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  Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy. With Cory Doctorow 28.07.2026 48min

  I'm super stoked to welcome back the legendary blogger, journalist and author of Enshittification, Cory Doctorow. This time around we tackle his latest book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence — Before It's Too Late. I ask Cory about the ideology behind the shameless AI push, the state of this technology in 2026, the billionaires lapping it up, as well as the feared AI bubble that Corey believes will tank the entire system.
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  What The Japanese Thought Of The First Westerners... And Vice Versa. With dr. Christopher Harding 18.07.2026 1t 33min

  I'm super happy to welcome dr. Christopher Harding, lecturer in Asian history at the University of Edinburgh, back to the show, to have a chat about his amazing upcoming book, "Barbarians: The First Century of European Encounter with Japan."This time around we talk about a myriad of fascinating episodes that arose from this dramatic exchange - the first Portuguese landing on Tanegashima, the curiosity their appearances caused, the introduction of Christianity in Japan, the growing power of the Jesuits and finally, the expulsion of all foreigners in 1641.Obviously we can't get past the infamous bromance between William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu that inspired the popular TV show Shogun.As a foreigner in Japan myself, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favourite conversations this year.
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  What Were The Crusades Like From The Muslim Side? With Prof. Nicholas Morton 01.07.2026 1t 8min

  Medieval historian and champion of the podcast, Prof. Nicholas Morton (from Nottingham Trent University) is back on the pod to talk about the feverish history of the Crusades - only this time, we explore the subject from the perspective of the Muslim nations who were fighting for supremacy in the tricky landscape of the medieval Middle East... What did they think when they first saw these unexpected strangers in their lands? Did jihad become a thing just like a holy war in Christendom? And why was it so important for Saladin to tear Jerusalem from Crusader's hands?We chat about all this and more in this action packed episode!
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  The Wild Lives of Nigerian Romance Scammers | Carlos Barragan 18.06.2026 1t 13min

  In 2015, Carlos Barragan, a young Spanish journalist working for The New York Times, received a surprise - his mother, having long being single, told him she finally met somebody on Tinder. The man's name was Brian and he was an American soldier stationed in Syria. Carlos' alarm bells however, started going off immediately - and sure enough, he quickly tracked "Brian's" IP address not to the US, but to Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. Being intent on finding the scammer himself, he travelled to the country only to find himself embedded into the culture of the so-called Yahoo Boys - poor young men, who saw scamming Westerners as their only ticket out of the slums. Carlos' extensive experiences in Nigeria gave birth to his reportage book, The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria's Romance Scammers, which has been touted as the most anticipated non-fiction book of 2026 by most major publications. In this conversation we talk about his first journey to Nigeria, his life in the infamous Ikotun slum, the fates of his 4 main characters, but also about the loneliness epidemic in the West that's making this all possible.
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  Why The Odyssey Is Actually About A Broken War Veteran | Prof. Peter Meineck 04.06.2026 58min

  Christopher Nolan's retelling of Homer's famous epic is causing a lot of sassy drama these days, so I thought it'd be appropriate to have a chat with a Greek Mythology expert, and pick his brain on what this foundational poem of Western literature is really about - because cause truth be told, I don't think I really know. Is The Odyssey about heroism? Homecoming? Fate? To find out, I talk to Prof. Peter Meineck, the renowned professor of Classics in the Modern World at NYU. And since the internet seems ablaze with controversy regarding Christopher Nolan's upcoming adaptation, we have a chat about that as well...
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  Ancient Roman Slavery: The Cruel Reality Behind The Empire | Dr. Emma Southon 27.05.2026 1t 22min

  When we discuss Rome, we usually talk about the Emperors, the Warlords and the Conquerors, rarely about ordinary Romans... and almost never about the people who actually built it - the slaves. With her recently released book SERVUS: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, historian Emma Southon attempts to shift that narrative. In this convo we talk about how one could became enslaved, what it was like to visit a Roman slave market, how slaves coped with the brutality of their everyday life, but also, why the Romans are so easy to roast.
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  The German Peasants' War: The Bloody History Of Medieval Rebellion | Prof. Lyndal Roper 16.05.2026 1t 12min

