Episodes

  • Orwell’s War: False Dawn (1940-41)

    Orwell’s War: False Dawn (1940-41)
    Apr 15 2026
    Today’s episode in our new series about how George Orwell tried – and failed – to make sense of WW2 as it was happening looks at the events of 1940 and 1941, from the collapse of France to Hitler’s invasion of Russia. Why did Orwell write in March 1940 that there is something ‘deeply appealing’ about Hitler? What convinced him that Churchill ‘must go’? How close did Britain get to revolution in the summer of 1940? Where did the revolution go? You can listen to David’s earlier episode about Orwell’s The Lion and the Unicorn from our Great Political Essays series on our website here ⁠⁠https://www.ppfideas.com/episodes/history-of-ideas%3A-george-orwell⁠⁠. Or scroll down in your podcast app to find it, originally broadcast on 3rd August 2023. To hear David’s conversation with Alec Ryrie about The Age of Hitler subscribe to PPF+ to get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus⁠. We put that one out as a PPF+ bonus on 5th July 2025. Next time in Orwell’s War: Frozen In Time (1942-43) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • Orwell’s War: The Nightmare (1938-39)

    Orwell’s War: The Nightmare (1938-39)
    Apr 12 2026
    Today’s episode is the first in a new series about how the greatest political writer of the 20th century tried – and failed – to make sense of the central political event of the century. How did George Orwell respond in real time to the epochal events of the Second World War and how do his struggles relate to the uncertainties of our own time? What did he get right, what did he get wrong and what did he fail to understand at all? How did a writer who had vigorously opposed the war before it started find himself defending it as soon as it was underway? Who or what did he really want to win? And what did Orwell believe was worse than fascism? Join us this Friday 17th April at the Regent Street Cinema in London for the second film in our new season: a screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut followed by a live podcast recording with David and director and campaigner Beeban Kidron. Tickets available now ⁠https://bit.ly/3O5rSEY⁠ And find details of all our upcoming film events here ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com/events⁠ 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com⁠ Next Time on Orwell’s War: False Dawn (1940-41) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Live Film Special: Metropolitan w/James Marriott

    Live Film Special: Metropolitan w/James Marriott
    Apr 8 2026
    Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Regent Street Cinema in London: David talks to author and journalist James Marriott about Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan, which dissects the lives, loves and reading habits of a group of well-to-do young New Yorkers during deb party season. It is a film about being young and feeling old and fearing that you don’t have a future any more. Is it all over for the UHBs – the urban haute bourgeoisie? Has history left them behind? Or can one more drink, one more after-party and one more conversation about Jane Austen show them the way to a better tomorrow? Join us on Friday 17th April at the Regent Street Cinema in London for the next film in our spring and summer season: a screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut followed by a live podcast recording with David and director and campaigner Beeban Kidron. Tickets available now ⁠https://bit.ly/3O5rSEY⁠ And find details of all our upcoming film events here ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com/events⁠ 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website ⁠https://www.ppfideas.com⁠ Next Time: Orwell’s War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Political Conversions: Switching Sides in the 21st Century

    Political Conversions: Switching Sides in the 21st Century
    Apr 5 2026
    In the final episode of this series David talks to political historian David Klemperer about how political conversion works today. Is this a post-ideological age or have the ideologies simply changed? Is switching sides easier or harder in the age of social media? Who or what might play the role once performed in political conversions by the Soviet Union? Are we still capable of changing our minds? Join us on Friday 17th April at the Regent Street Cinema in London for the second film in our new season: a screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut followed by a live podcast recording with David and director and campaigner Beeban Kidron. Tickets available now https://bit.ly/3O5rSEY 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time: PPF Live Film Special – Metropolitan w/James Marriott Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • Political Conversions: From Trotskyism to Neoconservatism

    Political Conversions: From Trotskyism to Neoconservatism
    Apr 1 2026
    In part three of our series about political conversions David talks to historian David Klemperer about the people who left Trotskyism behind – and where they ended up. From 1940s America to contemporary Britain, from the Second World War to the Iraq War, from James Burnham to Claire Fox, stories of one-time revolutionaries who found themselves in a very different place. What links Trotskyism to neoconservatism? And what happens when the renegade outsiders become establishment insiders? Join us on Friday 17th April at the Regent Street Cinema in London for the second film in our new season: a screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut followed by a live podcast recording with David and director and campaigner Beeban Kidron. Tickets available now https://bit.ly/3O5rSEY 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time on Political Conversions: Switching Sides in the 21st Century Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Political Conversions: Communism – The God That Failed

    Political Conversions: Communism – The God That Failed
    Mar 29 2026
    In today’s episode David talks to political historian David Klemperer about a group of writers and other intellectuals who embraced and then renounced Communism before and during the Second World War. Was the pull of Communism really comparable to the experience of religious conversion? Why did so many who took up the faith at the start of the 1930s become disillusioned with it by the end of the decade? How did they justify their renunciation and what did it cost them? Why were writers and intellectuals so vulnerable to changing their minds? 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time on Political Conversions: From Trotskyism to Neoconservatism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • Political Conversions: Going Fascist

    Political Conversions: Going Fascist
    Mar 25 2026
    Today’s episode is the first in a new series of conversations with political historian David Klemperer about what causes people to switch sides, ideologies and worldviews – stories of political conversion. We begin with converts from socialism to fascism, looking in particular at the notorious case of Oswald Mosley. Why did he wind up in and then give up on the Labour Party? What made him ditch democratic politics for fascist violence? How does his political journey compare to other socialists turned fascists in continental Europe? Did he ever repent? Out now on PPF+: a bonus episode in which David explores the myth of the 1945 general election. Why does this event still exert such a grip on the political imagination of Labour politicians? What do they get wrong about how it really happened and what it really meant? 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time on Political Conversions: Communism – The God That Failed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Live Special: Another American Civil War?

    Live Special: Another American Civil War?
    Mar 22 2026
    In today’s episode, which was recorded in front of students, parents and teachers from three schools in Oxford, David talks to historian of America Adam Smith about whether the US might be drifting into another civil war. Are the circumstances of today in any way comparable to the 1860s? What are the faultlines in 2026 that might see America tear itself apart? If division doesn’t lead to widespread violence, how else might the federal government fail? What would it mean for the rest of us? Out tomorrow on PPF+: a bonus episode in which David explores the myth of the 1945 general election. Why does this event still exert such a grip on the political imagination of Labour politicians? What do they get wrong about how it really happened and what it really meant? 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 and PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time: Political Conversions – Going Fascist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr