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Past Present Future

Past Present Future

By: David Runciman
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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
  • Can Universities Survive? The Thousand-Year Story

    Can Universities Survive? The Thousand-Year Story
    Oct 18 2026
    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 years ago. What made universities different from other places of learning? How did they assert their authority? Who controlled what they did? And how did they survive war, plague, religious turmoil and the arrival of printing? Out now on PPF+: the final part of our series on transhumanism bringing the story bang up to date. How is transhumanism behind the latest warnings about the end of the world? Is Elon Musk a visionary or a fraud? And what’s wrong with transhumanism anyway? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening – and to help support everything we do – subscribe to PPF+ no 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 our free online courses and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time in Can Universities Survive? The Thousand-Year Story Part 2: Enlightenment, Revolution, Modernisation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • The History of Transhumanism: New Horizons

    The History of Transhumanism: New Horizons
    Oct 11 2026
    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 fact? Did supercomputers herald new human possibilities or the prospect of human obsolescence? Why did transhumanism move from the left to the right of the political spectrum? And who believed that freezing their own heads was a good idea? A reminder we have a pair of new educational courses to accompany two of our series – The Great Essays and The Lives of the Philosophers. These courses are free for anyone who wants to use them and offer recall tests, extensive reading guides, discussion topics and essay questions for further reading, writing and exploration around the subjects of our podcasts. For use in schools, colleges or just in your spare time. To explore these courses simply go to https://ppfideas.com/courses You can find out everything else you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes – on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next time on The History of Transhumanism: Silicon Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
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