  In 16th century Europe, few events were as momentous as the German Peasants’ War - an explosive rebellion that shocked the ruling houses of the Holy Roman Empire. Driven by the ideas of Reformation, apocalyptic preaching and an all-out anger about the increasingly cruel conditions of serfdom, bands of peasants marched to war, during which they came close to overturning the entire feudal order… To find out why the revolt started, how it engulfed an entire nation and why it ultimately failed, I talk to Lyndal Roper, a celebrated historian who's the 2026 recipient of the Holberg prize, and the author of the award winning book, Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War.
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  Weimar And The Terrifying Speed Of The Nazi Takeover Of Germany | Katja Hoyer 08.05.2026 1t 5min

  You're an ordinary German, living in 1920's Weimar when the Nazi party takes over - WHAT do you do? That's exactly the question that Katya Hoyer, "Britain's favourite German historian," wanted an answer to.For her latest book, Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, she spent years combing the Weimar archives, inspecting the fates of its citizens who were living through some of the most turbulent times in world history - what choices did they end up making? Did they resist, look away or even support Hitler's murderous regime?In this gripping conversation, Katja and I talk about Weimar's contrast to Berlin, Hitler's infatuation with the city... But also how it went from being the birthplace of Bauhaus to hosting the biggest concentration camp on German soil...
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  Why Did The Habsburg Empire Suddenly Collapse? | Pieter Judson 27.04.2026 1t 8min

  For at least 600 years, the lands of modern day Slovenia (where I'm from), belonged to the famous Habsburg dynasty. But how did this small aristocratic family from Switzerland come to form the first global empire in the world?Was the multi-ethnic monarchy really a "prison of the peoples" or was it in fact a modernising state?And most importantly - how come it all fell apart so quickly in 1918?In this lovely (and friendly) sparring session, prof. Pieter Judson, author of the seminal book The Habsburg Empire: A New History explains why the Habsburg Empire often gets a bad rep in history books, and why its high time we should change that.
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  Ancient Greece History: Debunking Myths On Race and Culture | Prof. Tony Spawforth 13.04.2026 1t 13min

  Ever since their civilisation ceased to exist, the Ancient Greeks have been appropriated to suit various agendas. But what did they actually think and believe? For example - how did they see other, non-Greek people? Was sexual orientation even a thing in Ancient Greece? Did they ever wrestle with the institution of slavery?To help me find answers to my burning questions, I talked to Tony Spawforth, professor emeritus of ancient history at Newcastle University, and the author of the fantastic book, What the Greeks Did for Us.
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  Nazi Human Experiments: The True History Of World War II Truth Serums | Norman Ohler 01.04.2026 55min

  It's a real pleasure having Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, back on the pod. Norman recently published a spiritual succession of his bestseller called Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age, which recounts the wild history of LSD... In this conversation we talk about the Nazi quest to find a truth serum, the crazy MKUltra plot concocted by the CIA, as well as Norman micro-dosing his mother to alleviate her Alzheimer's symptoms.
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  Cryptocurrency And Masculinity: Why Some Men Risk Everything On Bitcoin | Dr. Dan Cassino 21.03.2026 1t

  Despite it's mainstream presence for more than a decade, Bitcoin has yet to make a convincing argument about its use case. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency space has become the home of a fascinating subculture - that of the Bitcoin Bros. But who are these people? Why do they hinge their identity to this digital casino? And finally - do they actually believe in crypto, or are they in it for other reasons? As someone who actually used to work in the space (although reluctantly) I was more than happy to turn to Prof. Dan Cassino, author of the recently released book, Bitcoin Bros: Masculinity, Cryptocurrency, and the Future of Men.
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  The Psychology Of Past Life Memories: Near-Death Research Explained | Dr. Philipp Cozzolino 08.03.2026 1t 19min

  Dr. Philipp Cozzolino is a research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuro-behavioral Sciences at University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies, where he investigates reports of past-life memories from children around the world. In this wonderful chat we discuss his work on death anxiety, the incredible testimonies of kids who claim to have lived before (as well as his thoughts on what might be going on), and finally, whether he thinks death is the end.
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  Historical Collapse Explained: Why Civilizations And Empires Fall | Luke Kemp 17.02.2026 1t 22min

