Across the 65 years of his life, writer John Milton packed a lot in: poet, polemicist, political operator – engaging with ideas that often challenged the status quo. In today's Life of the Week episode, Professor Islam Issa speaks to Matt Elton about the life and legacy of this 17th-century polymath.
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Yesterday
The astonishing laws of medieval Wales
From divorce settlements and cattle disputes to surprisingly modern ideas about gender and compensation, the laws of Hywel Dda shed unique light on how society functioned, in a turbulent age of rival princes and conquest. Speaking to Elinor Evans, legal historian Sara Elin Robert ... Show More
45m 39s
Jun 25
Cannibalism, heartbreak and Madame Guillotine: George Forster's extraordinary life
He sailed to Antarctica with Captain Cook, rubbed shoulders with Benjamin Franklin and helped found a revolutionary republic. It’s little wonder, then, that Andrea Wulf describes George Forster – the 18th-century traveller, botanist and champion of human rights – as “one of the m ... Show More
43m 2s
Aug 2025
On Brand Re-Brand: Malcolm Gladwell: Zeitgeist Surfer
This week on “On Brand”, we go back to August 11th, 2022. Donny sits down with author, podcast host, and global thinker, Malcolm Gladwell. The pair start with Malcolm’s inspiration for his most successful books like Outliers, Blink, and The Tipping Point – leading to a discussion ... Show More
45m 51s
Aug 2025
724 The Stranger by Albert Camus (#22 Greatest Book of All Time) | Christopher Isherwood (with Jake Poller) | Postcard from a Listener in Yunnan
Put on your black turtleneck! Jacke starts the episode with a look at #22 on the list of The Greatest Books of All Time, The Stranger by Albert Camus. Then he talks to Jake Poller about British and American novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood, whose Goodbye to Berlin wa ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2025
743 Fairy Tales (with Jack Zipes) [RECLAIMED] | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (#11 GBOAT) | Chaucer News
An early encounter with one of the most famous people in the world initiated Jack Zipes into the world of fairy tales - and he never looked back. In this episode, Jacke talks to the fairy tale expert about his book Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales, which profi ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2023
Slavoj Žižek on Marx, Hegel, Politics, Films, Burgers and Hot Dogs… and a lot more!
Frank Ruda and Agon Hamza sit down with the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek to discuss his latest books, Marx and Hegel, contemporary political situation, film and novels, as well as many other topics. You can listen to our podcast here: https://anchor.fm/crisisandcritique If ... Show More
1h 47m