Can history explain Putin’s war, Sergey Radchenko?
Few historians illuminate the inner workings of Soviet and Russian foreign policy with the clarity and archival depth of Sergey Radchenko. Drawing on unprecedented access to Communist Party documents, Radchenko has rewritten key chapters of the Cold War, tracing the ambitions, insecurities, and delusions that drove leaders from Stalin to Gorbachev, which still echo in Vladimir Putin’s Russia today. In this episode of Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett explore Stalin’s competing quests for security, resources, and legitimacy, Khrushchev’s nuclear brinkmanship from Berlin to Cuba, and the unraveling of Soviet power in Eastern Europe. Together with their guest, they examine how China emerged as Moscow’s greatest geopolitical nightmare, how misunderstandings shaped the end of the Cold War, and why Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has become a catastrophic gamble for all involved. They also unpack early, little-known peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow—and what recent diplomatic maneuvers reveal about the shifting global balance of power. Sergey Radchenko is a Russian-British historian who currently teaches at the Henry Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. Radchenko grew up on Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East before studying in the United States and the United Kingdom. He is the author of several books about the Cold War and has published extensively on nuclear history and Russian and Chinese foreign and security policies. His latest book, To Run the World (Cambridge University Press, 2024), won the prestigious Lionel Gelber Prize in Canada this year. He regularly writes for publications such as The Guardian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Can we resist the AI empire, Karen Hao?
There is no shortage of critical commentary on the dizzying pace of developments in artificial intelligence. Yet, few do it as astutely as Karen Hao, whose award-winning book, Empire of AI, unveils the inner workings of OpenAI and the tech sector more broadly, shining a light on an industry marked by both grandiose proclamations and notorious secrecy. In this episode of Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett revisit some of Silicon Valley‘s foundational myths and trace the ever-increasing impact of AI on our lives. Together with their guest, they examine how OpenAI has become the multi-billion-dollar empire it is today, discuss the differences between AI doomers and AI boomers, and take stock of the environmental costs of the data centers mushrooming around the globe. Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and author covering artificial intelligence. Having previously worked as an application engineer for a digital startup, a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior AI editor at MIT Technology Review, Hao regularly writes about tech and AI for high-profile publications like The Atlantic. She also leads the AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains journalists to cover AI. Her 2025 book, Empire of AI, was an instant New York Times bestseller. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What is the meaning of freedom, Timothy Snyder?
Often considered ‘the value of values,’ freedom is increasingly interpreted in negative terms as the absence of interference, especially by prominent figures on the right. Historian and author Timothy Snyder argues that in order to achieve true freedom, we must ask about the moral and political structures required for human societies to flourish. In this wide-ranging conversation with Snyder, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett explore topics such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the many shades of freedom, and the importance of the humanities in helping us navigate the present. Timothy Snyder holds the Chair in Modern European History at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Since 2008, he has been a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, where he leads the Institute's Ukraine programs. Snyder is the author of numerous critically acclaimed books, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), and, most recently, On Freedom (2024). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How new is the new world order, Margaret MacMillan?
We are witnessing changes in the world order which many thought we would never live to see. The US, long a bedrock of democracy, appears to go heading down an anti-democratic path. Traditional alliances are falling apart, while longtime enemies are drawing closer together. Meanwhile Europe, long a central player in geopolitics, seems increasingly sidelined in international negotiations.To make sense of this unfolding new world order, Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett are joined by renowned Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan who has studied great power conflicts, war, and the international order for decades. In this episode, she draws parallels between past and present conflicts and unpacks the historical context and potential consequences of this global power reshuffle. Margaret MacMillan is emeritus Professor of History at the University of Toronto and Professor of International History and the former Warden of St. Antony's College at the University of Oxford. Her books include Women of the Raj (1988, 2007); Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World (2001) for which she was the first woman to win the Samuel Johnson Prize and Nixon in China: Six Days that Changed the World (2007). Her most recent book is War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020) which was in The New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Geographical Society of Canada, and Honorary Fellow of the British Academy. MacMillan is also a Trustee of the Imperial War Museum and a Board Member of the IWM. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Are the tech bros taking over the White House, Eoin Higgins?
Tech billionaires are exerting an enormous influence on the current Trump administration. It is not just Elon Musk and DOGE who are reshaping the American state. Behind the scenes, figures like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks are pushing an anti-regulation agenda and an anti-democratic entrepreneurial vision of politics.In this conversation with American journalist Eoin Higgins, Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett explore how the relationship between the tech industry and US politics evolved and delve into the ideologies uniting the so-called tech bros and their strategic goals for politics in the US and Europe. Eoin Higgins is an American journalist and historian covering tech, US, and world politics. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, The New Republic, The Nation, and more. He also writes for Morning Brew’s tech newsletter IT Brew. Higgins is the author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
So many of us seem to be scrambling to understand where the world is heading. Decade-old certainties seem to crumble before our eyes. Perhaps we are reaching the moment that Karl Marx predicted when all that is solid melts into air. But don’t panic. In their brand-new podcast, Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett are seeking out some of the brightest minds on the planet to help you navigate your way through this uncharted ocean. We will learn whether technology really can prevent climate change, whether the current economic headwinds are temporary or structural, whether Russia and China are forever friends, and whether social media are turning us all into zombies. But unlike many podcasts, we will also be looking for answers. After almost a century of steady progress in health and prosperity, people no longer expect their lives to be an upgrade on that of their parents. Misha and Eva will be asking guests whether such trends can be reversed or whether we will sink into another period of conflict both within and between states. Things may look bleak on the surface, but around the globe, human ingenuity continues to draw on diverse traditions to create systems that will overcome or circumvent the political, social, and economic dangers that are all too visible. Our hosts: Misha Glenny is the Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences and one of the BBC’s most distinguished correspondents, as well as the presenter of the highly-praised podcast How to Invent a Country. Eva Konzett is a renowned editor and reporter for Vienna’s leading news magazine, Falter.About our show: Future Discontinuous: Smart Talk with Smart People is a co-production of Falter and the IWM Vienna. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
México