The EI Podcast
The life and legacy of Steve Schapiro
Director and filmmaker Maura Smith speaks to EI’s Max Mitchell about the life of the legen…
May 21, 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
Agent Zo, the spy who saved Poland
Agent Zo, Elżbieta Zawacka’s cover name, was one of the most highly decorated women in Pol…
May 18, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Lewis and Clark’s American Odyssey
Craig Fehrman speaks to EI’s Max Mitchell about his new book ‘This Vast Enterprise: A New …
May 14, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Why powerful individuals are dominating politics
From Xi Jinping in China to Narendra Modi in India and Donald Trump in the US, Nicholas Wr…
May 11, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Weimar’s descent into darkness
How did Weimar, the town of Goethe and Schiller, become the crucible of Germany’s moral co…
May 7, 2026
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The EI Podcast
The civilising wonders of wine
Amid the rise of individualistic technologies and weight-loss drugs, there has been a stea…
May 5, 2026