Past Present Future

Bi-weekly conversations on the history of ideas across politics, philosophy AI summary

David Runciman Visit website › History · EN · 357 episodes · latest 2026-11-11

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What it is 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 Wednesday and Sunday.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
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Latest episodes

Can Universities Survive? The Present Crisis w/Sam Freedman

2026-11-11 · 58 min · Season 26, episode 343

We return to the question of whether universities can survive with an exploration of the roots of the current crisis facing UK universities and their prospects for recovery. David talks to the writer and education…
American Elections Special: The 2026 Midterms in Historical Context

2026-11-08 · 1 hr 12 min · Season 3, episode 342

Today’s episode is a conversation with the American historian Gary Gerstle about this week’s US midterm elections to explore whether we have reached another turning point in American history. How do the results of these…
Can Universities Survive? AI vs Higher Education

2026-11-04 · 1 hr 0 min · Season 26, episode 341

Today’s episode in our series about the challenges facing universities looks at what might be the most direct threat of all: can they still fulfil their function if AI can write better essays than the students? David…
Can Universities Survive? Politics and the International University w/Lea Ypi

2026-11-01 · 1 hr 5 min · Season 26, episode 340

For our series about the current crisis facing universities David talks to writer, philosopher and LSE professor Lea Ypi about the role played by politics in universities around the world. Is the difference between…
Can Universities Survive? The Great Expansion Part 2

2026-10-28 · 1 hr 0 min · Season 26, episode 339

Today’s episode is part two of David’s conversation with political theorist Alan Finlayson about the up-and-down history of British universities since 1945, taking the story from the Blair years to the present. What…
Can Universities Survive? The Great Expansion

2026-10-25 · 1 hr 1 min · Season 26, episode 338

In today’s episode for our series about the plight facing universities David talks to political theorist Alan Finlayson about what’s happened to higher education in the UK since 1945. It is a story of massive expansion…
Can Universities Survive? The Thousand-Year Story Part 2

2026-10-21 · 1 hr 0 min · Season 26, episode 337

Today’s episode is the second part of David's conversation with historian William Whyte about how universities have survived for nearly a thousand years and whether they can last much longer. How did the industrial…
Can Universities Survive? The Thousand-Year Story

2026-10-18 · 1 hr 0 min · Season 26, episode 336

We start a new series about the long history and current predicament of universities by going back to the beginning. David talks to historian William Whyte about the origin story of the university nearly one thousand…
The History of Transhumanism: Silicon Valley

2026-10-14 · 57 min · Season 25, episode 335

Today’s episode in our series about transhumanism and its astonishing influence looks at how it helped build Silicon Valley. David talks to Duncan Bell about what happened when California became the centre of…
The History of Transhumanism: New Horizons

2026-10-11 · 57 min · Season 25, episode 334

In part two of our series about how transhumanism shaped our world, David talks to Duncan Bell about what happened when sci fi dreams started to become reality. What changed when space travel turned from fantasy to…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Owner: D&HR Media Ltd
Oldest episode in feed: 04/2023 · over 3 years
Typical length: 58 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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