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David Runciman

The History of Ideas Podcast
with David Runciman

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A bi-weekly podcast exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, science to fiction.

Latest episode

The History of Bad Ideas: Overdiagnosis

12 August 2026

00:00 / 01:04

We come to the end of this series of bad ideas with a conversation with neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan about the problems of living in an age of diagnosis, when all medical conditions need a label and new labels appear all the time. What happens when the classification criteria for conditions like autism and ADHD get broader and broader? Are doctors or patients driving this? When does predictive testing do more harm than good? Why does advocacy for sufferers get in the way of good health? Is de-diagnosis achievable?

The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan is available now https://bit.ly/3U1ZwOu

Out tomorrow on PPF+: a bad ideas bonus episode in which geneticist and science writer Adam Rutherford explains what’s wrong with genealogy: why does wanting to know where we come from lead us down so many blind alleys? To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus upcoming events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time: Forensics on Trial

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More episodes

The History of Bad Ideas: Short-Form Video

9 August 2026

00:00 / 01:04

The History of Bad Ideas: Decadence

5 August 2026

00:00 / 01:04

The History of Bad Ideas: The Romantic Hero

2 August 2026

00:00 / 01:04

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