Please Expand
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Never Had It So Good with Dominic Sandbrook
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I interview Dominic Sandbrook on the first of his series on modern British history: Never Had It So Good. We take a deep-dive into Bri...
The Currency of Politics with Stefan Eich
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode one of my past co-hosts Giulia Luvisotto takes the lead and discusses the book Money: The Currency of Politics with its author Stefan ...
Fear Itself with Ira Katznelson
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss the origins of the New Deal with Ira Katznelson. I am joined by Simon Gansinger, philosopher and law-enthusiast, to delve i...
How Religion Evolved with Robin Dunbar
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we look at Robin Dunbar's particular thesis that religion is not just an unexpected outcome of evolution but is, in fact, a mode of en...
The Knowledge Machine with Michael Strevens
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I talk with Michael Strevens about the scientific enterprise. Does science get at objective truth or is it limited by subjective world-views? We begin...
The Aristocracy of Talent with Adrian Wooldridge
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we talk about meritocracy and whether it is still a viable system for social organisation. We begin by dissecting the concept of merit...
The Decline of Magic with Michael Hunter
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Giulia Luvisotto and I interview Michael Hunter on The Decline of Magic. Taking its cue from Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline ...
Princes of the Renaissance with Mary Hollingsworth
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I interview Mary Hollingsworth on her new book, Princes of the Renaissance. We begin by talking about just what exactly the Renaissan...
Conquistadores: A New History with Fernando Cervantes
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I interview Fernando Cervantes, author of "Conquistadores", where we discuss his new interpretation of the conquest of the Americas. B...
America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present with John Ghazvinian
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I interview John Ghazvinian, author of "American and Iran", where we talk about the surprising history of American-Iranian relations b...
Time's Witness with Rosemary Hill
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episodes we talk about an obscure group of professionals called "Antiquaries" ,whose intellectual activities became increasingly relevant in t...
The History of the Bible with John Barton
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I interview John Barton on “The History of the Bible: The Book and its Faiths”, with my guest J. A. Velasco. We grapple with some challenging issu...
The Life and Death of Ancient Cities with Greg Woolf
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I interview Greg Woolf on "The Life and Death of Ancient Cities", with my guest J. A. Velasco. We talk about three main themes of Greg's book. First, ...
The Invention of Science with David Wootton
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I interview David Wootton on "The Invention of Science". We talk about what science is and how science came about in the 16th century. We look at the ...
The Light Ages with Seb Falk
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I interview Seb Falk on "The Light Ages", with my guest J. A. Velasco. We get right to the core of Seb's book and discuss whether people in the middle...
The Boundless Sea with David Abulafia
24 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I interview David Abulafia on "The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Ocean", winner of the Wolfson History Prize. We discuss topics such as why so...
Introduction to Please Expand
17 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Please Expand! In this introductory episode I talk about what Please Expand is, how you can get involved with it, and how you can support i...