadow their ho…

1
BONUS: Jeremy Pelt on Preserving Jazz Through Storytelling 54:10

1M ago54:10

54:10

For this bonus episode, the Shakespeare and Company podcast welcomes Jeremy Pelt, renowned jazz trumpeter and author of Griot: Examining the Lives of Jazz Great Storytellers. In conversation with Alex Freiman, Pelt discusses the evolution of jazz, the influence of oral traditions, and the importance of documenting firsthand accounts from legendary …

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Bayesian Revolution w/David Spiegelhalter 1:01:36

1M ago1:01:36

1:01:36

Today’s revolutionary idea is something a bit different: David talks to statistician David Spiegelhalter about how an eighteenth-century theory of probability emerged from relative obscurity in the twentieth century to reconfigure our understanding of the relationship between past, present and future. What was Thomas Bayes’s original idea about doi…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Slave Uprising: The Haitian Revolution 58:01

1M ago58:01

58:01

Today’s episode is about a very different revolution from any we’ve discussed so far: David talks to historian Hank Gonzalez about the Haitian Revolution, which for the first time in history saw a slave revolt result in an independent free state. How did the Haitian Revolution intersect with the American and French Revolutions that preceded it? Why…

1
Reimagining Moby-Dick, with Xiaolu Guo 57:03

1M ago57:03

57:03

In this episode, we’re joined by novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo to discuss her latest novel, Call Me Ishmaelle. A bold reimagining of Moby-Dick, Guo's novel audaciously swaps the gender of Melville’s narrator and plunges into a world of hidden identities, maritime adventure, and cultural collision. With host Adam Biles, Guo reflects on her perso…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 3: Paine 59:25

2M ago59:25

59:25

For our third episode on the ideas behind the French Revolution, David talks to Richard Whatmore about the ubiquitous Thomas Paine, the Englishman who championed revolutionary politics around the world. How did Paine come to see France as the locus of all his revolutionary hopes? How were those hopes ultimately disappointed? And what happened to Pa…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 2: Robespierre 54:35

2M ago54:35

54:35

For our second episode on the people and ideas behind the French Revolution David talks to historian and biographer Ruth Scurr about the man who came to embody the revolution in all its radicalism and all its terror: Maximilien Robespierre. Who was he and how did he rise so fast once the upheaval was underway? How did he harness the power of the Ja…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 1: Sieyès 58:35

2M ago58:35

58:35

In the first of three episodes about the people and ideas behind the French Revolution, David talks to Lucia Rubinelli about the man who helped kickstart it all: the Abbé Sieyès. How did an obscure cleric galvanise a nation? What did he mean by the Third Estate and why did he think it was everything? What went wrong with his idea of a new constitut…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: American Revolution 2: The Constitution 1:04:53

2M ago1:04:53

1:04:53

In the second of our two episodes about the American Revolution David talks to historian Eric Nelson about the ideas that shaped the US Constitution. Was the office of President a victory for the people who still wanted a king or for those who never wanted one again? What was old and what was new about the idea of the separation of powers? What rea…

1
2016: The Year That Broke Us - with poet and oral-historian Sarah Hesketh 1:02:24

2M ago1:02:24

1:02:24

In this thought-provoking discussion, poet and oral historian Sarah Hesketh discusses her latest book, 2016 (CB Editions), a powerful exploration of one of the most pivotal years in recent history. Through a poetic and documentary approach, she captures the voices of twelve individuals reflecting on key events that shaped the world—Brexit, Trump’s …

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: American Revolution 1: The Declaration of Independence 1:01:02

2M ago1:01:02

1:01:02

Today it’s the first of two episodes about one of the most significant revolutions of all: the American Revolution. David talks to historian Eric Nelson about the ideas behind America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. How did a fight with the British parliament become a repudiation of the British king? What turned royalists into republicans? W…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Industrial Revolution 54:23

2M ago54:23

54:23

Today’s episode is about a revolution that started 250 years ago and is still going on (in the form of the digital revolution): the Industrial Revolution. David talks to economic historian Alexis Litvine about how new ways of making things changed human understanding of the world around us. Did the Industrial Revolution invent the idea of progress?…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: English Revolution 2: 1688 57:03

2M ago57:03

57:03

In the second of our episodes with historian Clare Jackson on the English revolutions of the 17th century we discuss the one that usually gets called ‘Glorious’: the revolution of 1688. Was it a revolution or was it an invasion? What rights did parliament win and what powers did it acquire? Was this the beginning of the modern military state? And d…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: English Revolution 1: Civil War 57:42

2M ago57:42

57:42

Today’s episode in our history of revolutionary ideas is about the event that is sometimes – but not always – called the English Revolution: the Civil War of the 1640s and the short-lived republic that followed. David talks to historian Clare Jackson about whether this really was a revolution and about the thinking that inspired it. What was old, w…

1
The Power of Voice – Sulaiman Addonia on The Seers 49:28

2M ago49:28

49:28

In this special live recording we dive into The Seers, the mesmerising new novel by Sulaiman Addonia. In conversation with Adam Biles, Addonia shares the story behind his bold, unfiltered novel—written as a single, unbroken paragraph—through the voice of Hannah, an Eritrean refugee navigating love, loss, sexuality, and identity on the streets of Lo…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Scientific Revolution 1:06:40

3M ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Today’s episode is about a revolution that took centuries to happen if it ever really happened at all: The Scientific Revolution. David talks to historian of science Simon Schaffer about what changed in human understanding – and what didn’t – in the age of Galileo and Newton. Was the new science a revolution of ideas or of practices? What did it me…

1
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Reformation (part 1): Luther 57:07

3M ago57:07

57:07

Today’s revolutionary thinker is Martin Luther, the man who upended the religious, political and intellectual life of Europe, maybe without entirely meaning to. David talks to historian Alec Ryrie about how a German monk took on the entire authority of the Catholic Church and survived the experience. What did he hope to achieve? Who were his princi…

1
Ending the 'Tyranny' of Pregnancy (2024) - Luara Ferracioli, Brigitte Gerstl, Mianna Lotz & Kathryn MacKay 1:02:14

3M ago1:02:14

1:02:14

Since the dawn of time, our pro-natalist society has implemented certain systems, norms and lenses in which we view child rearing. These often oppressive and coercive conditions make it difficult for many to think about their reproductive options. But with the emergence of artificial wombs and womb transplants, what impact could this have on reprod…

1
Uncancelled Culture (2024) - David Baddiel, Roxane Gay, Andy Mills, Megan Phelps-Roper & Tim Dean 1:01:20

3M ago1:01:20

1:01:20

Throughout history we have found ways to regulate human behaviour through the threat of social exclusion. But while the idea of ‘cancellation’ is not new, the online sphere has radically shifted the way we hold people to account and punish perceived wrongdoing. Is redemption possible in the digital age? And can narratives of growth and forgiveness …

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