Reading Our Times
74 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★ - 11 ratingsReading Our Times is the podcast that explores the books and the ideas that are shaping us today. It is hosted by Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos.
We’re going to be talking to some of the world’s leading authors about issues like meritocracy, justice, populism, human rights, the brain, liberalism, and religion.
Above all, we'll be exploring what these books have to say about the times we live in and about the people we are.
So listen with us, and we’ll introduce you to authors, books and ideas that illuminate ourselves and our world today.
For more information about the people and ideas behind the podcast, visit https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/about/who-we-are or follow us on Twitter @theosthinktank and @theosnick.
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Episodes
Will technology liberate or enslave us? Live in conversation with Robert Skidelsky
January 10, 2024 05:00 - 1 hour - 51 MBIn this week's episode, recorded live at the UnHerd cafe in London, Nick Spencer speaks to Robert Skidelsky about his book The Machine Age: An Idea, a History, a Warning. Once upon a time, we had faith in technology. Machines would make our lives easier, simpler, more comfortable. Today… well, faith in technological fixes for our problems is on the wane. Worse, it’s often replaced with fear. The companies want our data. The robots want our jobs. The government our freedoms. In his latest bo...
How have we changed the world - and how has it changed us? In conversation with Peter Frankopan
December 12, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.2 MBTuesday 5 July 2023 was, apparently, the hottest day ever recorded, and 2023 looks like its going to be the hottest year in human history. At this pace, we are heading for a dire future. But we do need to be careful here: after all, humans have been transforming the earth for mllennia. How? How have we changed the earth, and how has it changed us? And what does this mean for our shared future? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Peter Frankopan about his book The Earth Transforme...
Who are the new elites? In conversation with Matt Goodwin
December 05, 2023 05:00 - 38 minutes - 31.5 MB"Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class.” So claimed no less than Rupert Murdoch, friend of PMs and presidents, in his resignation letter. Is he right? Is there a "new elite"? If so, who are they and what do they believe in? And are they really in charge in now? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Matt Goodwin about his book Values, Voice and Virtue: The New British Politics
Who is responsible for feeding us (well)? In conversation with Pen Vogler
November 28, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.3 MBOur relationship with food is unhealthy. While nearly 2/3 of English adults and 1/3 of children struggle with extra weight problems, there are currently around 2,500 food banks operating in the UK. What's gone wrong? Why do we so struggle with food? And whose responsiblity is it to feed us anyway? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to author Pen Vogler about her book Stuffed: A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain
What does the end of the world look like? In conversation with Cal Flyn
November 21, 2023 05:00 - 32 minutes - 26.1 MBIt’s a common fantasy. You wake up and there is no one there. Civilisation, order, humanity have crumbled. You are alone. Yet, in some parts of the world, this is not a fantasy. Human civilisation has indeed gone. What does this look like? What remains in a post-human landscape? And is this what awaits us? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Cal Flyn about her book Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape
What makes a philosophical mind? In conversation with Dan Dennett
November 14, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.2 MBFor over 50 years now, Dan Dennett has written highly-praised, thoughtfully and provocatively on major philosophical issues. His ideas about consciousness, evolution, freedom - and, of course, theism - have provoked wonder and anger. In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Dan Dennett, about philosophy, Darwinism, naturalism and theism.
When is the next big crash? In conversation with Linda Yueh
November 07, 2023 05:00 - 33 minutes - 27.5 MBThe age of boom and bust is over - we were told, shortly before the great crash of 2008-09. Such confidence is clearly ill-advised. Economies boom and economies bust - and there doesn't seem much we can do about it. Or is there? How can you spot a crash coming? What should you do about it when it descends on us? And how can we respond so that, even if we can't banish them forever, we can limit their frequency and impact? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Linda Yueh about her bo...
What is a mind? In conversation with Philip Ball
October 31, 2023 05:00 - 33 minutes - 27.3 MBYou have a mind, right? At least, that's what you and those who know you will think. But would you say the same of your pet? What about creatures like dolphins or octopus? Aliens (assuming they exist)? Robots and AI? God? What does it mean to 'have a mind'? Are all minds the same? Why should such a costly thing appear in evolution? And if we understand our minds, does that mean we have finally understood ourselves? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to science writer Philip Ball ...
