Past Present Future cover art

Past Present Future

Past Present Future

By: David Runciman
Listen for free

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.767045 Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Now & Then with Robert Saunders: The Brexit Referendum 10 Years On

    Now & Then with Robert Saunders: The Brexit Referendum 10 Years On
    Jun 24 2026
    Today’s episode in our occasional series looking at significant political anniversaries explores the causes and consequences of the Brexit Referendum, which took place 10 years ago this week. David talks to historian Robert Saunders about why the referendum was called, how the vote was won and how it was lost, and what made it such a difficult decision to implement. Did the referendum change who we were or did it reveal who we are? And is it too soon to know what it all meant? Out tomorrow on PPF+: part two of this conversation in which David and Robert explore how we got from there to here, looking at the twists and turns of British politics over the last ten years and asking whether the state of British politics today is a consequence of what happened in June 2016. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus merch, events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next time: Live Film Special – Never Let Me Go w/Adam Rutherford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Live Special: Jimmy Wales on the Lessons of Wikipedia

    Live Special: Jimmy Wales on the Lessons of Wikipedia
    Jun 21 2026
    Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival: David talks to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about what we can learn from the astonishing success of an encyclopaedia built by its users. When and how did people realise they could trust Wikipedia? What makes Wikipedia different from Uber, Airbnb and other online businesses that depend on public trust? Are there wider lessons for how we might do democracy differently? And what will happen to Wikipedia in the age of AI? Jimmy Wales’s book The Seven Rules of Trust is available now https://bit.ly/3Q4KuWT You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus merch, events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time: Now & Then with Robert Saunders – The Brexit Referendum 10 Years On Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • The Great Political Fictions: HHhH

    The Great Political Fictions: HHhH
    Jun 17 2026
    Our final great political fiction (for now!) is a meta-fiction and auto-fiction that is also a compelling work of historical reconstruction. Laurent Binet’s HHhH (2010) tells the story of Operation Anthropoid, the mission that led to the assassination of Reinhold Heydrich, the architect of the Final Solution. Why was Binet so eager to recast history as a struggle between good and evil? How does he deal with all the evil that followed from this heroic attempt to do good? What makes his Nazis different from the ones to be found in other twenty-first century novels? Join us on Friday 19th June at the Regent Street Cinema in London for the final film in our current season: a screening of Never Let Me Go followed by a live podcast recording with geneticist and science writer Adam Rutherford. Tickets available now https://bit.ly/4x641XC You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus merch, events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time: PPF Live – Jimmy Wales on the Lessons of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet