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The EI Podcast

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Latest episodes

  • Europe: can the centre hold?

    October 29, 2026 · 45 min

    In a new age of great-power rivalry, Europe appears caught between three main challengers: the US, China and Russia. Dimitar Bechev sits down with Jack Dickens to discuss the continent’s volatile future and how it might recover some of its…

  • The Fifth Republic: order or chaos?

    October 22, 2026 · 34 min

    France is in some ways one of Europe’s most orderly societies, and yet revolutionary violence is never far from the surface. Muriel Zagha joins Alastair Benn to discuss this month’s riots and what they mean for next year’s presidential…

  • The deep roots of Anglo-German relations

    October 15, 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

    Britain and Germany have shared royal dynasties, forged pragmatic alliances, exchanged huge flows of capital and fought terrible wars against each other. In his new book, ‘Great Powers: A History of Britain and Germany’, Jan Rüger…

  • Napoleon’s nest of vipers

    October 8, 2026 · 45 min

    Napoleon appointed a total of 26 Marshals between 1804 and 1815, and they became crucial to his military success. Yet only two of them fought alongside him at the Battle of Waterloo. Andrew Roberts sits down with Paul Lay to discuss his…

  • Russia’s war on Ukrainian science

    October 1, 2026 · 38 min

    Earlier this week, a Russian drone strike hit the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, bringing terror to the historic centre of Ukraine’s capital and damaging a symbol of national independence. Paul Josephson speaks to Jack…

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  • Space and the new clash of civilisations

    September 24, 2026 · 42 min

    Earlier this month, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a space weapon in Earth’s orbit. John B. Sheldon and Jack Dickens discuss the fight for extraterrestrial supremacy.  Image: A mural of a Soviet-era cosmonaut in…

  • Reinventing Disraeli

    September 17, 2026 · 59 min

    What did Benjamin Disraeli believe and why is he still invoked as a prophet of modern conservatism? Emily Jones speaks to Paul Lay about her new book, ‘The Disraeli Myth: The Making of a Conservative Tradition’. Image: Portrait of Benjamin…

  • The scramble for the Middle East

    September 10, 2026 · 48 min

    Simon Sebag Montefiore speaks to Jack Dickens about his new book, ‘The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East’.  Image: British troops on parade at Jaffa Gate after seizing military control of the region from the Ottoman Empire…

  • The novel in Britain: from cover to cover

    September 3, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min

    Philip Hensher speaks to Alastair Benn about his new book, ‘A History of the Novel in Britain’, a stylish and very personal survey of a great tradition. Image: Portrait of Algernon Talmage circa 1915, by Hilda Fearon. Credit: Alamy

  • Journeys in Europe’s grey zone

    August 27, 2026 · 37 min

    Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks to Caitlin Allen about her new book, ‘Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers’. Image: United Nations Buffer Zone near the ghost town resort of Varosha, Famagusta, Cyprus. Credit: Alamy

  • Machiavelli still matters

    August 20, 2026 · 37 min

    Stephen Bowd speaks to Paul Lay about why, 500 years after his death, Niccolò Machiavelli remains one of the world’s most vital political philosophers. Image: Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli (1570). Credit: Alamy

  • The entire history of cinema in one shot

    August 13, 2026 · 48 min

    Film critic David Thomson speaks to Paul Lay about his new book, ‘A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of the Movies’.  Image: A sign advertises the opening of the Hollywoodland housing development in the hills overlooking Los…

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About the show

The EI Podcast brings you weekly conversations with leading writers, thinkers and historians. Hosted by Alastair Benn, Jack Dickens and Paul Lay. Produced by Max Mitchell.