Episodes
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Gustaf Mannerheim's rise from a troubled youth to Finland's great wartime leader illustrates how leadership is forged by both personal traits and the unpredictable tides of history. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, centre, discusses strategy against the Russians at his field headquarters on the Finnish-Russian border, April 1942. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo -
EI's Paul Lay discusses how the Baltic states have survived, and thrived, in the shadow of Russian aggression, with Kristjan Prikk, Estonia's Ambassador to the United States and Eitvydas Bajarūnas, a former Lithuanian senior diplomat, who has served as the Ambassador to Sweden, Russia and the UK.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: A new Iron Curtain in Europe. Credit: aleksey Shirmanov / Alamy Stock Photo -
Missing episodes?
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Australia stands at the forefront of democratic resistance against China's expanding influence, reshaping its strategy and alliances to meet the challenges of a contested Indo-Pacific. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: Two US Air Force B-2 Spirits fly alongside four Royal Australian Air Force EA-18G Growlers and a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail, August 2022. Credit: UPI / Alamy Stock Photo -
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 offered opportunities to reset relations between East and West. EI's Paul Lay discusses how these opportunities were squandered with Mary Elise Sarotte, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: The fall of the Berlin Wall. Credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo -
Konrad Adenauer combined Realpolitik and German values and interests with international cooperation. The multilaterally integrated, co-operative nation state he championed was a fundamental innovation in European history. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: German statesman Konrad Adenauer depicted on a coin. Credit: VPC Coins Collection / Alamy Stock Photo -
Maria Golia profiles Carl Akeley, an inventor, sculptor, and taxidermist. His life's lessons still echo in the effort to conserve wildlife. Read by Sebastian Brown.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: Wildlife photographer Carl Ethan Akeley photographed in 1926. Credit: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery / Public Domain -
EI’s Angus Reilly is joined by Luke A. Nichter, author of The Year that Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968, to discuss Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, and the battle for the future of America in a year that offers notable parallels to the election of 2024.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is produced by Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: Television presenter Frank Reynolds covering the 1968 election. Credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo -
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence capable of deducing human intentions signals a new frontier in technology that could transform the world of strategy, diplomacy and warfare. Read by Helen Lloyd.
TV screens showing the live broadcast of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match at Yongsan Electronic Technology Land in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo -
EI's Alastair Benn is joined by Marina E. Henke, Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School, Berlin, to discuss how Europe can defend itself from the latest threats and thrive in a contested world.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: Conflict in Europe. Credit: Kirill Makarov / Alamy Stock Photo -
Adrian Wooldridge profiles Philippa Fawcett, the first female Senior Wrangler at Cambridge University and a trailblazer for women's achievement in a nascent meritocratic society. Read by Sebastian Brown.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.
Image: 1890 engraving of Philippa Fawcett, the first female Senior Wrangler. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images -
The study of statecraft would profit by spending less time on ‘should’ and more time on ‘how’. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Woodrow Wilson delivering a Christmas address to soldiers of the A.E.F. Langres, Haute Marne, France, December 1918. Credit: Hum Images / Alamy Stock Photo -
EI's Paul Lay is joined by Dmitri Alperovitch, leading geopolitical analyst, entrepreneur, and co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, to discuss the parallels between US-Soviet rivalry and that of the US and China.
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: The US and Chinese flags on stacked containers. Credit: Christian Ohde / Alamy Stock Photo -
The vision of nuclear strategy as a means to prevent war remains a powerful but contested idea in international politics. As global rivalries intensify and nuclear arsenals expand, the risk of conflict seems more pronounced than ever. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A photograph of nuclear testing at Pacific Island test sites. Credit: EMU history / Alamy Stock Photo -
Over the last decade, NATO has embarked on a significant process of military and political adaptation to ensure it can effectively enable the collective defence of allies in a competitive, contested and unpredictable world. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: NATO flag waving in the wind. Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo -
EI's Paul Lay and Alastair Benn discuss an attention dilemma that has haunted western thought for centuries.
READING LIST
Our attention dilemma is age-old | Alastair Benn
Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium | Seneca
The Essays of Michel de Montaigne
Don Quixote | Miguel de Cervantes
Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.
Image: Detail from Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903. Credit: SuperStock / Alamy Stock Photo -
Through his visionary leadership, inspired rhetoric, and willingness to compromise, John F. Kennedy summoned the narrative of American hope, his most powerful and enduring legacy. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: Senator John F. Kennedy at Hyannis Port. Credit: Phillip Harrington / Alamy Stock Photo -
One of the few leaders on whom history has bestowed the title ‘the Great’, Akbar was a noted connoisseur of cultures and architect of political pluralism. Read by Sebastian Brown.
Image: Akbar the Great hunting. Mughal Scool, 1590. British Museum. Artist Unknown. Credit: CM Dixon/Heritage Images/Getty Images -
Like it or not, Japan has become one of the most critical actors in contemporary international politics. Read by Helen Lloyd.
Image: A naval exercise conducted by Japan. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo - Show more
