The EI Podcast
Reinventing Disraeli
Emily Jones speaks to Paul Lay about her new book, ‘The Disraeli Myth: The Making of a Con...
September 17, 2026
The EI Podcast
The EI Podcast brings you weekly conversations and audio essays from leading writers, thinkers and historians. Hosted by Alastair Benn and Paul Lay. Find the EI Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search The EI Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
All episodes
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The EI Podcast
The scramble for the Middle East
Simon Sebag Montefiore speaks to Jack Dickens about his new book, ‘The Cauldron: The Makin...
September 10, 2026
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The EI Podcast
The novel in Britain: from cover to cover
Philip Hensher speaks to Alastair Benn about his new book, ‘A History of the Novel in Brit...
September 3, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Journeys in Europe’s grey zone
Hannah Lucinda Smith speaks to Caitlin Allen about her new book, ‘Hinterlands: Journeys th...
August 27, 2026
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The EI Podcast
Machiavelli still matters
Stephen Bowd speaks to Paul Lay about why, 500 years after his death, Niccolò Machiavelli ...
August 20, 2026
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The EI Podcast
The entire history of cinema in one shot
Film critic David Thomson speaks to Paul Lay about his new book, ‘A Sudden Flicker of Ligh...
August 13, 2026
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The EI Podcast
America’s universal document: a curious history
Marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Michael Auslin speaks to Paul Lay...
August 6, 2026
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The EI Podcast
The alien world of Homer’s Odyssey
Classicist and actor Orlando Gibbs speaks to Alastair Benn about the strangeness of this a...
July 30, 2026
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The EI Podcast
How wine made the modern world
Historian Kathleen Burk speaks about humanity’s ancient relationship with wine.
July 23, 2026