  Luke Kemp, a research affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk researched 324 cases of societies, usually empires (which he called Goliaths) that collapsed - and soon found one thing they all had in common... In this (slightly terrifying) conversation we discuss the main questions featured in Luke's groundbreaking book, Goliath's Curse - questions like why are hierarchical societies always a bad idea, what usually goes wrong first and finally, why we seem to be heading for a collapse of our own.
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  The Renaissance Explained: History Of The Medici, Popes, And Florence | Prof. Kenneth Bartlett 09.02.2026 1t 10min

  I always wondered whether the Renaissance was a truly groundbreaking historical event - or has it become just a self-referential cliché? Talking to Prof. Kenneth Bartlett (author of The Renaissance in Italy: A History), I finally had a chance to ask... In this illuminating conversation we talk about the movement's main ideas, the timeless art they produced, the political intrigues of Florence, the House of Medici and finally, their creepy adversary, friar Savonarola.
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  The Death Of Subculture: Why Modern Pop Culture Sucks Now | David Marx 28.01.2026 1t 2min

  What do Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump have in common? As cultural critic W. David Marx argues in his new book Blank Space, they are all generators and representatives of a MONOCULTURE that has taken over the planet. From VICE magazine's domination of the early 2000s and Kanye's forays into high fashion to the rise of the tech bros, we are living through a time in which everything seems to be increasingly turning into mush.But how did we get here? Listen to my convo with David here!
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  Global Wealth Inequality: The True Flaws Of Modern Capitalism | Branko Milanović 02.01.2026 59min

  The era of neoliberal globalisation that has dominated economies 90's and early 2000's is coming to an end. But what comes next? Renowned economist and inequality researcher Branko Milanovic believes the world is entering a much more precarious phase, one in which countries bet on nationalist interests instead of free trade, but also a world in which China is rising and the West if falling. But what are the underlying drivers of this new order? And how will it play out in the real world? More in my conversation with Branko!
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  From SAMURAI to SHINKANSEN - the Rise, Fall and Stagnation of MODERN JAPAN, with Prof. Christopher Harding 21.12.2025 1t 7min

  As someone who moved to Japan not too long ago I was always fascinated with the country's unique history, particularly with the question of how did a country so completely isolated from the industrial revolution become a global superpower in just a few short decades? How did it manage to totally transform its society, military and culture? And finally, where did it all go wrong?Join me and historian Christopher Harding, author of A History of Modern Japan, as we explore Japan's journey from the Edo period's isolation to the transformative Meiji Restoration, discussing how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War marked its emergence as a modern power, only to later slide into the shadows of World War II fascism... But also, how the country faces new challenges today, balancing tradition with modernity in a world primarily marked by the rise of China.
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  The alluring MYSTERIES of Göbekli Tepe - the OLDEST monumental site in the world, with Jens Notroff 29.11.2025 1t

  The old version of the story went something like this - Homo Sapiens appeared in Africa around 2 to 300.00 years ago and for most of that time, we lived in small hunter gatherer communities, competing with other animals, sometimes more, and sometimes less successfully. That was, until one day we had a gnarly idea to start growing crops, build settlements and settle down for good.However, the mind-boggling discovery of the dazzling Gobekkli Teppe, has thrown this attractively simple narrative into question. But how is it possible that such an impressive complex of monuments, built 12.000 years ago (thousands of years before the first cities ever appeared), was put there by "simple" hunter gatherers... and most of all, why?To tackle these question I turn to Jens Notroff, a German archeologist who actually worked on the site for many years.
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  We have stopped READING - is it a sign our civilisation is COLLAPSING? With James Marriott 17.11.2025 1t 6min

  In the past 2 decades literacy rates have dropped dramatically... and so have our IQ scores. Writer James Marriott believes these two facts are connected. His Substack article, "The dawn of the post-literate society and the end of civilisation," in which he argues that the absence of reading might signify the end of our civilisation, caused a big stir online...In this conversation we talk about the history of reading, why this immense transfer of knowledge led to the breakdown of feudal society (while making us smarter), but also about how smartphones are fracturing our political systems while robbing us of our most cherished possession - our ability to think.