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

A section of an art project dedicated to celebrating the annexation of Crimea in Moscow. The caption reads: 'Crimea and Russia together forever', 2014.
A conveyor line assembling US Army Nike Hercules Missiles, 1958. Credit: RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo.
Berlin synagoge. Credit: Maraike Hofer / Alamy Stock Photo
US troops salute. Credit: Bumble Dee / Alamy Stock Photo.
A muslim in prayer
The Council of Chalcedon of 451 is presented as a successful attempt to homogenise the Christian faith. The reality is far more complicated.
Krishna's Longing for Radha, from the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, circa 1820-1825. In the lush forests on the banks of India?s Yamuna River, the youthful god Krishna waits to rendezvous with his beloved Radha. The artist has rendered his impatience by showing seven Krishnas, in various attitudes of anxious waiting, as though seeing him over a period of time. Meanwhile Radha, dressed in yellow at top right, confers seemingly endlessly with her confidante, as she tries to decide whether she should meet Krishna for the illicit tryst?she is already married and Krishna is prone to flirting with other girls. This scene is a metaphor for how god waits for us to come to him, while the human devotee frets about the bonds of social norms.
hippopotamus by jesuit in china flora and fauna
Lisbon: The Age of Discoveries Monument celebrates the Golden Age of Portuguese maritime history

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