What do we even mean by 'God'? In conversation with David Bentley Hart
October 24, 2023 04:00 - 39 minutes - 31.6 MBEveryone - even those who utter it with contempt - uses the word 'God'. But we don't all use it in the same way. Indeed, you could argue that we talk past each other more often when we talk about God than when we talk about any other topic. So what do we mean when we talk about God? What does the word even mean? Is the God of the philosophers the same as the God of the religious? Or indeed the God of the atheists? In this week's episode, Nick Spencer speaks to philosopher and theologian Dav...
Why are Pentecostals taking over the world? In conversation with Elle Hardy
July 04, 2023 04:00 - 42 minutes - 34.5 MBPentecostalism is the fastest growing religious movement in history, with nearly 600 million Pentecostals worldwide. How did the movement originate? What does it involve? And how will it change Christianity, society and politics in the 21st century? Nick Spencer talks to journalist and author Elle Hardy about her book Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World
How much does Britain cost? In conversation with Paul Johnson
June 27, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 31.1 MBWe raise over a trillion every year in tax, and spent a hundred billion more than that. But where do we get it from? Where do we spend it? And is it used fairly, efficiently and wisely? Nick Spencer talks to Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, about his book Follow the Money: How much does Britain cost?
What are the risks of going green? In conversation with Henry Sanderson
June 20, 2023 04:00 - 31 minutes - 25.6 MBWe need to decarbonise, and fast. But 'going green' is not straightforward, not only practically but ethically. There is great potential there, but also huge risks. What are they? Who will win? And who might lose? Nick Spencer talks to journalist and author Henry Sanderson about his book Voltrush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green
What's happening to journalism? In conversation with Alan Rusbridger
June 13, 2023 04:00 - 34 minutes - 27.7 MBJournalism is bit like politics. As a rule, we say we don’t really trust either profession, and neither seems to be in particularly good health at the moment. But we definitely can’t live without them. Nick Spencer talks to former editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, about his book Breaking News: the remaking of journalism and why it matters now
Can science make sense of life? In conversation with Prof. Sheila Jasanoff
June 06, 2023 04:00 - 37 minutes - 30.4 MBThe ability to manipulate genetic material has never been greater, and is increasing all the time. With it comes the claim that genetics can makes sense of life - controlling, directing, shaping who we are? Can it? Nick Spencer talks to Prof. Sheila Jasanoff about her book Can science make sense of life?
What is the future of money? In conversation with Eswar Prasad
May 30, 2023 04:00 - 37 minutes - 30.4 MBMoney is changing – and its changing fast and in a way that many of us find bewildering. Is cash on its way out? What is fintech? What actually is a cryptocurrency, or stablecoin, or a CBDC? Are they the future? Nick Spencer talks to Prof. Eswar Prasad about his book The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution is Transforming Currencies and Finance
Whatever happened to the human mind? In conversation with Marilynne Robinson
May 23, 2023 04:00 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBThe death of the self, of the soul, of the mind: time and again, science (or parascience) has declared the demise of a core dimension to human nature. But can we live without such concepts? And can they be rescued by religion, philosophy and literature? Nick Spencer talks to Marilynne Robinson about her book Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self
Science and religion: what's the story? In conversation with Nick Spencer
May 16, 2023 04:00 - 46 minutes - 37.6 MBScience and religion have a long history. According to some, it's a history of warfare; to others they are (or at least should be) non-overlapping. Nick Spencer argues that neither view is right, and that the two have long been entangled, especially over the questions of what do we think of the human, and who gets to say. Buy a copy of Magisteria here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9780861544615
Why tax is fun: In conversation with Michael Keen
December 20, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 28 MBThe late great American novelist David Foster Wallace, who had worked in a tax office, once remarked, “The whole subject of tax policy and administration is dull. Massively and spectacularly dull.” But he was wrong, massively and spectacularly wrong. Tax is ultimately about the different ways we live together, and express our values - and there is nothing more interesting than that. In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Michael Keen and his book Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue.
