Past Present Future Podcast
@ppfideas.bsky.social
The History of Ideas Podcast. Every Wednesday and Sunday with David Runciman. Wherever you get your podcasts.
Find us at 🔗 www.ppfideas.com
Find us at 🔗 www.ppfideas.com
Pinned
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
David Runciman is my favorite writer in English. This piece is so intelligent, perceptive, full of gems. And all of it in a style both very recognizable yet economical and modest. This piece showcases all his talents.
‘Harris claims she was bubbling with ideas to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Yet most of the specific proposals she mentions relate to government positions and the people who might occupy them.’
David Runciman reads Kamala Harris’s campaign memoir.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
David Runciman reads Kamala Harris’s campaign memoir.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
David Runciman · Calling Dr Jekyll: What Kamala Harris got wrong
Normally, being revealed as a hypocrite is kryptonite for a politician running for office. But Harris doesn’t know...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 17, 2026 at 9:35 PM
David Runciman is my favorite writer in English. This piece is so intelligent, perceptive, full of gems. And all of it in a style both very recognizable yet economical and modest. This piece showcases all his talents.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 18, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
For the penultimate episode in this series David examines the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson in 1995 to ask what it reveals about how power really works in America. How did the prosecution fail to grasp what was really happening in the courtroom?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
An interesting prospect! 🤔
Looking forward to Jon Bon Jovi calling David Runciman a faded aristocrat in the next LRB letters page
January 17, 2026 at 11:34 AM
An interesting prospect! 🤔
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
Issue 48.01 is now online, featuring:
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Xi Jinping
David Runciman on Kamala Harris’s memoir
Colm Tóibín on Yeats, Auden and Eliot
Chal Ravens on Britney Spears
Tony Wood on Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
and a cover by Jon McNaught.
Read online at www.lrb.co.uk
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Xi Jinping
David Runciman on Kamala Harris’s memoir
Colm Tóibín on Yeats, Auden and Eliot
Chal Ravens on Britney Spears
Tony Wood on Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
and a cover by Jon McNaught.
Read online at www.lrb.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Issue 48.01 is now online, featuring:
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Xi Jinping
David Runciman on Kamala Harris’s memoir
Colm Tóibín on Yeats, Auden and Eliot
Chal Ravens on Britney Spears
Tony Wood on Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
and a cover by Jon McNaught.
Read online at www.lrb.co.uk
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Xi Jinping
David Runciman on Kamala Harris’s memoir
Colm Tóibín on Yeats, Auden and Eliot
Chal Ravens on Britney Spears
Tony Wood on Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
and a cover by Jon McNaught.
Read online at www.lrb.co.uk
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
I wonder how many people in British politics remember that the SDP's Gang of Four was a pun?
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:58 PM
I wonder how many people in British politics remember that the SDP's Gang of Four was a pun?
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
In today’s episode David explores the trial that gripped China at the end of 1980: the case against the three men and one woman accused of being responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
This is a fascinating listen, and as an aside from the subject, made me think on the absolute breakdown the modern media environment would have if something like the Nation of Islam arose in the modern USA. It’s almost unimaginable I think.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:46 AM
This is a fascinating listen, and as an aside from the subject, made me think on the absolute breakdown the modern media environment would have if something like the Nation of Islam arose in the modern USA. It’s almost unimaginable I think.
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
Another banger im afraid
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Another banger im afraid
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today we're returning to Politics on Trial with an episode about the epic battle between Muhammad Ali and the US government over its attempt to draft him during the Vietnam war and what happened when that fight reached the US Supreme Court.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
Fancy a podcast for the weekend?
I joined @ppfideas.bsky.social for a double-header on "Home Rule for Ireland", from the shattering of the Liberal Party in 1886 to the brink of civil war in 1914.
We asked why it was so polarising, what it tells us about Brexit & how close the UK came to revolution
I joined @ppfideas.bsky.social for a double-header on "Home Rule for Ireland", from the shattering of the Liberal Party in 1886 to the brink of civil war in 1914.
We asked why it was so polarising, what it tells us about Brexit & how close the UK came to revolution
This week on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring "Home Rule for Ireland!"
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
January 10, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Fancy a podcast for the weekend?
I joined @ppfideas.bsky.social for a double-header on "Home Rule for Ireland", from the shattering of the Liberal Party in 1886 to the brink of civil war in 1914.
We asked why it was so polarising, what it tells us about Brexit & how close the UK came to revolution
I joined @ppfideas.bsky.social for a double-header on "Home Rule for Ireland", from the shattering of the Liberal Party in 1886 to the brink of civil war in 1914.
We asked why it was so polarising, what it tells us about Brexit & how close the UK came to revolution
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
Today, on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14: the closest modern Britain has come to civil war.
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
January 8, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Today, on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14: the closest modern Britain has come to civil war.
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
It's become fashionable on the radical right to talk up the prospects of civil war in Britain today.
This is what that looks like in practice. ⬇️
This is what that looks like in practice. ⬇️
Today, on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14: the closest modern Britain has come to civil war.
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
It's an amazing story, in which Conservatives supplied weapons to paramilitaries, built refugee camps and fomented mutiny in the army.
