This week’s episode in our series on the great essays and great essayists explores Umberto Eco’s ‘Thoughts on Wikileaks’ (2010). Eco writes about what makes a true scandal, what are real secrets, and what it would mean to expose the hidden workings of power. It is an essay that connects digital technology, medieval mystery and Dan Brown. Plus David talks abo ... Show More
Nov 19
Trump-like Leadership in German History w/Chris Clark: Part 2 – Chancellor, Tyrant, Emperor?
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 politic ... Show More
58m 54s
Oct 2023
The new renaissance | Sophie Scott-Brown, David Aaronovitch, John Ellis
Is the academy and our culture as a whole in need of newer, bigger ideas?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesIn the first half of the twentieth century radical thinkers, from Einstein to Schrödinger, Russell to Wittgenstein, Woolf to ... Show More
44m 44s
Nov 2022
Postmodernism in the dock | Julian Baggini, Mina Salami, Hilary Lawson and Julie Bindel
Are we right to abandon objective truth? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesIt has been forty years since postmodernism swept through the academy changing the character of the arts and social sciences, impacting everything from lite ... Show More
43m 51s