The EI Podcast
A warning to the young: just say no to AI
Aaron MacLean, host of the School of War podcast, on AI’s threat to the life of the mind.
October 10, 2025
Meritocracy Week
It’s Meritocracy Week on Engelsberg Ideas. Leading writers explore the global history of merit in culture and politics. Do meritocracies deliver on their promise? Is meritocracy working? Can the concept be fixed?
Podcast episodes
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The EI Podcast
The Slow Horses are Britain’s perfect spies
Alastair Benn on the magic of Mick Herron’s Slough House series. Read by Leighton Pugh.
October 3, 2025
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The EI Podcast
Stephen Kotkin on a new age of warfare
EI’s Paul Lay discusses a world order in flux with Stephen Kotkin, historian and biographe…
September 26, 2025
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The EI Podcast
The Great French Songbook
Why do people the world over enjoy listening to songs sung in French? Critic Muriel Zagha …
September 19, 2025
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The EI Podcast
Our attention dilemma is age-old
Alastair Benn explores an attention dilemma that has haunted western thought for centuries…
September 12, 2025
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The EI Podcast
How the state can do more for less
Historian David Cowan explains how radical reform can reshape the state. Read by Leighton …
September 5, 2025