From politics and economics to psychology and the arts, many of the modern ideas we take for granted emerged a century ago from a single European capital. In this episode of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the historian Richard Cockett explores all those ideas — and how the arrival of fascism can ruin in a few years what took generations to build.
Nov 14
653. Does Horse Racing Have a Future?
<p>Thoroughbred auction prices keep setting records. But tracks are closing, gambling revenues are falling, and the sport is increasingly reliant on subsidies. Is that the kind of long shot anybody wants? (Part three of a series, “<a href="https://freakonomics.com/the-horse-is-us ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2020
The 1920s - Philosophy's Golden Age
Wittgenstein changed his mind, Heidegger revolutionised philosophy (and the German language), and both the Frankfurt School and the Vienna Circle were in full swing. Matthew Sweet is joined by Wolfram Eilenberger, David Edmonds and Esther Leslie. Plus, a report on the plight of t ... Show More
44m 44s
Feb 2024
124. Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power
<p>Economist Daron Acemoglu likes to tackle big questions. He tells Steve how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from new technology, and why democracy wasn’t always a sure thing.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCE:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://economics.mit.edu/ ... Show More
44m 32s
Dec 2023
Kadare, Gospodinov, Kafka and Dickens
The Palace of Dreams is a novel from 1981 that is ostensibly set in the 19th century Ottoman empire, but the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare cleverly smuggles in thinly veiled criticism of the totalitarian state presided over by Enver Hoxha. The book was duly banned shortly after p ... Show More
45m 7s
Aug 2023
D. J. Taylor, "Orwell: The New Life" (Pegasus Books, 2023)
A fascinating exploration of George Orwell--and his body of work--by an award-winning Orwellian biographer and scholar, presenting the author anew to twenty-first-century readers.
We find ourselves in an era when the moment is ripe for a reevaluation of the life and the works of ... Show More
46m 29s
Jun 2023
1974 - René Dumont et l'utopie d'un socialisme de survie
<p> René Dumont est un agronome et militant écologiste français né en 1904 à Cambrai. Engagé pour le développement des pays pauvres, il dénonce les famines, les inégalités croissantes, l’épuisement des sols et des ressources, et les dérèglements climatiques à venir. Il est l ... Show More
6m 42s