The EI Podcast
The rise of the mega-influencer
Mega-influencers shape the public imagination. Phillip Dolitsky and Luke Moon explore a wo…
March 5, 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
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The EI Podcast
Putin, the once and future Chekist
Gordon Corera contends that to truly understand Vladimir Putin, you have to understand the…
February 26, 2026
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The EI Podcast
When Edo became Tokyo
Christopher Harding on the birth of Tokyo.
February 19, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Hamlet unravelled
Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, explores Hamlet and its…
February 12, 2026
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The EI Podcast
The making of Xi Jinping’s worldview
Rana Mitter explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI…
February 5, 2026
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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