Past Present Future

David Runciman
  • 4.9 (230)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Past Present Future

Past Present Future is a bi-weekly History of Ideas podcast with David Runciman, host and creator of Talking Politics, exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, culture to technology. David talks to historians, novelists, scientists and many others about where the most interesting ideas come from, what they mean, and why they matter. Ideas from the past, questions about the present, shaping the future. New episodes every Thursday and Sunday.

  1. 1D AGO

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Free Speech

    Today’s revolutionary idea is one with a long history, not all of it revolutionary: David talks to the historian Fara Dabhoiwala about the idea of free speech. When did free speech first get articulated as a fundamental right? How has that right been used and abused, from the eighteenth century to the present? And what changed in the history of the idea of free speech with the publication of J. S. Mill’s On Liberty in 1859? Fara Dabhoiwala’s What Is Free Speech? is available now https://bit.ly/4jgcvDt Next time: Marx and the Paris Commune w/Bruno Leipold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m

  2. 4D AGO

    PPF Live Film Special: Network w/Helen Lewis

    We take a brief break from revolutionary ideas for a special live episode of PPF recorded in front of an audience at the Regent Street Cinema in London. David talks to writer and journalist Helen Lewis about Network (1976), a film still best remembered for its catchphrase: ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Just how prophetic is that cry of rage in the age of Trump? What does the film say about the continuing power of television in the era of social media? And who or what does it remind us of: Ye, Tucker Carlson, Russell Brand, WWE wrestling… or is it about something else entirely? Out now on PPF+: the second part of David’s conversation with Adam Rutherford about Darwin and the most revolutionary idea of them all. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up now to PPF+ https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus Next time: J. S. Mill and Free Speech w/Fara Dabhoiwala Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m

  3. MAR 30

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Darwin w/Adam Rutherford

    David talks to geneticist and science writer Adam Rutherford about the book that fundamentally altered our understanding of just about everything: Darwin’s On The Origin of Species (1859). What made the idea of natural selection so different from the theories of evolution that preceded it? How did Darwin arrive at it? What changed when he published his theory and why is it, in so many ways, the most revolutionary idea of them all? Out tomorrow on PPF+ Darwin Part 2: Adam Rutherford explores how Darwin’s ideas evolved after 1859 and how the revolution in thinking that he started has continued to this day. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus Next time: PPF Live recorded at the Regent Street Cinema: Network w/Helen Lewis Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min

  4. MAR 27

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Taiping Revolution

    Today’s revolutionary ideas come from China: David talks to historian Julia Lovell about the Taiping Revolution, another massive mid-19th-century upheaval that nearly overturned the established order. How did Christianity inspire an uprising against the Qing dynasty? Was it a revolution or a civil war? What was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? And where does this cataclysmic event fit into China’s 20th-century revolutionary history? Out now: a bonus episode on 1848 with Chris Clark looking at the counter-revolution – how did the ruling regimes of Europe fight back? To get this and a year’s worth of bonus episodes sign up to PPF+ https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus Available tomorrow: the latest edition of our free fortnightly newsletter with clips, guides, further reading and much more. Sign up now https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletters Next time: Darwin w/Adam Rutherford Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 7m

  5. MAR 23

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: 1848: The Radical Revolution w/Chris Clark

    In our second of three episodes on the revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848 David and Chris Clark explore the forces demanding radical change. What was ‘the Social Question’ and who was asking it? Where did the violence that erupted in the summer of 1848 come from? What, if anything did it achieve? And who paid the price? Out tomorrow: a final bonus episode on 1848 looking at the counter-revolution: how did the ruling regimes of Europe fight back? To get this and a year’s worth of bonus episodes sign up now to PPF+ https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus Next time: The Taiping Revolution w/Julia Lovell Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    54 min

  6. MAR 20

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: 1848: The Liberal Revolution w/Chris Clark

    In the first of three episodes about the revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848 David is joined by historian Chris Clark to explore the ideas behind this continental upheaval. We start with the ‘Liberal Revolution’: Who were the liberals and what had turned them into revolutionaries? How did the original French Revolution overshadow their hopes and fears? Were parliaments and constitutions capable of sustaining revolutionary fervour? And did the liberals of 1848 realise what they had unleashed? Come to see PPF Live at the Bath Curious Minds Festival: join us on Saturday March 29th to hear David in conversation with Robert Saunders about the legacy of Winston Churchill: The Politician with Nine Lives https://bit.ly/42GPp3X Next time: 1848: The Radical Revolution w/Chris Clark Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  7. MAR 16

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: The Bayesian Revolution w/David Spiegelhalter

    Today’s revolutionary idea is something a bit different: David talks to statistician David Spiegelhalter about how an eighteenth-century theory of probability emerged from relative obscurity in the twentieth century to reconfigure our understanding of the relationship between past, present and future. What was Thomas Bayes’s original idea about doing probability in reverse: from effect to cause? What happened when this way of thinking passed through the vortex of the French Revolution? How has it come to lie behind recent innovations in political polling, AI, self-driving cars, medical research and so much more? Why does it remain controversial to this day? The latest edition of our free fortnightly newsletter is available: to get it in your inbox sign up now https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletter  Next time: 1848: The Liberal Revolution w/Chris Clark Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  8. MAR 13

    The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Slave Uprising: The Haitian Revolution

    Today’s episode is about a very different revolution from any we’ve discussed so far: David talks to historian Hank Gonzalez about the Haitian Revolution, which for the first time in history saw a slave revolt result in an independent free state. How did the Haitian Revolution intersect with the American and French Revolutions that preceded it? Why were European powers unable to reverse it despite massive military intervention? What is its legacy for the state of Haiti today? Tickets are still available for PPF Live at the Bath Curious Minds Festival: join us on Saturday 29th March to hear David in conversation with Robert Saunders about the legacy of Winston Churchill: The Politician with Nine Lives https://bit.ly/42GPp3X Out tomorrow the latest edition of our free fortnightly newsletter: to get it in your inbox sign up now https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletters Next time: The Bayesian revolution w/David Spiegelhalter Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.9
out of 5
230 Ratings

About

Past Present Future is a bi-weekly History of Ideas podcast with David Runciman, host and creator of Talking Politics, exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, culture to technology. David talks to historians, novelists, scientists and many others about where the most interesting ideas come from, what they mean, and why they matter. Ideas from the past, questions about the present, shaping the future. New episodes every Thursday and Sunday.

Information

  • Creator
    David Runciman
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    187
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Past Present Future
  • Show Website
    Past Present Future

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