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 polit...
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: Slave Uprising: The Haitian Revolution
Today’s episode is about a very different revolution from any we’ve discussed so far: David talks to historian Hank Gonzalez about the Haitian Revolution, which for the first time in history saw a slave revolt result in an independent free state. How did the Haitian Revolution intersect with the American and French Revolutions that preceded it? Why were European powers unable to reverse it despite massive military intervention? What is its legacy for the state of Haiti today?
Tickets are still available for PPF Live at the Bath Curious Minds Festival: join us on Saturday 29th March to hear David in conversation with Robert Saunders about the legacy of Winston Churchill: The Politician with Nine Lives https://bit.ly/42GPp3X
Out tomorrow the latest edition of our free fortnightly newsletter: to get it in your inbox sign up now https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletters
Next time: The Bayesian revolution w/David Spiegelhalter
Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
58:01
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 3: Paine
For our third episode on the ideas behind the French Revolution, David talks to Richard Whatmore about the ubiquitous Thomas Paine, the Englishman who championed revolutionary politics around the world. How did Paine come to see France as the locus of all his revolutionary hopes? How were those hopes ultimately disappointed? And what happened to Paine’s vision of the Rights of Man?
Out now on PPF+: a special bonus episode on King Donald The First. David explores the arguments being made in 2025 for the restoration of monarchy in America. Who’s making them and why? What on earth are they thinking? Sign up now to get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Next time: Slave uprising: the Haitian Revolution
Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
59:25
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 2: Robespierre
For our second episode on the people and ideas behind the French Revolution David talks to historian and biographer Ruth Scurr about the man who came to embody the revolution in all its radicalism and all its terror: Maximilien Robespierre. Who was he and how did he rise so fast once the upheaval was underway? How did he harness the power of the Jacobin Club? How did he marshal the violence of the streets? What did he believe in? And what made him think it was possible to reconcile virtue with terror?
Out now: a special bonus episode for PPF+ subscribers on King Donald The First: David explores the arguments being made in 2025 for the restoration of monarchy in America. Who’s making them and why? What on earth are they thinking? Sign up now to get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Next time: French Revolution 3: Paine
Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
54:35
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: French Revolution 1: Sieyès
In the first of three episodes about the people and ideas behind the French Revolution, David talks to Lucia Rubinelli about the man who helped kickstart it all: the Abbé Sieyès. How did an obscure cleric galvanise a nation? What did he mean by the Third Estate and why did he think it was everything? What went wrong with his idea of a new constitutional order for France? And what happened when Sieyès encountered Napoleon?
Out now on PPF+: a special bonus episode on King Donald The First. David explores the arguments being made in 2025 for the restoration of monarchy in America. Who’s making them and why? What on earth are they thinking? Sign up now to get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Next time: French Revolution 2: Robespierre
Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
58:35
The History of Revolutionary Ideas: American Revolution 2: The Constitution
In the second of our two episodes about the American Revolution David talks to historian Eric Nelson about the ideas that shaped the US Constitution. Was the office of President a victory for the people who still wanted a king or for those who never wanted one again? What was old and what was new about the idea of the separation of powers? What really divided the Federalists and the Antifederalists? And how are these arguments still being played out in the early days of Trump 2.0?
Out tomorrow: a special bonus episode for PPF+ subscribers on King Donald The First: David explores the arguments being made in 2025 for the restoration of monarchy in America. Who’s making them and why? What on earth are they thinking? Sign up now to get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
Also sign up now for the latest edition of our free fortnightly newsletter out tomorrow https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletters
Next time: French Revolution 1: Sieyes
Past Present Future is part of the Airwave Podcast Network
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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 Thursday and Sunday.