The EI Podcast
Nietzsche’s manifesto for reading
Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri on reading as an antidote to the restless spirit of the industr…
January 29, 2026
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
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F07%2FNietzsche.jpg)
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F01%2Fmedieval-espionage.jpg)
The EI Podcast
Inside the world of medieval espionage
Jonathan Sumption surveys the last generation of spies before the creation of Europe’s pro…
January 22, 2026
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2FMonroe-Doctrine.jpg)
The EI Podcast
The Monroe Doctrine: The United States’ hemispheric strategy explained
EI’s Jack Dickens is joined by Charlie Laderman, associate professor at the University of …
January 15, 2026
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F01%2FRobert-Louis-Stevenson.jpg)
The EI Podcast
The strange case of Robert Louis Stevenson
Alastair Benn is joined by Leo Damrosch, author of Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis S…
January 8, 2026
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F12%2FPutin-Xi.jpg)
The EI Podcast
The instability of a multipolar era
Paul Lay is joined by Helen Thompson to discuss US–China rivalry, the growing importance o…
December 30, 2025
/https%3A%2F%2Fengelsbergideas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F12%2Fbrain-weapon-of-war-final-1.jpg)
The EI Podcast
Nicholas Wright on why the brain is the ultimate weapon of war
Paul Lay is joined by neuroscientist Nicholas Wright to discuss how the brain shapes war, …
December 19, 2025