Do Prime Ministers do God? In conversation with Mark Vickers
December 13, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 27.4 MBThe UK has a religoius Prime Minister - yet again! Rishi Sunak is the first Hindu to occupy the role, but there have been plenty more of the faithful before him - even in the more secular atmosphere of the 20th century. Who did God most? Who least? Who was most sincere? And for whom did the divine actually make a difference? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Mark Vickers about his book God In Number 10
Whatever happened to civility? In conversation with Ann Hartle
December 06, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 24.8 MBAre we are losing our civility and, with it, the space to disagree productively? Why? Where did the idea of 'civility' come from, where is it going, and why does it matter? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Ann Hartle about her book What happened to civility?
Does development aid actually work? In conversation with Stefan Dercon
November 29, 2022 05:00 - 35 minutes - 28.8 MBWe spend a lot of money on aid - although not as much as we used to. Does it work or is it, as some claim, a waste? And behind that, why do some countries develop and others not? In this episode Nick Spencer talks to Stefan Dercon about this book Gambling on Development
Have we got evolution wrong? In conversation with Simon Conway Morris
November 22, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 27 MBFor all the fears over growing levels of creationism, evolution is widely accepted in the UK. But 'accepted' does not necessarily mean understood, particularly when the theory itself is subject to so many myths and fanciful interpretation. In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Simon Conway Morris about his book From Extra-terrestrials to Animal Minds: Six Myths of Evolution
Does terrorism work? In conversation with Richard English
November 15, 2022 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.9 MBEveryone knows that terrorism is wrong but - a tough question to answer objectively - does it work? And, depending on your answer to that question, how then should we respond to it? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Richard English about his book Does Terrorism Work?
How is the digital world changing our brain? In conversation with Maryanne Wolf
November 08, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 26.9 MBWhereas once we read books and newspapers, and read them whole, the world is now mediated to us through screens, usually in much smaller gobbets. What is this doing to our brains - and does it matter? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Maryanne Wolf about her book Reader, Come Home: The reading brain in a digital world
What happened to the sexual revolution? In conversation with Louise Perry
November 01, 2022 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.2 MBThe liberation of the sexual revolution is increasingly looking anything but liberating, particularly for young women who are suffering a culture of the endlessly commercialised female body, casual sex, and sometimes violent pornography. What is going on, why, and what can we do about it? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Louise Perry about her book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution
What will the world look like in 2050? In conversation with Hamish McRae
June 21, 2022 04:00 - 36 minutes - 29.3 MBWhat will the world be like a generation from now? Warmer and more crowded, certainly. But… richer? More peaceful? Healthier? Better educated? On Mars? Or at war? Predicting the future is risky but also, arguably, necessary if we hope to navigate the path before us. In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Hamish McCrae about his book The World in 2050: How to Think About the Future
What is the soul? In conversation with John Cottingham
June 14, 2022 04:00 - 32 minutes - 26.6 MBWhatever else has happened to religious practice over the last 40 years, it doesn’t seem to have affected the way we talk about, or believe in, the soul, with as many people doing so today as they did 40 years ago. But what we mean by the ‘soul’ is far from clear. Is it a thing, a process, or just a figures of speech? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. John Cottingham about his book In Search of the Soul.
What do men want? In conversation with Nina Power
June 07, 2022 04:00 - 31 minutes - 25.9 MBEven allowing for the fact that relationship between the sexes has never been easy, we surely live in strangely anxious times when it comes to such matters, with accusations of misogyny and toxic masculinity rife. Are men a problem? How do men and women differ? And what, if anything, do we want or need from each other? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Nina Power about her book What do men want?: masculinity and its discontents.
Where does science end and pseudoscience begin? In conversation with Michael Gordin
May 31, 2022 04:00 - 35 minutes - 28.4 MBAnti-vaxxers, creation science, astrology – for supposedly rational times, irrational and pseudoscientific beliefs appear to be doing quite well. Why? Which pseudosciences are flourishing, and for what reasons? And where even is the border between science and pseudoscience? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Michael Gordin about his book On the Fringe: Where Science meets Pseudoscience.
How did we get into this mess? In conversation with Helen Thompson
May 24, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 27.6 MBWe live in strange, unsettling, perhaps even exceptional times. How did we get here? In particular, how have our dependence on energy, our need for economic growth and our distrust in politics combined to shape our unstable 21st century. In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Helen Thompson about her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.
