What Rhymes With Now?

How our beliefs shape society with Ryan Avent

Why does Western civilization feel lost? What are the underlying beliefs behind our society, and how did they emerge? How will social media and AI impact the way we live? What can we do about it? I’m speaking about all of this with Ryan Avent, author of the new book, In Good Faith: How the Nature of Belief Shapes the Fate of Societies.

The future of dollar dominance with Paul Blustein

How did the dollar become the dominant global currency? What impact does that have on the US and the global economy? How might this change with the emergence of new global powers, geopolitical uncertainty and technological innovation? To find out more, I spoke with the author Paul Blustein about his latest book King Dollar.

Britain, England, and the Anglo Saxons with Nicholas J. Higham

Why is Great Britain divided into England, Scotland and Wales? The answer lies nearly two thousand years ago, in the collapse of Roman rule and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons — a story of migration, cultural replacement and identity that resonates with debates we're having today. Patrick speaks with historian Nicholas J. Higham, author of the new book How England Began: From Roman Britain to the Anglo-Saxons [https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-england-began/nicholas-j-higham/9780300254921],  about what happens when a civilian society loses the military power that protected it, how an incoming culture can reshape a country within generations (or not), and what it actually means to be from somewhere.

Trailer: What Rhymes With Now?

History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. What Rhymes With Now? is a podcast, produced by Louis Walsh, that puts today's biggest challenges in historical perspective. Each episode, host Patrick Cook interviews a leading historian about a period that illuminates something urgent about the present. If you're looking for the bigger picture, this is your show.

The Politics of the French Revolution with John Hardman

You may have heard that inequality today has reached levels not seen since the French Revolution. But what actually happened after 1789 — and what does it teach us about the fragility of political institutions, and populist politics? Patrick speaks with John Hardman, author of The French Revolution: A Political History [https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-french-revolution/john-hardman/9780300292985], about how a group of radical lawyers wrestled control from a king, how revolutionary politics devoured its own, and why the structural design of government matters just as much as the intentions of the people running it.