Episodes

  • Ukraine, two years on

    Ukraine, two years on
    Feb 22 2024
    Two years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a solution, military or diplomatic, seems as far away as ever.

    On Worldview, leading historians and commentators reflect on a conflict that has altered the state of global geopolitics.

    Jade McGlynn, author of Russia’s War, calls in from Kyiv (00:56).

    Shashank Joshi, defence editor of the Economist and Hew Strachan, military historian, illuminate the battlefield picture (24:18).

    The possible outcomes are considered by Sergey Radchenko, expert on Russian foreign policy, and Tim Marshall, best-selling author, whose most recent book is The Future of Geography (1:00:45).

    Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. Worldview is produced by Alastair Benn and Marie Jessel. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.

    Image: The national flag of Ukraine above the Kyiv skyline. Credit: Mykhailo Prysiazhnyi / Alamy Stock Photo
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • A Sacred Coronation for a Secular Nation

    A Sacred Coronation for a Secular Nation
    May 5 2023
    Adam Boulton is joined by Paul Lay, Senior Editor of Engelsberg Ideas, Agnès Poirier, journalist and author, and Royal biographer Hugo Vickers, to reflect on the deep meaning and symbolism of Britain's Coronation.

    Image: King Charles III views a wooden carving at St. Laurence's Church in Ludlow, Shropshire. Credit: Michelle Jones / Alamy Stock Photo.
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    30 mins
  • The power of central banks

    The power of central banks
    Apr 6 2023
    Central banks have held the financial world in their grip for much of the twentieth century, but is their reign coming to an end?

    In this episode of Worldview, Adam Boulton is joined by the former governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, along with journalist and author Merryn Somerset Webb, Iain Martin, Editor-in-Chief of Engelsberg Ideas, and economic historian, Samuel Gregg.

    Image: Currencies from around the world. Credit: Jochen Tak / Alamy Stock Photo  
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    38 mins
  • The Return of Applied History

    The Return of Applied History
    Mar 28 2023
    How can the lessons of history be applied to the present? What are the benefits of taking the long view?

    In this episode of Worldview, Adam Boulton is joined by the scholars Robert Crowcroft, editor of Applied History and Contemporary Policymaking: School of Statecraft, Phillip Bobbitt of the University of Texas, Iskander Rehman, an Ax:son Johnson Fellow at the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and Gill Bennett, former Chief Historian of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

    Image: The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull. Credit: Artimages / Alamy Stock Photo.
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    36 mins
  • The future of the museum

    The future of the museum
    Mar 21 2023
    How does an institution in the business of preserving the past prepare itself for the interests and sensibilities of the future? Where do museums fit in the national psyche?

    In our latest episode of Worldview, host Adam Boulton is joined by director of the V&A Tristram Hunt, Professor Armand D'Angour and Dr. Tiffany Jenkins to discuss what the future might hold for museums.

    Image: Renaissance and Medieval sculptures at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Credit: Bjanka Kadic / Alamy Stock Photo.
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    36 mins
  • How to end a war

    How to end a war
    Mar 15 2023
    Where does war end and peace begin? And what role does diplomacy play in that transition?

    In our latest episode of Worldview, host Adam Boulton is joined by historians Margaret MacMillan, Andrew Ehrhardt and Frank Gavin, as well as former European Commission High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton. 

    Image: Satirical cartoon of the Congress of Vienna. Credit: The Granger Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
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    36 mins
  • People power: dealing with demography

    People power: dealing with demography
    Mar 7 2023
    Is demography destiny? Shifting patterns in population have marked history, drive political change and sharpen cultural divides.

    In our latest episode of Worldview, host Adam Boulton is joined by Paul Morland, the UK's leading demographer, Bill Emmott, former editor of the Economist and author of Japan's Far More Female Future, and Richard Assheton, the Times' and Sunday Times' West Africa correspondent.

    Image description: A group of elderly women in Kyoto, Japan. Credit: Trevor Mogg / Alamy Stock Photo.
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    32 mins
  • The risks and the rewards of AI

    The risks and the rewards of AI
    Feb 28 2023
    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the worlds of art, manufacturing, medicine, even the language we use, at a bewildering speed. Should we fear or welcome it? What are its risks and rewards? And could it ever come to outpace the human mind? 

    In our latest episode of Worldview, host Adam Boulton is joined by Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis of New York University, and Susan Schneider, Director of the Centre for Future Mind, to discuss the profound cultural, philosophical and ethical implications of AI. Meanwhile, journalists Hugo Rifkind and Gaby Wood consider how AI will revolutionise the media and publishing industries. 

    Image description: An auction at Sotheby's, London, selling AI art created by Mario Klingemann, March 2019. Credit: Malcolm Park/Alamy Live News.
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    39 mins