Where did religion come from (and where is it going)? In conversation with Robin Dunbar
May 17, 2022 04:00 - 31 minutes - 25.7 MBThe more religion dies, the more it stays alive, predictions of its imminent demise being as popular now as they were a hundred years ago. Why? Where did religion come from? Why is it so deep rooted in human nature? And where, if anywhere, is it going? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Robin Dunbar about his book How Religion Evolved and why it endures.
Can spying ever be ethical? In conversation with Cécile Fabre
May 10, 2022 04:00 - 35 minutes - 28.7 MBStrange as it may seem given what they do, ethics is very important to the intelligence services. But how do you – how even can you – spy ethically? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Cécile Fabre about her book Spying Through a Glass Darkly: The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence.
Why trust science? In conversation with Naomi Oreskes
May 03, 2022 04:00 - 33 minutes - 27.5 MBScience is the basis of so much in the modern world that to ask why we should trust it seems unnecessary, even wrong. Yet, people do, and not all of them for the best motives. In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Naomi Oreskes about her book Why Trust Science? which answers ‘science sceptics’ of all stripes, and opens up new perspectives on the importance of diversity in science.
How do pandemics shape history? In conversation with Kyle Harper
December 21, 2021 05:00 - 33 minutes - 27.5 MBCovid-19 was not the first pandemic in history, and it won’t be the last. We have lived with disease throughout our history, and our history has accordingly been shaped, sometimes transformed, by disease. But how? In the final episode of this series of Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer talks to the historian Kyle Harper about his new book Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History.
What actually is the Common Good? In conversation with Anna Rowlands
December 14, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes - 30.1 MBThe Common Good is a remarkably popular phrase, used widely by the left and the right, the religious and the secular. But does it actually mean anything? Is it so elastic as to have no real content? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Anna Rowlands about her new book Towards a Politics of Communion, about what the Common Good means and what it offers a society like ours.
How on earth should we talk about God? In conversation with Janet Soskice
December 07, 2021 05:00 - 31 minutes - 25.9 MBEven as formal religious adherence wanes (at least in the West), people go on talking about God and spiritual matters. But how is that even possible? How can you talk about someone (or something) that is beyond language? Is all God-talk literally nonsense? In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Janet Soskice about her classic 'Metaphor and Religious Language' and her forthcoming 'Naming God' about how on earth we can hope to talk about God.
Why is secularism failing? In conversation with Sumantra Bose
November 30, 2021 05:00 - 32 minutes - 26.3 MBSecularism is supposed to epitomise reasonableness and fairness – the refusal to favour one (non/religious) group over another. Yet, it is coming under fierce pressure across the world. Why? In this episode Nick Spencer talks to Prof. Sumantra Bose about his book 'Secular States, Religious Politics' and looks at the future of secularism in the 21st century.
What’s underneath the trans debate? In conversation with Helen Joyce
November 23, 2021 05:00 - 38 minutes - 31 MBDebates around sex, gender and identity have emerged as some of the most important, and heated, of our time. But what are the issues – scientific, philosophical, ideological, anthropological – that lie beneath them? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to the journalist and author Helen Joyce about her book Trans, and the tensions underlying the debate.
What is “the matter with things”? In conversation with Iain McGilchrist
November 16, 2021 05:00 - 32 minutes - 26.4 MBIain McGilchrist rose to public prominence with his book 'The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World'. Now, in his long–awaited follow up ‘The Matter with Things’, he develops his ideas about the divided brain into a remarkably detailed and comprehensive vision of reality, “a whole philosophy – … [with] new answers to the questions of what the world is and who we are.” Nick Spencer talks to him about materialism, truth, humanity, and God.
What can animals teach us about ourselves? In conversation with Frans de Waal
November 09, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.2 MBThere was a time (and not so long ago) we thought animals were 'mere machines’, incapable of inner life or emotions. Now we know better and are beginning to understand the extraordinarily rich inner life of primates and some other species. In the first episode of this series of Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer talks to the eminent primatologist Frans de Waal about his book 'Mama's Last Hug' which explores the moving and fascinating world of animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves.
What comes after liberalism?