So here's a short intro...🧵
January 8, 2026 at 10:58 AM
It's become fashionable on the radical right to talk up the prospects of civil war in Britain today.
This is what that looks like in practice. ⬇️
This is what that looks like in practice. ⬇️
BONUS EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
January 8, 2026 at 8:47 AM
BONUS EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Today’s bonus is part 2 of David’s conversation with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social about how the question of Irish Home Rule blew up British politics. What kept Britain from falling into the abyss of civil war in 1914?
Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
This week on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring "Home Rule for Ireland!"
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
January 7, 2026 at 10:42 AM
This week on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring "Home Rule for Ireland!"
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
An absolute treasure trove of a thread from Robert for this week's eps ✨ 👇
This week on @ppfideas.bsky.social, we're exploring "Home Rule for Ireland!"
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
Home Rule shattered the Liberal Party, broke the women's suffrage movement, brought thousands onto the streets and drove Britain to the brink of civil war.
In the next two episodes, we ask why. So here a quick intro... 🧵
January 7, 2026 at 10:45 AM
An absolute treasure trove of a thread from Robert for this week's eps ✨ 👇
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today’s episode in our occasional series with historian @robertsaunders.bsky.social on significant political anniversaries looks at the event that blew British politics apart at the start of 1886. The ‘Hawarden Kite’.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
Also, I find that since this Maduro stuff started I keep on thinking about @ppfideas.bsky.social's ongoing Politics on Trial series
Judge: Are you Nicolas Madura Moros?
Maduro: [In Spanish, Inner City Press interpretation] I am the the president of Venezuela, I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas
Judge: Let me intervene. There will be time for this
Maduro: [In Spanish, Inner City Press interpretation] I am the the president of Venezuela, I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas
Judge: Let me intervene. There will be time for this
January 5, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Also, I find that since this Maduro stuff started I keep on thinking about @ppfideas.bsky.social's ongoing Politics on Trial series
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
The @criterionchannl.bsky.social has a very interesting documentary from director Noah Baumbach interview both André Gregory and Wallace Shawn about My Dinner with André. Recommended for anyone who appreciates the film.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
The 2nd episode in our live series explores Louis Malle’s 'My Dinner with Andre' (1981), in which two men discuss the meaning of theatre, capitalism, love, science, faith and freedom over a meal. David talks to playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
The 2nd episode in our live series explores Louis Malle’s 'My Dinner with Andre' (1981), in which two men discuss the meaning of theatre, capitalism, love, science, faith and freedom over a meal. David talks to playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:33 AM
The @criterionchannl.bsky.social has a very interesting documentary from director Noah Baumbach interview both André Gregory and Wallace Shawn about My Dinner with André. Recommended for anyone who appreciates the film.
Watch this space Chris, watch this space ... 😉
January 5, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Watch this space Chris, watch this space ... 😉
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
An extra episode to accompany our Films of Ideas series: David explores The Designated Mourner by Wallace Shawn, the writer and co-star of My Dinner with Andre. How did a play first performed in 1996 turn into a prophetic text for our times?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
An extra episode to accompany our Films of Ideas series: David explores The Designated Mourner by Wallace Shawn, the writer and co-star of My Dinner with Andre. How did a play first performed in 1996 turn into a prophetic text for our times?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
An extra episode to accompany our Films of Ideas series: David explores The Designated Mourner by Wallace Shawn, the writer and co-star of My Dinner with Andre. How did a play first performed in 1996 turn into a prophetic text for our times?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
An extra episode to accompany our Films of Ideas series: David explores The Designated Mourner by Wallace Shawn, the writer and co-star of My Dinner with Andre. How did a play first performed in 1996 turn into a prophetic text for our times?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Happy New Year to you too, hope you enjoy!!
January 1, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Happy New Year to you too, hope you enjoy!!
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today it’s the last in our series of live film episodes: David talks to film director & campaigner Beeban Kidron about Michel Gondry’s 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004), a much-loved film that’s also chock full of interesting ideas.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today it’s the last in our series of live film episodes: David talks to film director & campaigner Beeban Kidron about Michel Gondry’s 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004), a much-loved film that’s also chock full of interesting ideas.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
Today it’s the last in our series of live film episodes: David talks to film director & campaigner Beeban Kidron about Michel Gondry’s 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004), a much-loved film that’s also chock full of interesting ideas.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Today it’s the last in our series of live film episodes: David talks to film director & campaigner Beeban Kidron about Michel Gondry’s 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004), a much-loved film that’s also chock full of interesting ideas.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Past Present Future Podcast
“If you arrive in a new town and you want to find the worst behaved people, go to the Philosophy Department and look for the ethicists.” Fascinating conversation about Jarman’s ‘Wittgenstein’ - which, I admit, is a film I never made through to the end. Now I want to go back and try again.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
December 28, 2025 at 11:06 AM
“If you arrive in a new town and you want to find the worst behaved people, go to the Philosophy Department and look for the ethicists.” Fascinating conversation about Jarman’s ‘Wittgenstein’ - which, I admit, is a film I never made through to the end. Now I want to go back and try again.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
The fourth episode in our season of live recordings is about Derek Jarman’s 'Wittgenstein' (1993), which tells the story of an extraordinary life in a way that is both light and profound. David talks to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan.
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com