Past Present Future
David Runciman
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 Wednesday and Sunday.
Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code ppf at the link below and get 60% off annual plans: https://incogni.com/ppf
Ideas from the past, questions about the present, shaping the future.
New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.
Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code ppf at the link below and get 60% off annual plans: https://incogni.com/ppf
Episodes
Mentioned books
49 snips
Apr 1, 2026 • 1h 1min
Political Conversions: From Trotskyism to Neoconservatism
David Klemperer, political historian who studies Trotskyism and intellectual shifts, explores how once-revolutionary figures migrated toward neoconservative and conservative positions. He traces Burnham’s break with Trotsky, the managerial class theory, links to hawkish foreign policy, and contemporary trajectories from radical oppositional tactics to establishment alignment. Short, sharp stories about ideological U-turns and their cultural ripple effects.
56 snips
Mar 29, 2026 • 56min
Political Conversions: Communism – The God That Failed
David Klemperer, a political historian of interwar intellectual life, discusses writers who embraced then renounced Communism. He explores comparisons between political faith and religion. Short segments cover pivotal moments like the Spanish Civil War and the Nazi-Soviet pact. The conversation looks at why intellectuals converted, how they lost faith, and what they sought afterward.
54 snips
Mar 25, 2026 • 1h 6min
Political Conversions: Going Fascist
David Klemperer, a political historian of 20th-century Europe, guides a close look at figures who switched from socialism to fascism. He traces Oswald Mosley’s path from wartime formation to Labour, policy ambitions, the New Party’s drift, and the turn toward violence, antisemitism, and imitation of continental fascists. Comparative cases and why few socialists made this leap are also explored.
59 snips
Mar 22, 2026 • 1h
Live Special: Another American Civil War?
Adam Smith, historian of the United States and Civil War era specialist, joins to weigh whether modern America could fracture like the 1860s. He compares constitutional change, federalism, militias and guns. They explore election legitimacy, state-level resistance, hollowing of federal institutions and how tech firms or state courts might fill gaps.
63 snips
Mar 18, 2026 • 1h 14min
Live Special: Is This How Democracy Ends? w/Lyse Doucet, Chris Clark & Thant Myint-U
Thant Myint-U, diplomat and writer on global governance; Chris Clark, historian offering long‑view context; Lyse Doucet, veteran BBC foreign reporter from the Middle East. They debate Iran’s protests and leaderless movements. They probe whether post‑1945 world order is fraying, consider external military action and US political risks, and weigh global challenges like China, AI and climate.
20 snips
Mar 15, 2026 • 1h 3min
Now & Then with Robert Saunders: The Twists and Turns of the Special Relationship
Robert Saunders, historian of modern Britain and Anglo‑American politics, offers a short tour of two centuries of UK–US imaginings. He traces shifting British views of America as model, menace, savior and rival. The conversation moves from 19th‑century fascination and Civil War debates to 20th‑century power shifts, Cold War frameworks and contemporary tensions with America’s global role.
10 snips
Mar 11, 2026 • 1h 5min
Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ Speech @80
Robert Saunders, historian of modern British and international politics, returns to mark Churchill’s 1946 Fulton speech at its 80th anniversary. He explores Churchill’s surprise internationalism, his pitch for Anglo‑American leadership, the ‘iron curtain’ metaphor’s theatrical origins, and how personal ambition and imperial thinking shaped calls for military cooperation and a new world order.
46 snips
Mar 8, 2026 • 1h 4min
Where Are We Going? Societal Collapse – The Future
Luke Kemp, author and researcher on societal collapse and existential risk, outlines where global collapse risks lie and which institutions drive them. He explores concentrated power in states, tech and fossil-fuel firms, secrecy and intentional risk creation. He suggests democratizing states, corporations and AI through deliberative tools and citizen assemblies as possible paths forward.
31 snips
Mar 4, 2026 • 1h 4min
Where Are We Going? Societal Collapse – The Present Day
Luke Kemp, researcher and author of Goliath’s Curse, explores the prospects of societal collapse and existential risks. He contrasts long-term collapse stories with modern Goliaths. They discuss state failure like Somalia, migration and urban decline, lootable resources such as fossil fuels and data, surveillance and inequality, and how interconnectedness and advanced technologies amplify systemic shocks.
53 snips
Mar 1, 2026 • 1h 10min
Where Are We Going? Societal Collapse – The Modern Age
Luke Kemp, author and researcher on societal collapse and geopolitics, outlines how states grow, centralize and sometimes unravel. He traces cycles of rise and decline, rethinks famous collapses like Easter Island, and contrasts ancient polities with modern imperial systems. The conversation explores what is genuinely new about modern states, democracy’s role and why empires today contract rather than simply collapse.