July 13, 2021 04:00 - 27 minutes - 22.1 MBThe last 30 years have seen liberalism fall from heights of triumph at the end of the Cold War to a place of genuine fragility. Both in Western countries and even more so elsewhere, liberalism appears to be in retreat. What comes next? Some argue that liberalism will bounce back. Others that populism or authoritarianism are set to dominate things for the foreseeable future. But still others have argued for a ‘postliberal’ alternative, which spans the traditional left and right, and integrate...
What comes after liberalism? In conversation with Adrian Pabst
July 13, 2021 04:00 - 27 minutes - 22.1 MBThe last 30 years have seen liberalism fall from heights of triumph at the end of the Cold War to a place of genuine fragility. Both in Western countries and even more so elsewhere, liberalism appears to be in retreat. What comes next? Some argue that liberalism will bounce back. Others that populism or authoritarianism are set to dominate things for the foreseeable future. But still others have argued for a ‘postliberal’ alternative, which spans the traditional left and right, and integrate...
What does “being spiritual” actually mean?
July 06, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutes - 26.5 MBPeople today often like to be considered “spiritual but not religious”. But what could that actually mean? All too often, the spiritual is juxtaposed against the material. But in reality, the two are inseparably linked. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Rowan Williams about his latest book [Looking East in Winter](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/looking-east-in-winter-9781472989246/), in a conversation that covers the spiritual life, the potential for politics, and t...
What does “being spiritual” actually mean? In conversation with Rowan Williams
July 06, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutes - 26.5 MBPeople today often like to be considered “spiritual but not religious”. But what could that actually mean? All too often, the spiritual is juxtaposed against the material. But in reality, the two are inseparably linked. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Rowan Williams about his latest book [Looking East in Winter](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/looking-east-in-winter-9781472989246/), in a conversation that covers the spiritual life, the potential for politics, and t...
What do we owe each other?
June 29, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutes - 26.6 MBGiven how much richer we are today than, say, 50 years ago, it is remarkable how many people think ‘the system’ is not working for them. Particularly in high income countries, there is a pervasive sense that neither the market nor the state are providing citizens with the security and welfare that they could and should. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Minouche Shafik, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and current Director of the London School of Econom...
What do we owe each other? In conversation with Minouche Shafik
June 29, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutes - 26.6 MBGiven how much richer we are today than, say, 50 years ago, it is remarkable how many people think ‘the system’ is not working for them. Particularly in high income countries, there is a pervasive sense that neither the market nor the state are providing citizens with the security and welfare that they could and should. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Minouche Shafik, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and current Director of the London School of Econom...
Where does language come from (and where is it going)?
June 22, 2021 04:00 - 29 minutes - 24.3 MBLanguages come and languages go – but mostly nowadays they go. According to the Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages, nearly 90% may have died out by the end of the century. What do we lose when we lose a language? Indeed, what is a language? What does it do? How does it work? And what does it say about human beings and our shared culture? In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Alexandra Aikhenvald, Foundation Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre a...
Where does language come from (and where is it going)? In conversation with Alexandra Aikhenvald
June 22, 2021 04:00 - 29 minutes - 24.3 MBLanguages come and languages go – but mostly nowadays they go. According to the Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages, nearly 90% may have died out by the end of the century. What do we lose when we lose a language? Indeed, what is a language? What does it do? How does it work? And what does it say about human beings and our shared culture? In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Alexandra Aikhenvald, Foundation Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre a...
What can cats tell us about the meaning of life? In conversation with John Gray
June 15, 2021 04:00 - 30 minutes - 24.5 MBLockdown does strange things to people. After 20 years of marriage, Nick and his wife bought two cats for the family. They love them but they are mystifying. What is going on in there? Luckily for Nick and his family, John Gray, formerly Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, recently published his new book ‘Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life.’ In this episode Nick talks to John about sin, the fall, self–awareness, morality, philosophy, Montaigne, Blais...
What can cats tell us about the meaning of life?
June 15, 2021 04:00 - 30 minutes - 24.5 MBLockdown does strange things to people. After 20 years of marriage, Nick and his wife bought two cats for the family. They love them but they are mystifying. What is going on in there? Luckily for Nick and his family, John Gray, formerly Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, recently published his new book ‘Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life.’ In this episode Nick talks to John about sin, the fall, self–awareness, morality, philosophy, Montaigne, Blais...