Episodes 384
Avg. Duration 28m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 5.0 (28)
Since Jun 2020
Latest Episode Jun 2026

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
73%
Hosting
audioboom.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

The EI Podcast brings you weekly conversations and audio essays from leading writers, thinkers and historians. Hosted by Alastair Benn and Paul Lay. Find the EI Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search The EI Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

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Recent Episodes

Len Deighton’s spycraft

Jun 08, 2026 33m

The late Len Deighton produced novels that were packed with excitement and suspense but also infused with moral complexity and psychological insight. Read by Leighton Pugh. Read the essay here:…

China's bid for economic supremacy

Jun 04, 2026 47m

George Magnus speaks to EI’s Jack Dickens about the geopolitical logic behind China’s economic strategy.Image: A container ship from China. Credit: Rudmer Zwerver

A Jewish-American dream

Jun 01, 2026 24m

The largest Jewish community in the world is defined by its deep integration into America's national story, its liberal traditions and scepticism towards Israeli governments. Read by Leighton…

Muslims and Jews' shared inheritance

May 28, 2026 42m

Marc David Baer speaks to EI’s Paul Lay about his new book 'Children of Abraham: The Story of Jewish-Muslim Relations', and the deep historical connection between two faiths, bound by common…

Finding Turkey in Narnia

May 26, 2026 17m

Re-reading CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Hannah Lucinda Smith discovers glimmers of the culture and history of the Turkic peoples in the author's work. Read by Leighton Pugh. Read the essay here:…

The life and legacy of Steve Schapiro

May 21, 2026 37m

Filmmaker Maura Smith discusses Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere, her documentary on the photographer who captured modern America.Image: Steve Schapiro in the 1960s. Credit: Steve Schapiro

Agent Zo, the spy who saved Poland

May 18, 2026 13m

Elżbieta Zawacka, who played a key role in the Home Army’s resistance efforts, was one of the most highly decorated women in Polish history. Clare Mulley assesses her legacy. Read by Leighton…

Lewis and Clark’s American Odyssey

May 14, 2026 1h

Craig Fehrman speaks to EI’s Max Mitchell about his new book ‘This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark’, shedding light on one of America’s founding myths.Image: ‘America in the…

Why powerful individuals are dominating politics

May 11, 2026 17m

From Xi Jinping in China to Narendra Modi in India and Donald Trump in the US, Nicholas Wright explores how powerful leaders are reshaping the rules of the global great game. Read by Leighton…

Weimar’s descent into darkness

May 07, 2026 1h 3m

How did Weimar, the town of Goethe and Schiller, become the crucible of Germany's moral collapse? Katja Hoyer, author of Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, speaks to EI's Alastair Benn about…

The civilising wonders of wine

May 05, 2026 11m

Amid the rise of individualistic technologies and weight-loss drugs, there has been a steady decline in alcohol consumption in Western societies. Yet, Henry Jeffreys argues that this is no good…

Can Europe thrive in a multipolar world?

Apr 30, 2026 53m

Mark Leonard, co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, speaks to EI’s Jack Dickens about Europe’s place in a changing world order.Image: The EU flag in Siracusa, Sicily.…

The long shadow of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials

Apr 27, 2026 27m

In the courtrooms of Nuremberg and Tokyo, the victorious Allies declared that civilisation must not merely win wars but also judge them, leaving a legal and moral legacy that persists to this day.…

Universities are at crisis point

Apr 23, 2026 1h 1m

Daisy Christodoulou and Nicholas Wright join EI’s Paul Lay to discuss the crisis in British universities and how to fix it.Image: Sightseers outside the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.…

The anatomy of the spy novel

Apr 20, 2026 14m

From the gung-ho glamour of Ian Fleming’s James Bond to the decline and disorder of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, postwar spy novels have captured the shifting myths, legends and caricatures surrounding…

The roots of the West’s identity crisis

Apr 16, 2026 51m

Marie Kawthar Daouda, author of Not Your Victim: How our Obsession with Race Entraps and Divides Us, speaks to EI’s Alastair Benn about the historical illiteracy of attempts to ‘decolonise’ Western…

Iran’s strange Scottish obsession

Apr 13, 2026 10m

From placard-waving crowds in Yazd to troll farms on social media, the Islamic Republic has long tried to wield Scottish nationalism as a weapon against the UK. This audio essay is read by Leighton…

Washington’s return to Latin America

Apr 09, 2026 55m

Following the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, President Donald Trump has warned that Cuba is ‘next’. What exactly does he mean by that? Joseph Ledford, Fellow at the Hoover…

The Houthis’ forever war

Apr 03, 2026 50m

Elisabeth Kendall speaks to EI’s Jack Dickens about what motivates the Houthis. Following the outbreak of the war in Iran, the Yemeni militant group now has an outsized ability to disrupt global…

Can epic poetry revive History?

Mar 30, 2026 14m

When combined, as the ancients knew, history and poetry offer an incomparable insight into the human condition. Michael Auslin laments the demise of poetry as a form for exploring great moments in…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The EI Podcast have?

The EI Podcast has published 384 episodes since June 2020, covering topics in Arts, Books.

Is The EI Podcast still active?

The EI Podcast is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 28m.

How do I contact The EI Podcast for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for The EI Podcast, including email and social media links.

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