Tag: Politics

The Decline and Rise of Democracy with David Stasavage

Charter Cities Podcast | 26 July 2021 | 0h 46m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with David Stasavage about his book The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today. Discusses the role of geography and technology in the emergence of democracy, the factors that influence the strength of a city’s fiscal position, the importance of having collective governance before bureaucracy, and more.

Andrew Sullivan on Braving New Intellectual Journeys

Conversations with Tyler | 11 August 2021 | 0h 55m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Andrew Sullivan about his book Out on a Limb: Selected Writing, 1989–2021. Discusses the role of the AIDs epidemic in achieving marriage equality, why public intellectuals often lack courage, how being a gay man helps him access perspectives he otherwise wouldn’t, how drugs influence his ideas, why he’s a passionate defender of SATs and IQ tests, what Niall Ferguson and Boris Johnson were like as fellow undergraduates, what Americans get wrong about British politics, why so few people share his admiration for Margaret Thatcher, whether wokeism has a positive influence globally, and more.

Gordon Brown on How to Save the World

Dan Snow’s History Hit | 13 June 2021 | 0h 28m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Gordon Brown about his book Seven Ways to Change the World. Discusses his time as prime minister; the power he wielded and the limitations of even the highest political office; the global issues that humanity needs to address; and his firm belief in the power of internationalism and the dangers of failing to work together.

What Can We Learn From Past Catastrophes?

History Extra | 13 June 2021 | 0h 50m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Niall Ferguson about his book Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe. Discusses how disasters have changed the course of history and what we can learn from them for future crises. Argues that we need to prepare for crises more generally, rather than specifically with bureaucratic complexity.

Sam Altman on the A.I. Revolution, Trillionaires and the Future of Political Power

The Ezra Klein Show | 11 June 2021 | 1h 10m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Sam Altman about his essay Moore’s Law for Everything. Backgrounds how AI will generate wealth by making almost everything cheaper, but destroy jobs in the process and shift wealth from labour to capital. Discusses the political economy that will require, arguing for taxing land and wealth, and distributing it to all to share the wealth.

Machiavelli, Master of Power

The Forum | 27 May 2021 | 0h 39m | Listen Later | iTunes
Exploration of the life and impact of Niccolò Machiavelli who wrote The Prince more than five hundred years ago, long read as a priceless guide to power and what holding it truly involves. Discusses the man behind the work, his claim that a leader must be prepared to act immorally, and why his name has become a byword for cunning and sinister strategy.

Michael Lewis on White House Pandemic Planning

Masters in Business | 3 May 2021 | 1h 07m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Michael Lewis about his book The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. Backgrounds some of the maverick characters inside various arms of government that understood what was required to deal with a pandemic. And explains the systemic problems with American governance that got in the way.

You might also like to listen to the first chapter of The Premonition along with a short interview of Michael Lewis with himself about the book.